It was in 2008 when my wife started attending the meditation classes in Ocean Sky. I had just been laid off from work and was devastated. My life had no concrete direction and was just making ends meet with a little savings. The little business that I started wasn’t making enough to support my family. But I still held on. My wife was busy going to her meditation class and taking care of our only daughter. After almost a year, our business was not doing well, no matter how hard I struggled and worked.
Each time we met during dinner, my wife would start meals by silently making an offering to the Three Jewels which I didn’t understand. She then kept talking about meditation. On weekends, she would even take our daughter to the monastery to join the kids’ class. They seemed very happy, and it didn’t really bother me. My faith in the Catholic Church had deepened when Mari-Len battled cancer for two years and was finally cleared. I prayed the rosary everyday and devoted time to the Black Nazarene of Quiapo (a Christian saint popular in the Philippines). Mari-Len’s study of Buddhism in Ocean Sky didn’t really interest me, as long as we were able to go to Mass on Sundays. But somewhere at the back of my mind, I was confused as to why my wife was dividing her time between two religions.
Then, things started to pick up at work. When I told my wife about the good days, she would simply reply that it was good karma. By this time, she was doing a lot of volunteer work in the monastery. Most of the time, she helped out in decorating and even became a receptionist. She said that the good business of ours was a result of merits obtained through meditation and service. For me, it was just coincidence.
Then one day, I received a call from my former boss to go work for him again. When I told Mari-Len the good news, my wife simply replied: “Now do you believe me?” It suddenly made sense. Immediately she offered for me to be a benefactor in a ceremony in Ocean Sky. It was a repentance ceremony and lasted for about four hours. The chanting was in Chinese, and I was bored. But the food was so delicious. All the Dharma Masters and lay people were kind and accommodating.
One thing that I couldn’t forget was how former Abbess Master Jianyong welcomed me with such warmth, that I finally understood why my wife so enjoyed her time in Ocean Sky. I also met the president, Albert Tan, who told me about the benefits of learning Buddhism and how it had changed his life. That was a new beginning for me. I started attending classes and learned about the teachings of Buddha which I applied to my everyday life.
Life has never been the same again since we adapted Buddhism into our family life. Then things got better when our business started to expand. With much gratitude, we continue to support Ocean Sky in our little ways. We know that challenges will still come our way, but we shall be able to cope because we understand that everything is impermanent. We know we will be safe as long as we have Buddhism and Ocean Sky behind us.