This is my first time really participating in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Repentance. I remember my first visit to CTTB was also during the Repentance, and since I knew very little, I had almost no idea what was going on. After a few hours, it felt a bit monotonous, and I was kind of happy when it was time to go home. This time, however, I had been introduced to the principles behind the bowing and had learned enough Chinese to understand a little about what I was reading. I kept a journal during the bowing session, and here is a short entry:

Standing to my left is an opera signer turned engineer, and standing on my right is a young man who lives with almost no electricity, happily living below the poverty line (he’s proud of not contributing to the capitalist system). To his immediate right is a wanderer—spontaneous, poetic, and direct. Standing in front of me is a good father cultivating vigorously, and surrounding him are laymen from Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei. Wearing layman robes and precept sashes, we pack two rows in the Buddhahall. There is a definite sense of camaraderie here. The proctor leads the chant with a tune that raises our spirits—it’s almost like a national anthem that is sung by troops after a long day—like a call to “look within.” We are like a small battalion, but our only weapon is our bowing and our focus is to transform and subdue our pride and ego.

The image of us Buddhists “going to battle” puts a smile on my face. I would bet that we could defeat any opposition the world could throw at us! But the hardest battle, and the most meaningful, is inside.

南無妙覺會上佛菩薩!
Homage to the Wonderfully Enlightened Assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas! D|M

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