Time to reflect and look inside themselves for the one hundred and fifty participants of the annual Short-term Monastic Retreat at Hsi Lai Temple, during which the male participants shaved their heads and took the ten sramanera precepts and the women took the six siksamana precepts. The participants had to observe silence and adhere to strict rules during the week with a regimen of early morning chanting, doing various forms of meditation, taking meditative meals, listening to lectures, and doing chores. Venerable Master Hsing Yun was on hand to talk to the participants on the meaning and benefits of being a monastic telling them to know themselves and practice compassion and wisdom with diligence.

Before the retreat ended on Sunday, many participants coming from different parts of the United States and Canada, shared their thoughts and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to cultivate. A number of them longed for a monastic life and wanted to practice more. While some were first-time participants, quite a few had participated in the retreat more than three times. Everyone felt the joy of the Dharma and many vowed to come back again for next year's retreat.