On May 22nd (the fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month), the 2024 Vassa Ceremony and the Avatamsaka Sutra Dharma Assembly began at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou.
At 8:30 am, the Lingyin Sangha gathered at the Medicine Buddha Hall, with the presiding Buddhist master offering incense to the Buddha before proceeding with the ritual of purification according to Buddhist tradition. As the assembly recited the Bodhisattva's blessing mantra, the presiding monk held a willow branch, dipped it in clean water, and circled the hall, sprinkling it as a form of purification and blessing. Subsequently, the assembly collectively chanted the Avatamsaka Sutra, praying for the stability and prosperity of the country, the flourishment of Buddhism, the brightening of the Buddha's teachings, and the perpetual turning of the Dharma wheel. These meritorious deeds were dedicated to all sentient beings of the four types of birth in the nine realms, guiding them towards the profound teachings of the Avatamsaka Sutra and collectively towards the wisdom of Vairocana after eight disasters and three calamities.
The Avatamsaka Sutra is the scripture in which Vairocana Buddha accomplished enlightenment in the Bodhi realm, unveiling the infinite wisdom of Tathagata in seven places and nine assemblies, the nature of sentient beings, and the stages of Buddhist development of the six Bodhisattvas. The Vassa Ceremony and the Avatamsaka Sutra Dharma Assembly has begun from the fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month (May 22nd, 2024) and will last three months. During this period of time, the Lingyin Sangha will recite the Avatamsaka Sutra daily, dedicating the profound merits towards both the physical and spiritual realms and praying for:
alleviation of calamities and hardships, accumulation of blessings, and longevity for the living;
swift rebirth in the Pure Land and eternal liberation from the cycle of suffering for the deceased.
