Category: Hua Zang Si

Dharma Assembly at Hua Zang Si — Holy Birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva

linda chang1 Comment

Dharma Assembly at Hua Zang Si — Holy Birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva

January 1st in the Chinese lunar calendar, is chinese Spring festival, it is the biggest holiday in china. It is also the holy birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva – the next Buddha in the saha world. This is a special and joyful holiday that is celebrated by many. Hua Zang Si in San Francisco held a Dharma Assembly to celebrate this important occasion. It was the first Dharma Assembly of the year and it was held on a beautiful sunny day. Many laypersons participated in the event.

At the entrance of the temple is an oversize marvelous statue representation of a jolly, laughing Buddha: Maitreya Bodhisattva (the next Buddha in this Saha world). It is such a warm welcoming sign. The big belly not only means jolly, it also means tolerating the intolerable things in the world. So when you look at the statue, you will start to feel that learning Buddhism is happy and kind.

The Dharma Assembly was an opportunity for people to come together and celebrate the teachings of Maitreya Bodhisattva. It was a time for reflection and meditation, as well as a chance to learn more about the teachings of Buddhism. The atmosphere was filled with positivity and joy, as people came together to celebrate this important holiday.

In Chinese culture, Maitreya Bodhisattva is seen as a symbol of joy and tolerance. As practitioners of Buddhism, we are encouraged to strive to be like the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas by cultivating a broad mind, open heart, and great tolerance.

One of the key principles of Buddhism is patience and forbearance, particularly under insult. This is seen as a key aspect of self-cultivation and it is important to remember that everything in the dharma realms can change from ordinary to holy. This means that even difficult situations can be transformed and overcome through the practice of patience and tolerance.

Patience and tolerance are not just passive qualities, but rather active ones that require effort and practice. We must actively cultivate them in our daily lives and strive to maintain them even in difficult situations. Through this practice, we can transform our own minds and hearts, becoming more like the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas that we strive to emulate.

At the Dharma Assembly, we chanted the Eighty-eight holy Buddha name jeweled repentance sutra, in hopes that the Buddhas will wash away all of our sins and negative karmas. After the chanting, we offered a meal to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The event concluded with a dharma talk given by Dharma Master Ruohui.

During her talk, Dharma Master Ruohui emphasized the importance of faith, vows, and actions for disciples of Buddhism. She explained that faith is the foundation of our practice, and that with strong faith, we will have the determination to follow the Buddha’s teachings and put them into action in our lives.

The Dharma Assembly was a meaningful event where participants not only had the opportunity to reflect on their own spiritual growth but also to make an impact on the world around them. During the assembly, the participants returned the merit to all living beings, holding the hope that they shall be rid of suffering, obtain happiness, and have the opportunity to listen to authentic Buddha Dharma.

The act of returning merit is an important aspect of Buddhist practice as it is believed that by dedicating the positive energy generated through our spiritual practice to the benefit of others, we can help bring about peace and prosperity in the world. By returning merit to all living beings, participants were able to contribute to the collective well-being of the world and make a positive impact on the lives of others.

Furthermore, the participants also held the hope that by listening to authentic Buddha Dharma, they will be able to perfect their fortune and wisdom, leading to a more prosperous and peaceful world for all. This is the ultimate goal of Buddhism, to help all beings to find inner peace, happiness and liberation from suffering.

Dharma Assembly at Hua Zang Si — Holy Birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva

Link: https://peacelilysite.com/2023/01/26/dharma-assembly-at-hua-zang-si-holy-birthday-of-maitreya-bodhisattva/

#Buddha#Buddhism#BuddhistDisciple#MaitreyaBodhisattva#HuaZangSi#Tolerance#Cultivation#Assembly#ChineseLunarCalendar#ChineseNewYear

H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Day

linda chang1 Comment

H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Day

On January 19, 2011, Mayor Vincent C. Gray, the mayor of our nation’s capital Washington, DC, personally signed and issued a proclamation in which January 19, 2011 was proclaimed as His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III Day.

        In that proclamation, Mayor Gray called upon all residents of Washington, DC to join him in saluting H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III! The mayor stated that H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III has, through his selfless and exceptional work, spread the word of peace to all those in his presence. The mayor commended H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III for his vast accomplishments that have helped to strengthen the foundation of a peaceful society, in not only His Holiness’s region of the world but in the Washington, DC community as well. Additionally, Mayor Gray praised H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha IIIas the World Buddhist Leader who ceaselessly, compassionately, and without remuneration uses his wisdom, talents and moral character to help those in need.

The video below has a brief introduction of H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, that helps you to know some great achievements and teachings of the Buddha.

Buddha taught that all living beings have Buddha-nature, and that we shall treat them as family members and relatives. To celebrate this very special day, Hua Zang Si held a Dharma Assembly to release captive lives and pray for blessings at a beautiful port in San Rafael CA , on January 19th 2023. Many laypersons in the bay area and central CA participated the event.

Namo H.H. Dorje Chang BuddhaIII and Namo Shakyamuni Buddha taught us :”No matter where it is and when it is, if we see living beings in horrible fears and calamitous adversity, we must save them. Therefore, for any lives that are facing the urgent and terrible fear of going to be hurt or killed, we shall save them out and release them into an environment that suits them, so as to let them regain the freedom and be free from fears. There is a phrase that says, ‘I love to see them live, and I dare not see them die.’ Based on our compassion and empathy, we want to endow living beings with happiness and rid them of sufferings.

With the Dharma Assembly, participants returned the merit to all living beings, holding the hope that they shall be rid of suffering, obtain happiness, and have the opportunity to listen to authentic Buddha Dharma, perfecting fortune and wisdom, and leading to prosperity and peace throughout the world.

H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III Day

Link: https://peacelilysite.com/2023/01/20/h-h-dorje-chang-buddha-iii-day/

#DorjeChangBuddhaIII #HHDorjeChangBuddhaIII #FishRelease#HuaZangSi #HHDorjeChangBuddhaIIIDay

Amitabha Holy Birthday Assembly at Hua Zang Si

linda changLeave a comment

Amitabha Holy Birthday Assembly at Hua Zang Si

This December 4th, a Dharma Assembly for the Holy Birthday of Amitabha Buddha was held at Hua Zang Si, located at San Francisco. About two hundred people attended the assembly. The weather was very sunny, clean and fresh after heavy rain the day before. It was a very happy time. Ever since the pandemic period started, Hua Zang Si has been closed to the public. This was a precious opportunity for buddhist disciples to get together.

The main venue was held at the second floor of the temple, the Amitabha Buddha Hall. The twenty-one foot tall statue of Amitabha Buddha (designed by H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III) has been generally recognized as the most majestic Buddhist statue in the world. It is an extremely solemn sight. The Buddha’s eyes seem alive, looking down at all beings full of compassion and love.

First we chanted Buddha Expounding Amitabha Sutra，then we made the meal offering to the Buddhas and Buddhisattvas, at the end Master RuoHui RuZun gave us a short Dharm speech and we all prayed to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to grant blessings and protections to all beings in the world.

Amitabha Holy Birthday Assembly at Hua Zang Si

I greatly enjoyed the assembly, so much so that after it ended I still didn’t want to leave. I stayed and helped to clean up the site. I also prostrated to the Amitabha Buddha and kneel down and pray wholeheartedly: Please Buddha save me from the birth-death cycle, please take me to the western paradise. 

I always wondered how this magnificent Amitabha Statue was installed in the hall. I found out an amazing story behind it. The sitting statue of Amitabha Buddha is inside the grand hall on the second floor. The statue of Amitabha Buddha was paid for with H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III‘s money from selling his paintings. The molding of the statue was also based on the blueprint drawn by the Buddha. During the process of molding,  H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III modified the model eight times in person. All places that did not conform to the stipulation of the dharma were corrected and re-molded. After the completion, this statue was judged to be the most solemn Buddha statue in the world. The height of the statue of Amitabha Buddha was 6.7 meters (22 feet) and two narrow stairways with 180-degree turns have to be passed to go upstairs, the manufactured Buddha statue had to be first cut into several pieces and reassembled together after moving onto the second floor. Therefore, this statue was divided into seven parts and shipped in three containers to Hua Zang Si (the temple).

After the Buddha statue was unloaded, everyone in the temple were participating in carrying each part of the statue respectfully and carefully to the second floor. We were surprised to find that the sizes of the seven components all fit correctly into the narrow space in the stairway and all turns were made smoothly on the way to the second floor. In addition, there was no damage to the surface paint coating or any other place of the Buddha statue, thanks to the blessings from all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as dharma protectors.

The process of installing the Buddha statues into seats and surface gold-gilding went very smoothly. There were no signs of reassembly. We all happily stood in front of the Buddha statues with unlimited reverence in our minds. Such solemn grand Buddha statue can only be seen at Hua Zang Si in San Francisco of America, because it was made under the personal guidance from  H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III!

Namo H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III !

Namo Amitabha !

Amitabha Holy Birthday Assembly at Hua Zang Si

Link: https://peacelilysite.com/2022/12/15/amitabha-holy-birthday-assembly-at-hua-zang-si/

#DorjeChangBuddhaIII #HHDorjeChangBuddhaIII #HuaZangSi#SanFrancisco#AmitabhaBuddha#WesternParadise#BuddhaStatue#BuddhaAssembly