Hosting Ordination Ceremonies on Western Soil
The
Dharma depends on the Sangha for its transmission. The Way must be
propagated by people. For the orthodox Dharma to have a strong
foundation in the West, there have to be upright people who practice
the proper Dharma. For that reason, the Venerable Master set extremely
strict requirements for people who wished to leave the home-life under
him: a college education and memorization of the Shurangama Mantra.
After they left home, they had to memorize the Shurangama Sutra,
practice lecturing on the Sutras and speaking the Dharma, practice
sitting in meditation and be able to endure suffering and toil... - by Shi Hengtung, p. 18
"In Memory of Ven. Master Hua, Vol. II" |
Because
of the increasing numbers of people who wished to leave the home-life
to become monks and nuns under the Master's guidance, in 1972 the
Master decided to hold at Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery the first
formal, full ordination ceremonies for Buddhist monks and nuns to be
held in the West. He invited virtuous elder masters to preside with him
over the ordination platform. Two monks and one nun received
ordination. Subsequent ordination platforms have been held at the
Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in 1976, 1979, 1982, 1991, and
1992, and progressively larger numbers of people have received full
ordination. Over two hundred people from countries all over the world
were ordained under him.
- Excerpt from an article by Ron Epstein,
p. 62 "In Memory of Ven. Master Hua, Vol. I"
| | | | | City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, 1976. |
| The Master also accepted six-and seven-year-olds, allowing their good roots to grow. |
| City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, 1991. |
|
