A GROUP of 108 Buddhist devotees yesterday completed a weeklong retreat at Shanghai’s Jade Buddha Temple designed to help them to regain their spiritual balance in a hectic modern world.

　　For seven days, the participants were made to adhere to a strict regime that involved dressing in the garb of monks and nuns, rising at 5:30am each day to recite sutras before breakfast, sweeping the temple grounds and going to bed, after more prayers, at 8:30pm.

　　At meal times, they wore signs on their robes stating: “No talking.”

　　“The rituals aim to teach people to be modest and acknowledge the equality of all lives,” Shi Huijue, a senior monk and retreat mentor, told Shanghai Daily.

　　“We hope that during their stay they can be relieved of some of the burdens of the modern world and find tranquility in their hearts,” he said.

　　The retreat was the first of its kind to be held in Shanghai, but similar events are planned for the future, Shi said.

　　The week ended with the devotees becoming supplicants before the temple’s staff, holding up their wooden bowls in the hope of an offering of fruit.

　　Among the devotees was a single foreigner, Singaporean student Chan Mingyi, who said he signed up for the program in the hope it would help him to find some relief after experiencing a mental breakdown.

　　“I was looking for a place where I could calm down and find some meaning in my life,” he told Shanghai Daily, adding that he shaved his head on the eve of the final ceremony as a mark of respect.

　　“The retreat helped me to regain the warmth in my heart,” he said.

　　“I realized that my worth is not measured by knowledge or achievements, but by the tolerance and kindness I show to other people.”

　　A local businesswoman, who asked not to be named, said she was hoping that by learning more about Buddhism, she might be better equipped to manage the people who work for her.

　　“I think the strict discipline we learned about can be applied to the workplace,” she said, adding that she plans to make a present to her staff about her experiences when she returns to work.

　　Another participant, surnamed Ma, said that while the strict daily regime was quite tiring, the retreat was very rewarding.

　　“I didn’t realize how exhausting it would be, but while my body is tired, my heart is glad,” she said, adding that she has already applied to go on another course at the temple to learn more about Buddhism.

　　Each of the devotees paid 2,000 yuan (US$315) to attend the retreat, though all of the takings will be used to buy books for four elementary schools in impoverished regions of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Shi said.

　　He explained that it was necessary to charge for the retreat as the temple would otherwise have to finance it from the public donations it receives.

　　“These are given as alms to the monks, and are not meant to fund the activities of lay people,” he said.