Buddha Bathing Ceremony on Cloud, Gratitude for the Three Compassions.
Reading Guide : Huang Fang Wen
Reading Scope : Following Master’s Footsteps, Year 2022, Summer Scroll, Date 6th May to 12th May.
Translator : Ho Joo Lim ( MY) 何裕霖 本鴻
Editor : Ho Joo Lim ( MY) 何裕霖 本鴻
Proof Read: Ong Mooi Lin (MY) 王美龄
Every year in month of May, the second Sunday is the day of Buddha Birthday, Mother’s day and Global Tzu Chi day, the 3 in 1 Celebration of Buddha Bathing Ceremony. Do you know which year Tzu Chi Foundation started to have this Buddha Bathing Ceremony? And which year started the 3 in 1 Celebration? Through the “Dharma Sound Chapter – The history of Tzu Chi Buddha Bathing Ceremony” (0:00-1:34), able to understand more about the event.
Tzu Chi Buddha Bathing Event Chronology:
28th May 1996 Buddha Bathing Ceremony held at Hualien Nursing College
22nd May 1999 First mobile Buddha Bathing Ceremony at Tzu Chi Hualien Hospital
Sept 1999 Taiwan Government gazette every Sunday of 2nd week of May as Buddha Birthday
Festival
14th May 2000 Buddha Bathing Event held at plaza in front of Hualien Jing Si Hall, since then this would become the 3 in 1 Celebration Day for global Tzu Chi volunteers.
Year 2005 Tzu Chi 39th Anniversary, event held at Tzu Chi Taipei Hospital in conjunction with opening of the hospital.
Year 2006 Tzu Chi 40th Anniversary, Global Tzu Chi together held the Buddha Bathing Event.
Year 2007 Tzu Chi 41th Anniversary, first time grand scale Buddha Bathing Event of 10000 held at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza.
Year 2009 Tzu Chi 43rd Anniversary, about 300 Venerable Masters from various monasteries invited for Buddha Bathing Event at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza.
Year 2010, Tzu Chi 44rdAnniversary, the beginning of Iconographic Buddha Bathing Ceremony, at various places where the events are held, large scale motifs like Bodhi leaf etc is used, expressing the spiritual focus.
Year 2016 Tzu Chi 50th Anniversary, Buddha Bathing Ceremony site are held simultaneously at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza and Taipei Government Plaza.
Year 2020 – 2021 Due to unavoidable Covid 19 Pandemic, virtual online Buddha Bathing Ceremony are held instead.
With pandemic on-going for the last 3 years, the Buddha Bathing Ceremony is scaled down on 8th of May 2022. That day simultaneous online ceremony is held at Jing Si Abode Hualien and Linji Huguo Chan Temple, broadcasted worldwide by DaAi TV Station, to enable all people to perform the ceremony online instead of physical gatherings, attending the event from home. Taipei Linji Huguo Chan Temple for the consecutive 3 year joined online, there are over 90 Venerable Dharma Masters from numerous monasteries and temples congregate online to pray for blessings. That day, participation of a total of about 420，000 Tzu Chi volunteers from 59 countries online to pay gratitude for Buddha, our parents and sentient beings, praying for the world, wishing the pandemic ceases its wrath, hostilities of Russia – Ukraine war ended.
The “Dharma Sound Chapter” （0：30～2：18）Venerable Master Cheng Yen explained the purpose of Buddha Bathing:
“The most important aspect is to bring out the filial piety of everyone, as it is filial piety celebration, not only for mothers, it is also for all the fathers! Thus, we make it as filial piety for parents. Must let everyone realize, the one great purpose of Buddha coming to the human realm, anticipate to let the Buddha dharma, for the dharma water would nourishes sentient beings. When the hearts of the beings are nourished, having the dharma principles in their hearts. That is the intention of Buddha coming to the world. This is why we must celebrate, to celebrate we accept the true principles into our hearts. At this time, we should express out our sincerity and piousness, letting our heart to express the love and filial piety, for both doing good deeds and performing filial piety one shall not wait. For the grace of Buddha, the compassion of our parent and sentient beings. We should the heart to repay the grace and mercy at every moment of time and day.”
For the last 3 years, I’ve joined at the yearly ceremony, through the Cloud from Texas, United States, cherishing the opportunity to be with global Tzu Chi volunteers to imbibe the grace of Buddha, compassion of parent and for sentient beings.
On Mother‘s Day 4 years ago, I last spoke with my mother through the phone, remembering the my final words to her is “I love you!”. Since then, every 3 In 1 Celebration and Buddha Bathing Ceremony, each is a period of remembrance for my mother, the moment for me to determine the value of my life, and reaffirmed my gratitude for the grace and compassion of Buddha – Buddha bestow upon me the wisdom for life after life, letting me to know the principles, especially the impermanence and cause affinity karmic retribution. That is the reason, I am able to walk out of my pain in heart when mother passed away in the unexpected cause of accident (impernance), and to forgive the driver.
Gratitude for my parents to give me this life, of their meticulous care, being born as their blessed child. Went overseas for study after age 26, since then residing in foreign country, not able to accompany my parents, this is my only regret. Until encountering Tzu Chi at age 33, hearing the words of beloved Master Cheng Yen regarding “For doing good deeds and filial piety one shall not wait” and “Doing good deeds is performing filial piety”, which struck a chord in my mind, to immediately set out to make great vows and be with the masses, to truly perform Tzu Chi missions to repay parental compassion and care. At the time of her demise due to impermanence, I could give myself a pat on the back, done some good deeds, and lessen some of my remorse and grief.
In year 2020, father diagnosed to have prostatic cancer, my husband and I fulfilled the donating CEO for him, blessing him to be healthy in body and mind. At the same time, to know time is of paramount important to the one’s limited life for deeds in the human realm, using the virtuous deeds as token to repay the grace of Buddha, compassion of parents and sentient beings. Master Cheng Yen exhort everyone, to learn the true sincere love of Buddha for beings in the world, using the true love to express our sincerity and pious in our heart, for this love needs to benefit all beings in the world, respecting lives, not only for people but all animals, all living beings, to promote vegetarianism, for it have great benefits for the health of the body, saving the life of beings and peace to the world.
Since the last few years, Tzu Chi volunteers from Austin, Texas would promote vegetarianism to primary schools under the Blissful School Program. For the last 3 years of pandemic, unable to enter the school, the volunteers would wait outside the school gate, to let them take a prepacked vegetarian meal when they are returning home, instilling the healthy values of vegetarianism, protect lives and loving the earth, of course we would also share with them the various charity welfare footsteps from around the world. The teachers from the school are enthusiastic regarding the bamboo coin box concept, not only bringing their bamboo coin box, even inviting their friends and relatives to do the same, carrying the full heavy bamboo bank, sending their love by pouring it into the sea of merits and virtues. There is even a teacher brought a US$500 cheque to volunteer, sincerely thanking the volunteers for their efforts. Volunteers went into the school for promoting vegetarianism, at the same time inspiring the love in the teachers, to perform the Buddha Bathing Ceremony in the fullest meaning.
What is the true meaning of Buddha Bathing Ceremony? Is to have the patience to teach, letting everyone able to discover their own fallacies and wrongdoings, to truly repent in heart, to continue own practice and cultivation, not to be led by the one’s habits, to return to the true innate nature. If able to do so, then is it truly the best gift for Buddha Bathing.
Let’s all pray together : Pray for the harmony in the 4 elements , purify the hearts of people and peace to the world.
Gratitude for Buddha in showing the true path,
Abide in the Triple Gems by Practice in the path of Enlightenment,
Pious, sincere, upholding the precepts for world peace,
Leading all beings to peace and bliss.
Thank you for listening.
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