Repentance ceremony on Sep. 14th, Year of the Snake

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Update: 03/11/2025

On Nov. 03rd, 2025 (Sep. 14th, Year of the Snake), good men and believing women inside and outside HCMC returned to Hoang Phap pagoda to attend a periodical penitential rite.

Repentance ceremony on Sep. 14th, Year of the Snake

The monks of Hoang Phap pagoda in HCMC, Junior Thich Tam Hoa had a dharma talk named Rebirth is the circle of new lives to all Buddhists before the rite.

Rebirth is the circle of new lives. In the doctrine of dependent origination, rebirth is the endless continuity of the stream of consciousness where karma is the seed and the mind is the soil to sow. When the conditions are complete, the seed will bear fruit in a new life. There is no beginning, no end, just the eternal flow of cause and effect operating according to dependent origination.

Buddhists return to living mindfully in each present moment without trying to escape from samsara by fear. With a single thought of anger, one falls into hell or with a single thought of compassion, one is born in heaven. Rebirth does not only happen after death but also happens every moment in this life. Every time the mind changes, the world also changes.

Practice ten good karma, keep the body, speech, and mind pure, then one will reach a peaceful realm:

- The body does not kill, steal, or commit adultery.

- The mouth does not lie, is double-tongued, speaks harshly, or embellishes.

- The mind does not have greed, anger, or delusion.

When a good mind arises, good karma is born, or when the mind is at peace, the world is at peace. Those who practice like this have sowed the seeds of good rebirth in a pure and happy realm.

After the Dharma talk, the mass entered the penitential ritual as usual.