Special Topics
Avatamsaka Hall
The Buddhist service conducted at the Avatamsaka Hall is led by two senior bhikshus. Practitioners reverently and silently read the 80 scrolls of the Avatamsaka Sutra that was translated by the Tripitaka Master Sramana Siksananda of Khotan in the Tang Dynasty.
The Avatamsaka Sutra, also referred to as the Huayen Sutra (華嚴經), is a far-reaching scripture in the Mahayana canon. It describes the state of perfect interfusion without any obstructions attained by buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to the ancient and virtuous ones, "If you don't read the Huayen Sutra, you won't know the wealth of Buddhism." If one can thoroughly understand and penetrate the 80 scrolls of the Huayen Sutra, one would have attained the "non-obstruction of principle and phenomena" and "non-obstruction of phenomena with other phenomena" and he would be at least a bodhisattva of first ground, if not of perfect equal enlightenment. Therefore, reciting the Huayen Sutra can open up great wisdom and allow the mind to tap into its rich potentials.