- We would appreciate volunteers to help after the ceremony.
- All our programs are free of charge. We are supported by your generous donations.
MEDICINE BUDDHA CEREMONY
There are many practices leading to enlightenment, each suiting people with different needs and dispositions. The Medicine Buddha Ceremony is particularly effective for those seeking relief from ailments of body and mind. In the ceremony, participants gather in a buddha hall specifically adorned for the occasion, and chant The Sutra on the Original Vows and Merits of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata. According to the sutra, chanting with single-minded concentration and utmost sincerity brings the following benefits:
First, those who suffer from physical ailments, or are poor and deprived, or who often encounter misfortunes will find relief from suffering, gain material abundance, and increase their blessings. Second, those who have broken the precepts, the rules of conduct set by the Buddha, can alleviate the karma resulting from their transgressions.
When the Medicine Buddha was practicing the Bodhisattva Way, he vowed to help the sick and poor reach enlightenment. He made twelve great vows specifying how he would abate their suffering with expedient means before setting them on the path to buddhahood. Attending the Medicine Buddha Ceremony is an expedient means to increase our blessings and bring relief to bodily illnesses. These, however, are only temporary blessings. To realize the true benefits of the ceremony, we must cultivate the mind to be “undefiled, free of anger, malice and discrimination, and give rise to the wish to bring benefits, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings with kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.”
The verse above is how the Medicine Buddha Sutra describes the buddha mind. With the wisdom of emptiness, it no longer attaches to any phenomena; with the compassion and vows to relieve the suffering of others, it is free from anger and malice. When we chant, practice, and live every moment of our lives in abidance with the buddha mind, we will surely attain enlightenment.
BLESSING CEREMONY & MEMORIAL SERVICE
In a Blessing Ceremony, participants respectfully invite the Three Jewels to preside over the formal chanting of sutras and mantras as well as other ceremonial activities. Through the compassionate power of the Three Jewels and with a mind of utmost sincerity and respect, we dedicate merits for a harmonious world and to dispel karmic obstacles. Blessing Ceremonies help us and our families achieve longevity, avoid misfortune, increase merits and wisdom, and have our affairs go smoothly, so peace and purity can fill the Dharma realm.
Memorial Services are dedicated to the deceased and karmic adversaries from the past. By dedicating merits to them, participants help remove their karmic obstacles, so they can transcend suffering, experience joy, and be reborn in a wholesome place.