【Chung Tai Chan Monastery】05_Dharma Ceremonies 20250101

The Anniversary Ceremony of the Buddha’s Enlightenment and the Founding Abbot Pagoda Sweeping Memorial Service, 2025

The sutras state, “A mind of great compassion is the foundation of all Buddhas… Out of great compassion arises the bodhi mind, because of the bodhi mind, unsurpassed enlightenment is reached.”

Over 3,000 years ago, the Buddha attained supreme enlightenment on the night of Laba (the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month), illuminating the path to liberation. Following the Buddha’s compassionate vow, Venerable Weichueh dedicated his life to the Dharma, establishing Chung Tai Chan Monastery and transforming lives with his exemplary virtues.

On January 1, 2025, in commemoration of the Buddha’s enlightenment and in gratitude to the Founding Abbot, Chung Tai Chan Monastery held the Pagoda Sweeping Memorial Service. Over 8,300 disciples worldwide participated in person and via live stream, expressing deep reverence and appreciation.

At 9:30 AM, Venerable Abbot Jianying led monastic and lay representatives in the Hall of Patriarchs. With deep sincerity, the assembly chanted the Praise to the Founding Patriarch, offered flowers, incense, and tea, and prostrated three times before the patriarch’s relics. The Abbot then led the assembly to Deer Garden, where the congregation solemnly stood around the patriarch’s memorial pagoda amid gentle drizzles. Performing the pagoda sweeping, Abbot Jianying cleansed the pagoda as an act of devotion before leading the chanting of the Heart Sutra and the sacred name of Vairocana Buddha. The Abbot then delivered the Memorial Service Dharma Verse, with the assembly kneeling in deep reverence, attentively receiving the teachings. The assembly then chanted three times "Namo Beloved Teacher Bodhisattva Mahasattva" before circumambulating the pagoda in respect.

1–3. Venerable Abbot Jianying led monastic and lay representatives in the Hall of Patriarchs. The Abbot, offered flowers, incense, and tea, and prostrated three times before the patriarch’s relics.
4–5. With deep sincerity, the Venerable Abbot led the assembly in chanting the Praise to the Founding Patriarch, expressing gratitude for the patriarch’s virtues.

At 11:00 AM, the Anniversary Ceremony of the Buddha’s Enlightenment commenced, with participants chanting the Precept and Serenity Incense Praise, the Heart Sutra, and the Praise of the Buddha. The Abbot highlighted the connection between the Eight Precepts Ceremony and the Pagoda Sweeping Ceremony, emphasizing the true spirit of the Dharma in honoring the Buddha and the Founding Patriarch. He encouraged everyone to purify their body, speech, and mind, cultivate gratitude, and uphold the Way, which cannot be parted from even for an instant, as it is our inherent pure mind. The Abbot quoted Zen Master Liao’an Qingyu of the Yuan Dynasty, who once declared during a Laba Dharma talk:

‘Every day is the Buddha’s birthday; every day is the Buddha’s enlightenment day. The flowers in the sky cannot be plucked, yet the moon in the water is beautiful to behold.’

1–4. The fourfold assembly gathered in Perfect Illumination Lecture Hall, Prajna Lecture Hall, Bodhi Lecture Hall, and Perfect Enlightenment Chan Hall, engaging in diligent practice to honor the grand master’s kindness.

The Buddha exists in every moment. The pure mind is unborn and undying. This self-natured Buddha has always been present. If we turn inward and reflect, letting go of delusions, enlightenment is immediately at hand.” The Abbot then offered his New Year’s blessings, encouraging everyone to "sweep away the entanglements of the mind, manifest the pure mind at all times, and engage in the Bodhisattva path."

On this auspicious occasion commemorating the Buddha’s enlightenment, the fourfold assembly practiced diligently in unity, vowing to follow the teachings of the Buddha and the Founding Abbot and to faithfully observe the Founding Abbot’s final instructions: preserve the monastery, deepen our cultivation, and perpetuate the Dharma.

1–3. Venerable Abbot Jianying reverently circumambulated the pagoda three times, then sequentially swept its top, body, and base.

4–5. Venerable Abbot Jianying led the fourfold assembly before the pagoda, chanting the Heart Sutra and “Namo Beloved Teacher Bodhisattva Mahasattva” three times in harmony.
　 6. The fourfold assembly respectfully circumambulated the pagoda, expressing remembrance of the founding patriarch.
　 7. The Anniversary Ceremony of the Buddha’s Enlightenment commenced, with participants chanting the Heart Sutra, and the Praise of the Buddha.

8–9. The Venerable Abbot Jianying delivered a Dharma talk, encouraging all to reflect inward, allowing their inherent pure mind to manifest at all times—so that every day is the Buddha’s birthday and every day is the Buddha’s enlightenment day.

The Anniversary Ceremony of the Buddha’s Enlightenment and the Founding Abbot Pagoda Sweeping Memorial Service, 2025

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