Newly Ordained Bhikshus and Bhikshunis Return After Completing the Triple Platform Ordination
When the Buddha was here in the world, we had him as our teacher. After he entered nirvana, we have the precepts as our teacher. The precepts are crucial to the transmission of the Buddha’s teaching. They not only benefit the monastic community, but also ensure the true Dharma remains in the world.
In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, monastics who practice the Mahayana Way must complete the Triple Platform Ordination to be considered fully ordained members of the sangha. Chung Tai Chan Monastery recently sent a total of seventy-four novices, fourteen monks and sixty nuns, to attend the Triple Platform Ordination Ceremony at Chaoyin Chan Monastery in Guanxi, Taiwan. They successfully received full ordination on October 14th, 2023.
Make great vows and uphold the pure precepts
Upon returning to Chung Tai, the newly ordained bhikshus and bhikshunis assembled in the Great Majesty Hall to unfold their nisidanas and prostrate in gratitude to the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and senior monastics. With utmost respect, they announced the successful completion of their ordination ceremony and their return to the monastery as fully ordained monastics. They also prostrated to Venerable Abbot Jianying and requested his compassionate teaching.
Abbot Jianying offered his congratulations to the newly ordained monastics. He emphasized the profound significance of the occasion, which marks both the culmination of the Mahayana Buddhist ordination process, and also a new phase in their spiritual journey. He reminded them that the precepts form the foundation of every monastic community—completing the Triple Platform Ordination signifies their willingness to uphold the precepts with sincerity and devotion.
During his talk, Abbot Jianying also mentioned that Grand Master Weichueh instructed his disciples to practice the Three Links of Cultivation–scripture study, meritorious service, and meditation. Upholding the precepts is the foundation of these three links.
The Abbot went on to say that the life of Grand Master Weichueh serves as an exemplary model for our cultivation. The Grand Master truly embodied the Chung Tai Vow of Practice. “Manifesting outwardly as an ordained monk” is the starting point, but true fulfillment of this vow requires us to “accord inwardly with the unsurpassed seal.” This seal refers to the Chan mind, this very mind of intrinsic purity. Every action we perform with body, speech, and mind is an opportunity to “accord inwardly with the unsurpassed seal.”
“Manifesting outwardly as an ordained monk” and “according inwardly with the unsurpassed seal,” is how we complete our personal cultivation. But to go one step further, we must also “practice unwaveringly the Bodhisattva Way,” and create positive affinity, dharma affinity, and pure affinity with all sentient beings in the process of liberating them from samsara. This act of “guiding all sentient beings to enlightenment,” also extends to our internal world. It involves liberating the “sentient beings” in one’s own mind. If we wish to truly return to the fundamental principle when engaging in worldly activities, we must start by observing the precepts.
