Eight-Precept Retreat at Fo Guang Shan Zu Lai Temple in Brazil

by Dao Cheng, São Paulo, Brazil

Fo Guang Shan Zu Lai Temple in Brazil held the 2026 Eight Precepts retreat on October 24 and 25. Despite the event coinciding with the second round of the presidential election, 34 individuals set aside all worldly concerns to uphold the one-day and one-night monastic precepts. The participants ranged in age from 15 to over 60, with educational backgrounds reaching as high as a doctorate. Their professions included journalists, psychological counselors, lawyers, engineers, analysts, social workers, and urban planners. The retreat provided simultaneous interpretation in Portuguese, and nearly half of the participants were local Brazilians.

Venerable Miao You, Head Abbess of Fo Guang Shan in South America, explained the merit of upholding the Eight Precepts. Renunciation is a practice of benefiting self and others; in essence, taking the precepts is about not infringing upon others, thereby purifying the three karmas of body, speech, and mind.

The Venerable taught from The True Meaning of the Dharma: Faith and Wisdom, illustrating the levels of faith and emphasizing that one should aim for Right Faith. The criteria for evaluating faith include: alignment with the Truth, historical basis, the elevation of character, and adherence to the precepts. The precepts, far from being a fetter, are in fact a source of freedom.

Huang Lingling, president of the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) Brazil Chapter Subchapter 1, shared that she discovered putting down her mobile phone was not difficult; instead, it improved her sleep quality, purified her body and mind, and reduced her attachments. Zhu Ailing, president of subchapter 6, who had missed the opportunity to participate several times, said that the retreat allowed her to see and reflect on her own restless temperament, and she hopes to nurture this state of mind to improve her relationship with her children. Zhang Yufang, president of subchapter 3, who assists at the service desk every weekend, expressed her gratitude for the support of her fellow volunteers, which allowed her to focus on taking the precepts. She felt the preciousness of becoming a monastic and aspires to treat the precepts as her teacher in daily life.

There were 13 people taking refuge in the Triple Gem during the retreat. The two youngest were cousins: 15-year-old Alicia Inoue and 16-year-old Heloísa Inoue Galante de Moraes. At Alicia’s invitation, Heloísa and her mother, Cristina Tosi Inoue, also participated. Alicia shared that the most profound experience for her was the repentance ceremony; she became aware of her past mistakes and felt grateful for the opportunity to face them squarely, repent, and learn how to improve herself.