DDM Awakening Camp - The Once-in-a-Life-Time Monastic Experience

 

In 2020, I was accepted to the 17th Awakening camp. Unfortunately, COVID hit and the event was canceled. But thankfully, four years later I was accepted again. With all causes and conditions finally ripened, in 2024, I set off on a journey to the headquarters of DDM in Taiwan for this once-in-a-life time monastic opportunity.

On January 27th, 167 participants from all over the world came to the beautiful and serene Dharma Drum Mountain headquarters. Our buses passed the front gate and the Welcoming Guanyin Statue, where we continued to go up and passed the Wish Fulfilling Guanyin Hall, and finally arrived at the Chan Hall building. Many monastics (Fashis) and volunteer Pusas were standing outside the Chan Hall to greet us and hold up umbrellas for us. After unloading our belongings and turning in our electronic devices, we picked up our notebooks and clothes. This 8-day camp has officially begun.

The camp activities came in several types:

  Monastic Experience: Participants followed Fashis to live a simple and precept-observing life. Every day, upon the signal from the wooden percussion board, participants got up and gathered at the Chan Hall for moving meditation, prostrations to the Buddhas, sitting meditation, morning service, and morning class. After lunch, there were cleaning activities, break time, and afternoon class. Evening activities mainly focused on group discussions and classes. Some activities were conducted in silence; some required participants to wear the black inner Kasaya (海青/Hai-Qing) and/or the brown outer Kasaya (縵衣/Man-Yi). Wearing these robes requires extra awareness to maintain an elegant manner in every action. Through silence, more awareness, and slower motions, many similarities can be drawn between this camp and a Chan retreat.

  Taking and renouncing the precepts: During the camp, participants needed to take the eight precepts, which include the five precepts observed by lay practitioners plus three additional precepts. Before the Precept-Taking Ceremony, the Fashis of each team always took extra time to show team members how to correctly wear the Kasaya and act properly like a monastic. Fashis also explained that having a mindset of self-reflection, humbleness, sincerity, and gratitude is important during the ceremony.

  The Precept-Taking Ceremony took place on the evening of the third day. Fashis first led us to repent, then asked us a series of questions to confirm we were capable of upholding the precepts. When Fashis started chanting the Verse For Wearing Precepts' Robe, each participant slowly put on the brown outer Kasaya, symbolizing the beginning of the monastic identity.

  The Precept-Renouncing Ceremony occurred on the last day. It was also in Fashis’ chanting when everyone removed their brown Kasaya. Many participants were sobbing in tears, but Fashis reminded us that even though this monastic experience had come to an end, we should continue to observe the five precepts as lay practitioners, and we should cultivate a lifestyle marked by self-discipline, minimal desires, and a commitment to awaken ourselves and others to the great path.

  Dharma talks: Each day, different Fashis would give Dharma talks on topics such as the meaning of becoming a monastic, explanations of the precepts, Buddhist’s view of life, and Chan and living. Some Fashis also talked about their previous doubts about life and how those doubts led them to become monastics. Sometimes, we listened to recordings of Master Sheng-Yen (Shifu)'s Dharma Talks. Though the recordings were made over 20 years ago, the content is still surprisingly relevant. Shifu’s sense of humor and compassion for the past Awakening Camp participants has brought laughter and tears to many of us.

  Hands-on classes: Participants had opportunities to practice Chan in motion. For example, there was a cleaning activity almost every day after lunch. In the late evening of the sixth day, we went to the Grand Buddha Hall to observe the bell ringing and drum beating. On the seventh day, we did the mountain pilgrimage. In one hands-on lesson about how to live a monastic lifestyle, Fashis showed us how to properly organize our clothes. After that, we returned to our quarters, and everyone got busy folding our items. In another class, Fashis took us out to Chan Hall Park for walking meditation. As we were walking, Fashis told us to our eyes, ears, or body sensations to sense the environment and try not to label or differentiate anything.

  There seems to be a sense of tranquility in everything in the headquarters, and they all seem to encourage practitioners to turn their mind’s eye inward and put their minds into the current action.

The night before the end of the camp was known as the “Gratitude Night”. All Fashis, volunteers, and participants gathered at the Chan Hall, and Fashis guided us in doing prostrations to express gratitude to the Three Jewels, Shifu, our family, the society, and all volunteers from around the world who came to support this camp. After that, we had a Passing on the Lamp of Wisdom ceremony which symbolizes the passing of the Dharma and commemorates Shifu’s teaching.

Through these eight days, we experienced a very different way to live our lives. Our minds transitioned from being unsettled and scattered to calmness and stillness. Fashis repeatedly reminded us to bring our minds back to our actions and make a vow to dissolve our ego, allowing our compassion to arise so we can see other sentient beings’ needs more clearly.

Thanks to these special and precious causes and conditions, 167 participants from all different backgrounds have come to Dharma Drum Mountain to practice Chan and experience the monastic life. Now that these causes and conditions have dissipated, we are back to our only place in our family and society. Wishing that every participant will continue to cultivate Bodhicitta and wisdom, and apply Fashis’ teachings from the Awakening Camp to help ourselves and other sentient beings. Amituofo!

演慈/Tif P from female Group 5

2024 Awakening Camp in Review (Video Source: Dharma Drum Sangha University)