Dharma Drum Mountain Strikes its Lotus Bell 108 Times on Lunar New Year’s Eve to Pray for World Peace

Updated February 16, 2022

Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM) Lunar New Year's Eve Bell Ringing and Prayer Ceremony has been held for sixteen consecutive years. Starting at 9 pm on January 31--- Lunar New Year's eve--- the live event was broadcast online in its entirety. At the stroke of midnight, DDM Abbot President Venerable Guo Huei led the Sangha representatives in completing 108 resonating strikes on the Lotus Bell. Praying together with the live stream audiences, the Sangha aspired for all to pray "arouse the great bodhi mind, benefiting others is benefiting yourself. Emulate the myriad ways of a bodhisattva, nourishing our world with merit and wisdom".

In order to clear away the old to pave the way for the new, bid farewell to the dismay brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, and begin the Lunar New Year with confidence and hope, DDM invited renowned singer Chyi Yu for the first time to this annual event to sing at the Lotus Bell Tower in DDM World Center for Buddhist Education in Jinshan, New Taipei City, Taiwan. With her melodious and ethereal voice, Chyi Yu sang 3 songs: "Morning Has Broken", "Farewell" and "Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon". The lyrics of the latter two songs were written respectively by Master Hong Yi and Chan Master Wumen Huikai of the Song Dynasty, in the hopes of encouraging people to confront life's ups and downs with a positive and grateful attitude, as well as to look on the bright side of every situation, making "every day a good day" and "every time a good time".

"The Great Bodhi Mind" is DDM's annual theme for its social care for 2022. In his Dharma talk at the event, Venerable Guo Huei quoted DDM founder Master Sheng Yen's words to encourage the public to utilize the Bodhi Mind to dissolve the self, giving themselves to benefit others and the general public. He pointed out that the Great Bodhi Mind means to be grateful for what you've been given and repay in kind; that is, to benefit others is to benefit oneself. The Great Bodhi Mind is the motivational energy that propels us to learn the great compassion and wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, so that we can benefit others with compassion, as well as dissolve our egos with wisdom.

"Kindness and compassion have no enemies, wisdom engenders no vexations; this is what our modern world crucially needs nowadays", said Venerable Guo Huei. He further stated that compassion entails using empathy, tolerance and equanimity to resolve conflict and confrontation, while wisdom involves using the four steps to resolve any difficulties: "face it, accept it, deal with it, let it go". Venerable Guo Huei expressed his special gratitude and appreciation to the concerted efforts by the government and the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular to the healthcare professionals for their dedicated hard work, making Taiwan one of the safest countries from COVID in the world. At the end of the event, Venerable Guo Huei sincerely prayed that, under the protection and blessings of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors and Devi kings, the pandemic that is ravaging the world would soon come to an end.

Text: Ya-ying Ling (林雅櫻)
Photos: Shun-de Liao (廖順得), Ya-ying Ling (林雅櫻)
Translation: Dharma Drum Mountain Translation Team 
Editing: Cheng-yu Chang (張振郁), Keith Brown