DDM Global News
One-Hundred-Day Online Chanting of Great Compassion Dharani for Merit Transfer
During the pandemic, Dharma Drum Mountain lunched a “Chanting Great Compassion Dharani via LINE” event to pray for blessings. After nearly 100 days of practice, devotees across the globe accumulated altogether over six million chants of the Great Compassion Dharani, and more than 270 million chants of the Buddha's name. On July 12, the Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony took place at the Grand Buddha Hall of DDM World Center for Buddhist Education. Led by Ven. Guo Huei, Abbot President of DDM, the DDM Sangha and 80 devotee representatives dedicated the merit of their compassionate chanting to all beings in the world. The ceremony was live-streamed, with more than three thousand participants joining this online group practice.
Guided by the monastics leading the solemn and calming ceremony, participants followed the rite to practice prostrations, make vows, repent, recite the dharani, and dedicate the merit by praying: “May Guanyin Bodhisattva safeguard beings in all realms, helping them to develop in wisdom and compassion even when suffering misfortune, and to attain liberation from suffering with compassion and wisdom.” Before concluding the assembly, the abbot president led participants to dedicate the merit to those who are being affected by the pandemic, wars, as well as natural or man-made disasters.
The abbot president then went on to explain that the key requirement for practicing Guanyin Bodhisattva's methods lies in cultivating a compassionate mind. One can start with developing sympathy and empathy, and then gradually learn to give of oneself without seeking anything for return. “Praying to Guanyin Bodhisattva not only protects our body and mind, but, most importantly, also helps us develop our compassion, helping ourselves and others through our own practice.”
The abbot president also said that the pandemic reflects a collective karma shared by all of humanity. With the worldwide numbers of confirmed cases and the death toll still rising, although Taiwan hasn't actually been greatly impacted, we should nevertheless practice repentance and make good wishes for the sake of all other people. When every one of us can do more good deeds and sow seeds of merit purifying our body-mind and society, understanding that the pandemic is a normal phenomenon in terms of impermanence, we can then live at ease and in peace.
Huang Qiu-Lian, who works for the pandemic counseling hotline service at the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, often receives phone calls from people in home quarantine. Some of them are worried about their own health, while some about their family members living abroad. Therefore, she vowed to recite the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva one million times, as a prayer to every caller, wishing them to be free of disasters.
Text: He, Xiao-Qi (何筱淇)
Photos: Li, Dong- Yang (李東陽)
Translation: Hsiao, Chen-An (蕭宸安)
Editing: Chang, Chia-Cheng (張家誠)