My first encounter with Ocean Sky was when my boss, Ms. Evelyn Chan, and I were visiting her daughter at the building across the monastery, which looked more like a restaurant than a temple. After that first meeting with the two Shifus, we started bringing food regularly to the monastery.

When the Shifus asked Ms. Evelyn to assist in preparing the food, I began to help out in the kitchen together with others, including Ms. Pin Pin, who also came over to help. I was asked to cook vegetarian food and I prepared simple vegetable dishes, because I was not yet used to cooking vegetarian. Now, I am no longer scared how my cooking would turn out, if it would turn out palatable or not!

I joined the Beginners’ Class which I completed with former Abbess Master Jianyong. As a volunteer, I would accompany Ms. Evelyn in bringing the Shifus where they wanted to go. Later, I was also assigned to buy fruits and flowers.

Through the years in the monastery, I learned tolerance and patience as I worked harmoniously with others. I also learned how to be a team player, with the intention of helping with my best efforts. Even during my vacation leave, I find myself always thinking how the monastery is being maintained. Because of this, there are less and less vacations and more of the monastery for me. THE MONASTERY IS NOW LIKE SECOND HOME!

“So who’s drinking the tea?” The Conducting Master (the Abbot) thrust the question at us at the start of 2009’s spring Seven-Day Meditation Retreat—an assignment that we had to contemplate on, in my second attempt to find the Bodhi Mind.

My first Chan-7 in 2007 was beset by sleepiness, excruciating pain in the legs, and non-stop thoughts. To say the least, the whole experience was dismal, at the same time, traumatic. I remember asking myself in the middle of that retreat, “What have I gotten myself into?”

2009’s Chan-7 seemed like it was going to proceed the same way, only this time, no more sleepiness. I made sure that I followed the Grandmaster’s, Abbot’s and Vice Abbot’s Dharma talks to the letter, for they served as the foundation of the whole retreat and the backbone of my practice. Their words of wisdom guided, encouraged and helped me stay on the right track. The Conducting Master emphasized the breath counting method followed by the Middle Way Reality method.

So, every sitting period, I would religiously count my exhalation; often defeated by the pain in my legs, or sidetracked by busy thoughts. Finally, on the 4th day, during the 8am sitting, after counting breaths for some time, it suddenly hit me!—an aura of calmness descended upon me; my whole being became so still, but my mind was very lucid and clear—no ripples of thoughts, no traffic of ideas and having full awareness of the sounds and movements around me. Sitting there was just so natural that I did not even mind the numbness in my legs. THAT was the start of several “good incenses” of sitting, so to speak.

I am eternally grateful to all the people who made my Chan-7 experience so meaningful—to all the volunteers who toiled behind the scenes, making sure that our retreat was so orderly and comfortable; to all the supervising masters who were so patient and hardworking; to all the masters in the kitchen, for the timely sustenance; to the Abbot and Vice Abbot, for their words of wisdom; and to the Grandmaster, for his vision and compassion.

So, who’s drinking the tea? At the end of seven days of backbreaking sitting, I guess it’s easy to answer—it is this PURE MIND that’s drinking the tea. To fully realize this pure mind, I will have to let go of so many attachments, cravings, and delusions in order to come to rest on this pure mind, this thing called Bodhi or Nirvana. Now, the real work begins.

I am 25 years old and have a great future as a violinist. I could have had anything I wanted; instead, I vowed to become a monk. Exposed to Buddhist practices since I was 17 due to influences from friends, I progressed to deeper forms of Buddhism in 2009. I once assisted a Thai Theravada monk who was assigned to the Philippines. With him, I felt a certain kind of peace. Eventually we parted ways, but I kept wondering what made me feel peaceful and focused at the time. It was in 2010 when I was invited by Celia Cacdac to visit and join Ocean Sky activities. I declined at first, because it was far from where I lived and would require long trips. The next year, she and her children went to Chung Tai Monastery in Taiwan. I was supposed to take a trip to another temple, but changed my mind because Celia invited me to join them for the trip. In Chung Tai, I accompanied Maybelle (Celia’s daughter) on the violin, when she sang during Chung Tai’s 10th anniversary celebration. After the trip, it dawned on me that I cannot be a violinist forever. Finally, I decided that I wanted to become a monk, and told Abbess Master Jianding that I wanted to leave home-life. She advised me to finish all the meditation classes first.

From then on, I was able to practice what I know better. With the permission of Abbess Master Jianshu, I reflected on how monastic life would be, and became more serious and sincere in my practice with her guidance. I hope to become a novice in Chung Tai Monastery.

The most important lesson from the Buddhist classes I took in Ocean Sky was how to empty myself. I learned detachment from worldly possessions. Now I understand the true meaning of life. I have found my true nature. I understand the law of causality and dependent origination. I learned how to appreciate and accept conditions as they come, and how to be a good person, practicing good thoughts and doing good deeds.

Ocean Sky is the best place to get to know oneself and realize one’s true nature. Despite having to let go of a chance to pursue a Master’s degree in Music in the U.S., I feel no regrets.

I discovered Ocean Sky Chan Monastery through a flyer on free meditation class, distributed at the Tai Bun coffee shop, which is just around the corner. Emphasis is on the word “free, no expenses.” I thought that since it was free, I might as well see how a monastery taught meditation.

At first, I really felt like a stranger here, because I am neither a Buddhist nor Filipino Chinese, and because I could not understand their language. Perhaps beginners do feel insecure, or afraid to open up. It was only the Dharma Masters Jianqiang, Jianyin, Jianjun, and of course Abbess Jianshu, with their smiling faces and the ever helpful receptionists on duty like Lolita, Grace and Ben who made life easy for me.

This was the first time I attended a formal class in meditation. Just imagine doing it inside a Buddhist monastery! All along, my idea of a monastery was an enclosed compound with hundreds of priests and nuns. But then, in Ocean Sky, we only have four.

I also joined the Mandarin Class every Sunday. That way, I could understand what the others are talking about in Chinese. But mind you, I was a poor Mandarin student. I was just learning to read the Chinese pinyin and to count.

My three months here at Ocean Sky is one experience I cannot forget. It has changed my life. The lectures on Buddhism have rekindled the aspect of our relationship with our fellowmen and our standards of morality.

Christianity’s Golden rule—do not do unto others, what you do not want others to do unto you—really reminds me of the Four Tenets of Chung Tai: “ To our elders be respectful; To our juniors be kind; With all humanity be harmonious; In all endeavors be true.” The Five Precepts are also similar to Christianity’s Ten Commandments.

The Four Noble Truths about suffering and how to eradicate suffering with the Eightfold Path are topics which really needed more understanding. More so, when we encountered the Buddhist concepts of emptiness, dependent origination, no-self, causality, karma: good karma and bad karma, reincarnation, etc., the more I needed serious thinking. Sutras say:

If you want to know what you have done in the past, just look at what is happening in this life. If you want to know what will happen in the future, just look at what is being done in this life.

I never knew this free meditation class would lead me to more serious thinking about life. It rekindles in me the thirst for knowledge and more information. My new found activity has led me to keep borrowing books from the monastery’s library and keep surfing the net for things I cannot understand. I still have to a lot more to learn. Last, but not the least, I have turned vegetarian. I am now changing my life style, thanks to our Abbess and other Dharma Masters, and to Ocean Sky Chan Monastery.

Knowledge without practice is not enough for one to attain enlightenment. I realized that when I changed how I view things. Each situation became clearer in my mind. I could understand myself and everything around me better. Now, whenever an unfavourable situation comes my way, I accept it gladly, just as I do with a favourable situation. I look at these situations positively. Whenever I fall into delusions, I always remind myself to reflect inward, to look at my mind and find out where it’s coming from. It’s very important for me to always keep my awareness, to remind myself to accept my own mistakes instead of blaming others. I realized that there’s no one who could change me but myself.

To transcend any situation, we should use a compassionate heart instead of being judgemental. I learned that everything comes from our mind whether good or bad. Our actions are the manifestation of our thoughts. We need to use our mind for discernment. We have to think mindfully. With this practice of being mindful, we create good karma and prevent bad karma.

I see difficult situations as opportunities for me to practice what I’ve learned from the Buddha’s teachings taught by our Dharma Masters. When things come my way, I observe the principle of causality and follow the Eightfold Path.

My deepest gratitude to Ocean Sky Chan Monastery for giving us the lectures. I know everything has a purpose, nothing happens by accident. We can be the masters of our own minds.

I have been relatively consistent in attending classes here at Ocean Sky Chan Monastery (OSCM), but I discovered that I am not a diligent student. I have not been practicing meditation at all (except during classes), not done extra reading, nor attended half-day retreats or any other ceremonies, nor have I formally volunteered in any activity here.

My standard reason is that I have no extra time. In my experience, I should have been a dropout by this time. Yet, week after week I look forward to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Then, I would sit enthralled at Abbess’ Dharma talks about compassion without the passion, vegetarianism, compassion contemplation where one wishes one’s enemies good fortune, and attaining samatha and vipassana.

When Lally, my friend, was sidelined as coordinator this semester, I had no choice but to fill in her shoes. I’m sure I made hilarious mistakes as my focus was now divided between listening and concentrating on Abbess’ words and fumbling with the hand bell and the protocols. But time has a way of easing up these difficulties.

I am confused. More than half of my life has been spent on advocacies. While I think that is the bodhisattva nature in me, my limited knowledge of Buddhist teachings has spawned questions like can advocacies and Buddhism go along together? Underneath all the questions is the fact that I have held for the longest time a different worldview which has shaped my life radically. This worldview has similar observations of phenomena with the teachings of Buddhism, yet both come up with diametrically opposing conclusions!

So, I think these are the reasons on what’s holding me back to fully embrace Buddha’s teachings. But I am only a beginner here, not even a year into studying Buddhism. This reflection on my experiences here helped me see where I am now and how to proceed from there. This means I am really practicing meditation. I want to pursue studying here and at the same time cultivate my Buddha Nature and become a member of this community. Amitofo!