17 December, 2004:-
Translation courtesy of Forever

Two hundred and seven six participants took part in the Seven-Day Amitabha Recitation Retreat. The purpose of this Seven-Day Amitabha Recitation Retreat is to help participants achieve one-pointed ness of mind by way of chanting.

Participants started the day at 5am with the morning service at 5.30am. Daily activities of the programme comprises of chanting of prayers, Buddha name recitation, circumambulating and a talk on the method of chanting The evening ended with transference of merits which is preceded by a talk on the Anitabha Sutra by Ven. Wei Wu, the abbot of Than Hsiang. During these talks the abbot also explained in details the benefits of participating in Novitiate Programmes such as this..

To accommodate the large number of participants, the multi purpose hall located on the fifth floor was converted into the female dormitory, and the kindergarten classrooms on the first floor of Than Hsiang Temple into the male dormitory. Due to limitation of space, the participants have to sit on the floor for meals. They also took turns to do the washing and cleaning after meals. Volunteers and staff helped with the preparation and serving of meals. For this period of time participants are not allowed to wear make-up and any ornaments.

The participants have to observe strict disciplinary rules. They refrained from unnecessary talk these seven days, concentrating in whatever cultivation activities so that they can taste the sweet fruits of Dharma joy.

This programme was lead by Ven. Wei Wu, the abbot of Than Hsiang, with Ven. Fa Qing who especially came back from Thailand (IBC) to supervise and guide this retreat with a team of learned monks and nuns comprising of Ven. Xin Shen, Ven. Ji Zheng, Ven. Hai Zhi, Ven. Xin Rui, Ven. Pu Wen, Van Da Shan, Ven. Guang Chi, Ven. Zhen Xin and Ven Zhen Yuan.