Becoming a Buddhist - Lotus Pond Temple, Lantau Is. Hong Kong 30th March, 2019

After a few false starts I finally took the plunge and officially became a lay Buddhist this weekend. I flew to Hong Kong on Friday afternoon, stayed overnight at the Lotus Pond temple on Lantau Island, and at 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning the community of monks and nuns took me through a ceremony to become part of the Plum Village Buddhist family. It practises in the Zen tradition of the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. I had been fiddling at the edges for years, looked at different traditions, went on a pilgrimage to northern India, and done some study, reading and meditation, so I thought it was about time to take this step and be part of something positive. It will also give me support as I continue in the practice. I will need it!

Every religion has a ceremony of some sort. The usual thing here is to Take Refuge in the Three Jewels (the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and to undertake one's best to recite and live according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings (generally known as the Five Precepts).

It was terrific. The brothers and sisters were lovely to me. We enjoyed eating meditation, sitting meditation, singing, and walking meditation together. The ceremony, in which they were all present, went for almost an hour, and at several points I had to "touch the Earth" which means literally touching my forehead to the ground. Later I received a certificate setting out the details of the event and the lineage of my teacher. The Dharma name given to me is "Radiant Sincerity of the Heart".

There were one or two minor challenges in getting there. The plane from Taiwan arrived an hour late and the taxi driver couldn't exactly find the temple, so it took a quick phone call to figure it out. 

Another pleasant surprise was that the Lotus Pond Temple is just a short walk away from the  huge world famous Buddha statue (Tian Tan) on Lantau Island. So walking around the hills and seeing that area was a definite bonus. Although I was unable to take any photos during the ceremony (since nobody was available to do that), I did get some afterwards which I hope you will enjoy. It was an amazing experience!

I Know - Almost Another Year's Gone By

Hello everyone, and thank you for your patience.

My year following the last post here (March 2016) has revolved around a number of elements:

• having a gall bladder operation
• having another operation in July for colon cancer
• returning to Australia for chemotherapy treatment, which should be complete next month

All in all, not a situation conducive to posting on this site.

However, there have also been some small blessings:

• I've spent many months back with my family
• I've used some of the time to study the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and to commence a mindfulness practice
• I've made a few Plum Village sangha contacts locally
• I've found a new teaching role starting in mid-March based in Bali, Indonesia.

Naturally, I'm hoping that this will be beneficial to my recovery, less stressful than some previous positions, and a location filled with opportunities to learn a new culture and experience life on another island.

Once I'm re-established there, I will do my best to keep adding interesting and informative posts. In the meantime, I'm including further photos on my "Buddha Images" page, based on my final months in Taiwan.

Blessings, and a lotus for you. Greg.

The Last Six Months

My apologies to those hoping to read many insights and articles on my blog.
The last six months have been busy for many of the wrong reasons, including illness and ultimately an operation last month to improve my health outlook. This seems to have been successful, so I hope to put it behind me and move forward.
This period was also a time when I reviewed carefully the direction I was moving in with my Buddhist practice, and ultimately this meant I have changed my plans - for the better, I believe.
I am now studying the teachings of the Vietnamese-born Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village tradition he began. I am joining a local sangha for support and encouragement, and I hope to visit the AIAB (Asian Institute of Applied Buddhism) in Hong Kong in July to attend a 4-day retreat and take the Five Mindfulness Trainings.
In the meantime, I have set up a meditation room and hope to make good use of it as I explore the practice further. I have also added links to blogs and websites of Plum Village.
To those reading this post, I wish you every blessing for the year 2016.
Greg.

Together with the Three Refuges, what moral principles should a Buddhist follow?

A follower of the Buddha should also follow the moral principles set out in the Five Precepts. Namely they should abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and using liquor, alcoholic drinks, or intoxicants that cause heedlessness. They do this by acts of loving-kindness, generosity, contentment, truthfulness and mindfulness.