"The kids here who come from reform school have had a big impact on me," says the abbot, who gives classes in Buddhist doctrines at the school. One-third of its students are still in elementary school. "Some kids get released but then have nowhere to go," he notes. By taking them in as novice monks, the monastery is giving them space to grow.
「少輔院的孩子給我很大的衝擊」，經常赴少輔院弘法的智浩法師，驚見少年輔育院裡有三分之一僅是國小的孩童，「有的孩子可以出去了，卻不知道要去哪裡」，他說，收小沙彌只是提供孩子一個成長的園地。