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十月二十四日（農曆九月十九日），又有二十人在萬佛聖城落髮出家，當天既是觀世音菩薩出家紀念法會，又是法界佛教總會創辦人上宣下化老和尚出家紀念日。這二十名新出家眾在這天落髮搭衣，別具意義。他們的親友紛紛前來觀禮並攝影，再加上兩百餘位參加觀世音菩薩出家紀念法會的善信一同唱誦隨喜，使萬佛聖城的大殿洋溢著熱鬧而不喧嘩的祝福氣氛。
這二十位新出家眾計有八位男眾，十二位女眾，年齡自十五歲到七十餘歲不等，由宣公上人座下的僧團集體為他們剃度。剃度儀式一開始，這二十名新出家眾首先禮佛三拜，因為他們必須「觀想父母在前，至誠代父母禮佛三拜。」儀式進行中，法師們提醒這批佛門生力軍：「今剃髮出家，要發廣大心，上求佛道，下化眾生」，這二十名新出家眾的法名是：親慶、親豪、親福、親冠、明行、親龍、親安、親羅、親茂、親緣、親頤、親善、親禮、親賢、親雲、親暉、親陽、親勇、親毅、親泰。其中小沙彌明行原已在法國出家，當時僅受八戒，直到今天才正式受沙彌十戒。
二十名新出家眾是法界佛教總會第二批在宣公上人涅槃後報名出家，並成就勝緣的佛門新血。在他們之前曾有二十三名善信於一九九八年十一月在萬佛聖城出家，這批新出家眾將在萬佛聖城集訓若幹時日後，再分派法總各道場服務。
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On October 24 (the 19th of the ninth lunar month), twenty more people shaved their heads and renounced the householder's life. The occasion coincided with the commemoration of the day that Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Venerable Master Hua renounced the householder's life. It was especially meaningful to see these twenty new novices getting their heads shaved and putting on their robes. Their relatives and friends came in droves to watch and take pictures, and the two hundred participants in the Guanyin Bodhisattva's Leaving Home Celebration recited along with them. The Buddha Hall at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas bubbled with excitement and joy.
Of the twenty novices, eight are male and twelve are female. Their ages range from fifteen to over seventy. Members of the Sangha under the Venerable Master together shaved the heads of the new novices. At the beginning of the head-shaving ceremony, the novices imagined their parents in front of them and sincerely bowed thrice to the Buddhas on their parents' behalf. During the ceremony, the Dharma Masters reminded these new novices, "Now that you have shaved your heads and left the home-life, you must make a vast resolve to seek the Buddha Way and transform living beings." The Dharma names of these new novices are: Chin Chin, Chin Hao, Chin Fu, Chin Guan, Ming Heng, Chin Lung, Chin An, Chin Luo, Chin Mao, Chin Yuan, Chin Yi, Chin Shan, Chin Li, Chin Xian, Chin Yuri, Chin Hui, Chin Yang, Chin Yung, Chin Yi, Chin Tai. Shramanera Ming Heng had left the home-life earlier in France but had received only the Eight Precepts then; on this day he finally received the Ten Shramanera Precepts.
These twenty are the second group of Buddhist laity who have applied to leave the home-life and been accepted since the Venerable Master Hua's Nirvana. The first group of twenty-three left home in November 1998 at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. After the new novices undergo a period of intensive training, they will be sent to serve at various Wav-places.
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