Group Practice:
Dharma Services and Retreats
We organize group practices throughout the year in Dharma services and meditation retreats to provide opportunities for lay disciples and the Buddhist community to practice the Dharma together. We hope that these practice opportunities will enable Buddhist disciples to develop a sense of peace in mental wellness and growth in the nurturing and in strength on the path of Bodhi enlightenment. For Dharma services, there are three categories: Regular Dharma Services, Special Dharma Services, and Annual Major Dharma Services. For meditation retreats, there are two types: Eight-Precept meditation retreats and Foqi meditation retreats.
Regular Dharma Services
The Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony
The Jeweled Repentance of Great Compassion: This Repentance, composed by Master Zhili of Tiantai School, was based on the 84-phrase Great Compassion Dharani, the essence of Sutra of the Great Compassionate Heart of Avalokitesvara’s Dharani. This Repentance was translated into Chinese by Bhagavadharma. Performing repentance rites is not merely a means of hoping to lessen the negative effects of wrongdoings, but is a reminder for us to follow in our practice with Avalokitesvara as our role model, to having compassion and making vows to benefit all sentient beings.
This Repentance service is one of the most frequently and popularly observed ceremonies in the Chinese Buddhist tradition. Following the Lunar calendar, we observe this Repentance twice every month, on the first and the fifteenth day of each month.
The 1st & the 15th of every Lunar month:
The Jeweled Repentance of Great Compassion
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Weekly Sunday Dharma Service
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
1st Sunday of every month:
The Pure Land Jeweled Repentance**
2nd Sunday of every month:
Sutra Recitation*
3rd Sunday of every month:
The 88-Buddha Jeweled Repentance**
4th Sunday of every month:
Sutra Recitation*
5th Sunday of every month:
Recitation on Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, the “Universal Gate Chapter attributed to Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva”
*For Sutra Recitations, we observe the following in alternating order:
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Vajracchedika-prajna-paramita Sutra (The Diamond Sutra)
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Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Purvapranidhana Sutra (The Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra)
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The Practice and Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva Sutra (Avatamsaka Sutra, Chapter 40, “On Entering into the Inconceivable of Emancipation by the Practice and Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva”)
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Bhaisajyaguru-vaidurya-prabha-raja Purvapranidhana Sutra (The Vows of Medicine Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Light Sutra)
**For Repentance ceremonies, we may also observe the following occasionally:
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The Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance
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Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Repentance
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The Medicine Buddha Jewel Repentance
2023 Special Dharma Services
There are numerous birthdays and special days of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout the year for which we perform Dharma services as an offering of commemoration. In addition, we also observe memorial services, commemorating the anniversary of the passing of ancestors and loved ones. In addition, we also hold an annual Sangha Dana during the Yulan Service as a means of filial practice. The Ullambana Sutra records that Maudgalyayana, who was trying to save his mother from the Hungry Ghosts Realm, approached the Buddha for help. The Buddha instructed Maudgalyayana to make offerings to the sangha assembly, thus with the merits of offerings to free his mother.
***Offering Ceremony for Buddhas and Devas: The practice of this observance of making offerings to devas originates from the Sutra of Golden Illumination. According to the Sutra, devas had, in front of the Buddha, make great vows in cultivating bodhicitta and in protecting those who practice the teachings of the Sutra. Hence, Dharma services are performed as gratitude to devas for having made such great vows. The Dharma service of this Offering Ceremony is delivered twice a year, on Chinese New Year’s Day and toward the end of the year.
Annual Major Ceremonial and Memorial Services
There are three major ceremonies each year. The Qingming memorial ceremony , the Liang Repentance ceremony, and the Yulan Festival ceremony.
2023 Qingming Memorial Service: March 31 – April 2
March 31
9:30 am – 12:30 pm: Purification Ceremony; Invitation of the spirits to witness the ceremony; Offering to the Buddha
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm: The Three-segment Memorial Ceremony
April 1
10:00 am – 12:30 pm: The Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance, Volume 1
2:00 am – 5:30 pm: The Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance, Volume 2, 3
April 2
10:00 am – 12:30 pm: The Ksitigarbha Jeweled Repentance; Offering to the Buddha
2:30 pm – 6:00 pm: Damengshan: Grand Offering to Hungry Ghosts
2023 The Jeweled Repentance of Emperor of Liang: June 20 – June 25
June 20
9:30 am – 12:30 pm: Purification Ceremony; Invitation of the spirits to witness the ceremony; Offering to the Buddha
1:30 pm – 5:30 pm: The observance of the Repentance begins (there are 10 Chapters in total)
June 21 – June 24
10:00 am – 5:30 pm: The Repentance continues and ends at the end of Day 7
June 25
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Observance of a repentance in offering prostrations to Buddhas and offering to the Three Jewels
2:30 pm – 6:00 pm: Damengshan: Grand Offering to the Hungry Ghosts
2023 Ullambana - Yulan Festival: August 24 – 27
August 24
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Opening Service
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM: The Three-segment Memorial Ceremony
August 25
10:00 am - 5:30 pm: The Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance
August 26
10:00 am - 12:00 pm: The Diamond Prajna Repentance, Part 1
1:30 pm - 5:30 pm: The Diamond Prajna Repentance, Part 2 & 3
August 27
10:00 am - 12:00 pm: Sangha Offering Ceremony
2:30 pm - 5:30 pm: Grand Offering to the Hungry Ghost
Meditation Group Retreats
Practice takes efforts and time. The mind itself is the biggest obstacle standing between ourselves and the state of peace. Meditation cultivates the stillness of the mind that once the mind achieves such state, it is able to gain entry into insight.
Saturday Mindfulness Practice
As rudimentary practice, mindfulness helps us to develop an awareness of our views and perceptions, experiences and thoughts, feelings and sensations, recognizing them as nothing but temporal passing of events. Our method of mindfulness practice is chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha, a beginner’s technique in bringing the mind to the present moment so that it can learn to develop one-pointed concentration, a foundation necessary for the development of awareness.
Date: Last Saturday of every month
Activity: Group practice in mindfulness
Time: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Eight-Precept Observance and Foqi Retreat
The Eight-Precept Retreat: this is a one-day meditation retreat for lay disciples to have an opportunity to experience one day and one night in the life of the monastics. The Eight Precepts are to abstain from taking life, to abstain from stealing, to abstain from sexual impropriety, to abstain from false speech, to abstain from use of intoxicants, to abstain from food at the wrong time (which is usually after the noon meal), to abstain from activities that are entertaining in nature (going to theatre, listening to music, dancing, including wearing makeup and jewelry), to abstain from sleeping in luxurious high places. Undertaking the Eight Precepts helps us to purify the unwholesome thoughts and unwholesome actions committed by our mind, our speech, and our body.
Foqi Retreat: this is an 8-day meditation retreat that normally takes place during the last week of the year. The aim of the Foqi retreat is similar to that of the Eight-Precept retreat, undertaking the same Eight Precepts. For both retreats, the practice includes circumambulating, chanting Amitabha, and prostrating to the Buddha. However, with the Foqi retreat, there is a concluding mini Dharma service of Dedication of Merits on the last day, performed during the time of the final two sessions, from 7 to 9 pm.
The following is the schedule for the Eight-Precept Retreat. The schedule for the Foqi Retreat is the same as that of the Eight-Precept for the first day; for the remaining days, all meditation sessions begin at 6 am.
Retreat begins at 9 am and ends at 5 pm. There are 5 sessions throughout the day. The time for each session is as followed:
1st session: 9:00 - 10:15 am
2nd session: 10:15 - 11:30 am
Lunch : 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
3rd session: 1:30 - 2:30 pm
4th session: 2:30 - 3:30 pm
5th session: 3:30 - 4:30 pm
Evening Practice: 4:30 - 5:00 pm
Retreat concludes at 5 pm.
The timing of these sessions may vary slightly depending on circumstances. We will offer lunch for everyone who attend.
If you have never meditated before or you would like to re-discover your experience or resume your practice in meditation or if you are simply curious, you are welcome to join us. Please keep in mind that you need not attend the full day. You could join any session you like.
*Please note:
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All our Dharma services begin at 10 am (however, please arrive half an hour early), unless otherwise stated, and ends at 12 pm, follow by a lunch offering free of charge to service participants.
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We welcome public participation. However, all our Dharma services are delivered in Chinese. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may pose for those who are interested to participate but are unfamiliar with the Chinese language.