Ceremony of repentance, April 29th, 2015

On the evening of June 15th, 2015 (April 29th, 2015 on lunar calendar), Buddhists from HCM and neighbouring provinces gathered at Hoang Phap pagoda to attend the Ceremony of repentance.

It was known that majority of audience  were\r\nBuddhists who had busy lives. Preparing some time for going to pagoda to listen\r\nto Dharma and chant is such an big effort of each lay person. Therefore, in the\r\nhope of giving the Buddhists some guidance on how to have a happy life for the\r\ntime being, Venerable Tam Hong gave a sermon titled:"Things help you\r\nbe happy in life". Through the sermon, he pointed out seven things that\r\ncan make people happy in life:

1.Be generous. Alms giving or charity deeds will benefit\r\nothers, but actually also bring yourself benefits.

2. Living in mindfulness means living fully in\r\nevery moment of each day.

3. Avoid comparisons. Comparing yourself with others\r\ncan damage your self-esteem and happiness. Instead, focus on your own\r\nachievements, so you will not waste too much time getting jealous to other\r\npeople.

4. Optimism. ln life, with much pressure at work,\r\nstudy, living, a positive attitude will help us  release the\r\npressure, as well as help us overcome your difficulties.

5. Gratitude and repaying for favor. Gratitude helps us\r\norient our lives towards the good, so we are more likely to live on the route\r\nto happiness and peace.

6. Mingle with the nature and do exercise.

7. Live responsibly.

 At the end of the talk, everybody together\r\nrecited Great Buddha's name of Repentance.