These retreats provide an opportunity for people who lead a busy lifestyle to experience Ch’an and to achieve calmness and peace of mind.  In modern era, many people are under pressure to strive for fame, status, fortune and happiness.  It is an endless cycle.  Human beings are such that they will never be satisfied with what they have achieved and will continuously strive for more. 

Under the guidance of Venerable Master Ru-Sun, Yun Yang Temple conducts on a regular basis the 3-day and 7-day meditation retreats.  It also holds a group meditation  practice session once a week.  The aim in conducting these retreats/group practises is to provide any interested participants, regardless of race, religion and nationality, the opportunity to realise true happiness, peace, freedom and tranquility.

Ch’an is the way to achieve “letting go”.  One lets go of the pressure of the complex world outside in order to reach the serene world inside oneself.  This improves the health of one’s body and mind. 

       

II. The 7-day pureland retreats

                                                                        

This retreat provides participants with the opportunities to eradicate bad karma by reciting Amitabha Buddha’s name, performing repentance prayers and chanting the Amitabha Sutra.  The participants chant Amitabha Buddha’s name everyday during the retreat.   This activity helps the Participants to let go of mundane worries and uphold the Buddha’s name as right mindfulness to replace the delusions of the seventh consciousness by planting Buddha’s name in Alaya Vijnana (eight consciousness.)  

III. The Short term ordination retreats

        
  
       

In Thailand, every Thai man is expected to enter the monkhood for at least a few weeks during his life time.  The monkhood allows them to create merits in this life for a good future life.  It provides them with an opportunity to transfer their merits to their living parents and deceased relatives.  It also gives them a chance to make a vow to the Buddha when seeking help in solving their personal or family problems.  

Yun Yang Temple holds a 2-week ordination retreat every year, usually in the last week of December and the first week of January.  The ordination ceremony will take place in the morning of the first day of the retreat, during which the participating novice monks will first have their heads shaved.  This symbolises his departure from the household life to homelessness, that is detachment from trials, tribulations and pleasures of his lay life.

After shaving, the participating novice monks will make a formal request for ordination by reciting three times the Pali request passage.  The participating novice monks are then allowed to put on their saffron robes, assisted by the experienced monks on the day.  The ordination ceremony usually concludes with the novice monks performing an act of transferring merits to their ancestors, parents, friends and all sentient beings.  After that, relatives of participants and devotees could make offerings such as food, medicine and articles for personal use to the monks.

For the period during which they are ordained, the participating novice monks are expected to stay in the monastery, exemplifying the Buddhist way of life and undergoing training in body and mind control.  To emphasise simple lifestyle, all participating novice monks will each be given two saffron robes, a sarong and a begging bowl during the retreat.  They are expected to live on these items only during the duration of the retreat and move around barefooted to create the awareness of their environment.  The pain caused by barefooted reminds them of sufferings and hardship other sentient beings are enduring at the present time.

The monastic lifestyle is very different from that of the laity.  It is designed to be conducive for spiritual practice and suitable for a life of dedication and service.  As such, it has to be kept simple.  It should also be free from family concerns and obligations.   

A monk’s day begins in monasteries as early as 5 am.  The pre-dawn hours are devoted to meditation, chanting,praying, working bees and attending dharma class.  There are two sessions of worship each day - morning and evening.    These sessions consist mainly of chanting and a short period of sitting meditation.  Also there are practices of bare foot walking, alms taking, and environmental tidy-up activities.  

The experienced monks will give instructions and discourses on Dharma and/or meditation techniques.  The purpose of activities is to let the participants have a basic understanding and practice of Buddhism.  Hopefully, they can learn to apply the teachings into their daily life and enjoy a life with happiness and wisdom.  

This is indeed a rare opportunity in Australia for men to experience the life of a Buddhist novice monk for a short period of 2 weeks.   

Women who wish to participate in the retreat will be taking the eight precepts.

Not everyone has the good fortune or the good karma to renounce the worldly life to become monks and nuns for the rest of their life.  So why not take this unique opportunity to join the retreat and become novice monks during this period.  Take a break and come to this beautiful 32-acre land of tranquility and peace and learn how to live with minimum material necessities.  More importantly, you get a chance to purify your body and soul and be in touch with your inner self.  

 

IV.      The Buddha’s day celebration (the birth of the Buddha)

                

Buddha Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini Park on the 8th day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar in 544 BC.  When the prince was born, there were celestial portents and signs.  Flowers bloomed and heavenly music was heard.  Lovely scents filled the air and gentle rains fell from the sky to bathe him.   

Immediately after his birth, the Buddha, without help or support, walked seven steps in each direction of the world.  At each step he walked, a lotus flower materialised and blossomed under his feet.  With one hand pointing to the sky and the other hand pointing to the ground, he announced: “No further births have I to endure, for this is my last body.  Now shall I destroy and pluck out the root and sorrow that is caused by birth and death (“samsara”)”.

Many countries celebrate the birth of Buddha on the 8th day of April.  Others celebrate this historic day on the weekend closest to the 8th of April.  On this day, Buddhists pay homage to the Buddha in many ways.  Some observe the religious way of life for the day while others give charity to the needy or take part in religious processions and ceremonies.  

Traditionally tens of thousands of devotees converged at the temples very early in the morning to offer prayers, meditate and present alms to monks.  Many temples organised Buddha Bathing Ceremonies whereby sculptures of Buddha made of copper or stone are placed in the middle of the basin filled with boiled herbal water.  Devotees used this water to bathe the Buddha sculptures.  This symbolises the cleansing of one’s body and soul.

The Buddha’s day is therefore an event of utmost importance to the Buddhist community as it commemorates the birth, enlightenment and final passing (Parinibbana) of the Buddha, who through his own efforts was able to reach the pinnacle of perfection and wisdom.

This function is called (“Da Mong Sun”) and is presided by the Venerable Master Ru-Sun.  It aims to transfer one’s merits to his or her living parents to prolong their life; or to his or her deceased parents to free them from sufferings in the endless kalpas and attain happiness.

The seventh month of Chinese lunar calendar is the month to show our gratitude to our foreparents.  Dharma activities are held at the temple to provide an opportunity for all devotees to transfer merits and show gratitude to their ancestors and all sentient beings.  Activities include chanting sutra, lighting Jixiang (peaceful) lamps.

This function originated from the Song Dynasty.  The contemporary Venerable Master Xin Chi greatly promotes this “Da Mong Sun” function and added six Dharmas onto it.

During the function, a Dharma platform stands in the middle of the hall.  Flowers, fruits, incense, white rice and clean water are placed on it to make offerings to all homeless souls in the ten Dharma worlds and six realms.  Opposite the Dharma platform, another platform is placed for the homeless souls.  It allows the ghosts to come forward to pay respect to Buddha, listen to the Dharma and to accept the offerings.  Thus, they could get rid of the obstructions in ending their kalpas and gain great benefits. This is a superb opportunity and all are welcome to take part.   

 

VI.  Guang Ming Light

                

“Lighting up thousands of lights, to repent and annihilate all sins”           

According to the Buddhist cannons, if people always offer lights to Buddha in the Buddhist pagodas and temples in their past lives, they will be able to enjoy the following benefits:

1.  In terms of physical body: bright eyes, solemn appearance, beautiful voice, free from illness;
2.  In terms of wisdom: peace of mind, intelligent, and able to differentiate the good from the evil;
3.  In terms of career:  always meet good people, wishes always come through, have a happy and stable life, not lacking in food and clothes;
4.   In terms of karma: born into prestigious families, seeing Buddha at the verge of death, and reborn in good realms when this life ends.          

VII.  Kwan Yin Dharma Teaching

                  
                                                         

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, commonly known as Kwan Yin is the bodhisattva who most embodies compassion.  The name Avalokitesvara has its root meaning as "he who observes the sounds of the world". The great vow of Avalokitesvara is to listen to the supplications, and cries for help from those in difficulty in the world and to provide them with aid.  He takes many different forms....male, female, four-armed, thousand-armed, human, non-human, teacher, student...whatever expedient means are needed to help people most effectively.           

Kwan Yin Bodhisattva's compassion for all beings is so vast and inconceivable.  Enlightened through infinite acts of compassion countless lifetimes ago, she sprinkles sweet dewdrops from her vase to relieve the suffering of beings everywhere.  Prayers for help arise from thousands of hearts, and thousands of prayers are answered by her vow of eternal compassion: For beings in Samsara, who sail the ocean of suffering, she will guide and deliver safely to the ultimate shore of enlightenment.          

All of us have within us (original nature) the potential to be like Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.  As long as we diligently continue to cultivate compassion and benevolence towards all beings, we will eventually reach ultimate purification and be like her.     

The Yun Yang Temple holds monthly practice sessions on the Kwan Yin Dharma.  It welcomes all Buddhists practitioners (i.e. those who have taken refuge in The Triple Gems and the Five Precepts) to join these sessions.

VIII.  Multicultural Food Fair                                                                                                   

 

                                                                     

Once a year, the Temple organises a Multicultural Food Fair.  The aim is to allow the wider communities the opportunities to visit the Temple to see what the Temple has been doing during the past year and what it plans to do in the future.  It is continuously trying to promote multicultural activities.  It welcomes all people regardless of race, religion and nationality to visit its premises. The food fair also provides the Temple with the opportunity to introduce delicious vegetarian food and multicultural performances to the public.  Half of the net proceeds from the food fair are donated to the City of Casey to be used for its charity and social work.