On Jan 1, to send off the past year and greet the New Year’s Day, Bohyeonsa Temple Dallas offered lit candles, 1,080 prostrations, bell ringing, and a morning Buddhist ceremony, while each participant made New Year’s vows. On Jan. 22, the Lunar New Year’s Day, all participants offered a joint memorial ceremony to mark the New Year, after which devotees offered New Year’s bows to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and monastics. They then shared rice cake and dumpling soup, mung bean pancakes, and assorted jeon, reminiscing of warm memories of their hometowns. On Feb. 26, they offered a precepts ceremony to mark the Buddha’s Renunciation Day, and entered their 10th spring practice period which lasted 49 days. The precepts ceremony has been an established regular annual event since Ven. Jiam took office as director of the temple’s Seon Center, making this the 10th such ceremony.

In addition, about 90 people of the fourfold assembly from a Vietnamese temple in Houston visited Bohyeonsa Temple. They prayed for the successful completion of Bohyeonsa’s Buddhist projects, and conveyed their donations, offerings and prayers.