Special Topics
Three Important Days Related to Guanyin Bodhisattva
In Buddhist classics, Avalokiteśvara, or Guanyin Bodhisattva, is described as a great Bodhisattva with compassion and wisdom, because she vowed to alleviate suffering, respond to any prayers, and deliver sentient beings anywhere in the Saha World. Through The Stories of Guanyin's Efficacious Responses and her biography published centuries ago, Guanyin has been integrated into Chinese folk beliefs and has become a well-known Bodhisattva. In the lunar calendar, there are three important ...
Practice Diligently On Amitabha Buddha's Birthday
Amitabha Buddha's Birthday November 17 of the Lunar calendar is regarded as the birthday of Amitabha Buddha, founder of Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. According to historical documents, this day was actually the birthday of Yongming Yanshou (904~975), a Chan master who lived during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. Yongming Yanshou not only attained liberation through Chan practice, but also recited Amitabha Buddha's name 100,000 times every day in orde...
Celebrating Medicine Buddha's Birthday
Medicine Buddha's Birthday and Medicine Buddha Chanting Service After Medicine Buddha was introduced to China, it became popular among royal families and citizens, especially because the Medicine Buddha Sutra mentions the merits of avoiding calamity, achieving longevity, eliminating suffering, etc. According to the 3rd chapter of Record of the Verified Meaning of the Pure Standards of Pai-chang, the Medicine Buddha Chanting Service includes 1) Making offerings to the Medic...
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Birthday
The meaning of the word "Ksitigarbha" in Chinese is Earth Store (Dìzàng; 地藏). After the religious belief in Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was first introduced in China, because Kim Gyo-gak, a monk from the Korean kingdom of Silla, was regarded as the incarnation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, more and more people developed faith in this Bodhisattva and his famous quote, "I vow not to attain Buddhahood until the Hell is empty." became even more famous than before. It...
Yulanpen Festival: The Festival Related to Repaying Kindness
Yulanpen Festival July 15 in the Lunar calendar marks the Yulanpen Festival, one of the most important Buddhist festivals. It originated from the story which recounts how Maudgalyayana saved his mother. According to the Yulanpen Sutra, Maudgalyayana, one of the Buddha's disciples, saw with his Divine eye (dibba-cakkhu) that his mother became a hungry ghost after death, and suffered endless tortures. He couldn't bear to see his mother suffer starvation, so he brought a basi...
Bodhi Day: Buddha's Enlightenment Day
December 8 of the Lunar calendar is the day when Chan Buddhists eat Laba congee. How does it relate to Bodhi Day? It is said that after years of practicing asceticism, Siddhartha had become as thin as a stick. He gave up such an extreme ascetic practice, because it didn't at all help him liberate from suffering. Dragging his weak body to Phalgu River, he fell down by the river. Witnessing this, a female shepherd gave him a bowl of gruel made of grains, fruit, and water. Siddhartha rest...
Practice on Monthly Fasting Days and Experience the Monastic Life
Six Fasting Days The Sanskrit term for fasting, Upavasatha, means "to cultivate good karma and lead a life of purity" Ancient Indian legend maintains that, on fasting days, hundreds of ghosts gained power and took advantage of humans. Thus, during these days, people abstained from meat, upheld precepts, fasted, and performed good deeds to prevent ghosts from ushering disasters. In contemporary Buddhist traditions, fasting days are considered the days when Buddhists dilige...