Experience sharing

Heartfelt Blessings Accrued through Robust Recitations

Over the past weekend from the 12th to the 13th of August, 2023, I attended the Semi-Annual Dharma Service here at Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre, including a recitation of the Fundamental Vows of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbharaja Sūtra and the Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance Ritual.
 
For any Buddhist, getting the opportunity to congregate with fellow practitioners and practise the Dharma is a true blessing, and this was no different, though on this occasion we had the especially good fortune to be led by Dharma Master Guo Guang, who had travelled a long way to lead the Dharma service. On a warm Saturday morning, we found ourselves congregating together in the neatly decorated hall, the fruits of a shared labour from the previous day, and set our minds on the Dharma and Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbharaja Sūtra is a beautiful scripture and can be chanted in a single service alongside other practices. Despite the fast Chinese recitation proving difficult to keep up with in some sections, the Dharma being expressed by each character shone through in the end and I’m very glad to have gotten an opportunity to recite it in full, something I’d never done before.
 
A particularly memorable portion of the service was the recitation of Kṣitigarbha's name while circumambulating. I've always had a particular inclination towards chanting the names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Done in a group, our shared pace in chanting and movement helps keep concentration on the name which, done properly, calms the mind and brings many benefits. I can’t read minds, but I think those benefits reached many people in the hall that day.
 
The following day, we gathered together for the Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance Ritual, which I found to be particularly wonderful in its content and presentation. The styles of chanting employed were varied and beautiful, especially when the sides of the room traded places as the other prostrated, the ear-filling bass of the male-dominated side making way for the high and passionate chanting of the female-dominated side and back again. When finishing a prostration while chanting the name of a Buddha, we would find ourselves slipping back into the chant on a highly stressed 佛 (fó), the character meaning "Buddha," bringing our minds back to Buddha and his enlightenment.
 
Our intermittent praises to a whole list of well-known Buddhas and bodhisattvas stood out to me as a particularly great practise that brought many benefits. Every prostration we made brought humility and joy. I also feel compelled to mention the lectures given by Dharma Master Guo Guang which provided many insights into the practices we were performing and numerous interesting or inspiring stories, including some about this temple's past.
 
The Dharma service as a whole was certainly a spiritually fulfilling experience and I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone behind the event.
 
Written by Kieran 2023.08.18
Photo: Vancouver Chan Meditation Centre 2023.08.18