As abbot Shi Yongxin claimed “Jie!”, Shaolin Temple’s 49-day Chan meditation improving session in Gengzi Year ended up completely on Jan. 6, 2021. During the time a total of 106 people including elders, holy men from mountains, old Chan masters, fresh Chan monastics gathered at the Meditation Hall together, overcoming fatigue, delusion and other difficulties to sit meditation and enlighten themselves as well as achieve realization within a set timeframe.
On August 8, 2020, or the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, welcome the Bodhisattva Enlightenment Day. Shaolin Temple hosted the sacrifice-offering assembly for Bodhisattva to bless prosperity for our country and peace for our people and COVID-19 patients recovering from the epidemic soon. On the same day, the Bodhisattva Enlightenment Day was completed successfully.
The 6th day of the sixth lunar month is the time of sutra basking. The 6th day of the sixth lunar month or July 15 is the traditional Sutra-Basking Festival in Buddhism. In the morning Shaolin monks chanted sutra in the Sutra-Keeping Pavilion while Buddhist literature basked. Buddhist literature basking encouraged monks to continue inheriting tradition and attain wisdom.
Nov. 4, 2020, or the 19th day of the ninth lunar month, welcomed the renunciation day of Bodhisattva. Shaolin Temple’s repentance assembly on the renunciation day of Bodhisattva was successfully completed in Gengzi Year through three-day reciting. Abbot Shi Yongxin burned incense, offered sacrifice, devoutly prayed and extensively delivered sentient beings on the morning.
On April 10, 2019, Shaolin Temple's Third Ordination Platforms in Jihai Year entered the sixth day and today masters taught and vowed discipline conditions. Receiving precepts is a very important thing. All conditions of harmonious unity could be able to confer the ordination platform. Therefore receiving precepts and education are very important before conferred the ordination platform.
On April 9, 2019, the 5th day of the third lunar month, the Three Ordination Platforms in Shaolin Temple in Jihai Year entered the fifth day. Newly-precepted monastics invited discipline masters to enlighten them and check robes and alms bowl.
On April 7, 2019, the third day of the Three Ordination Platforms in Shaolin Temple, masters taught newly-precepted monastics the usage of alms bowl and Guotang rules on pure and solemn platforms in Jihai Year.
On April 6, 2019, the second day of the Three Ordination Platforms in Shaolin Temple, Yinli (a master for manner-instructing) was invited for Bianban (class-arranging). Yili who guides newly-precepted monastics to set an example for them with the three karmas of body, mouth and mind, went up to hall together with newly-precepted monastics doing Buddhist sites to make them keep away from non-virtuous deeds.
The Water and Land Dharma Function of Shaolin Temple in Xinchou Year entered the 3rd day on May 22, 2021. The inner shrine was sponsored the building of boundaries for the dharma session and the issuance of invitations meanwhile the outer shrine was conducting as scheduled the same day.
On May 21, 2021 or the 10th day of the fourth lunar month, Shaolin Temple’ s Water and Land Dharma Function in Xinchou Year entered a second day. Buddhist activities included chanting, repentance, extension and dedication, offering food for Buddha, rebirth and dedication and others.
The first day of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly in Shaolin Temple in Xinchou Year was on May 20, 2021. Six shrines including the Great Shrine, the Lotus Shrine, the Sura Shrine, the Huayan Shrine, the Nengyan Shrine and the Pure Land Shrine were pure and solemn. Dharma masters led all benefactors to chanting and repentance solemnly and transferred all merits and virtues to all sentient beings. The Yoga yankou rite of the five Bodhisattvas was sponsored that evening.
On May 19, 2021, to benefit dharma realms of the ten directions, ghosts and sentient beings of the dead and the living, China Songshan Shaolin Temple sponsored the 7-Day Land and Water Dharma Assembly to pray for world peace, good weather for the crops, the country’ s prosperity, people’ s well-being and staying away from suffering; pray for benefactors to get rid of disasters and prolong life, and families auspicious and safe; release ancestors of generations, clan relatives, karmic creditors for many generations, infant spirits and others from suffering to rebirth in the Pure Land.
The three sub-forums of the 2021 science of Shaolin seminar were simultaneously held at the Lu Ming Mountain Villa from Oct. 23 to 24, 2021. Present experts, scholars, dharma masters totaling more than one hundred guests delivered their speeches, gave their ideas and shared their research results.
On Oct. 18, 2020, the symposium on science of Shaolin continued being held. All dharma masters, experts and scholars expressed their own views freely and drew on the wisdom and the masses, interpreting the supreme charm and internal, profound connotation of Shaolin culture, and obtaining phased achievements on the symposium on the afternoon of Oct. 17. Dharma masters, experts and scholars present continued discussing its rich connotation of science of Shaolin from different angles and directions, and offering advice and suggestions for inheriting and carrying forward Shaolin culture on Oct. 18 all day. Honorable guests present analyzed contents and value of inscriptions from professional angles on the sub-forum of “study on inscriptions of Shaolin Temple before Song Dynasty”, promoting the exploration and arrangement of Shaolin culture.
On Oct. 17, 2020, at 2 pm, the three sub-forums of the 2020 symposium on science of Shaolin were held simultaneously. Thereinto, the two forums on study on inscriptions of Shaolin Temple before Song Dynasty, and Buddhism and Chinese Traditional Ecological Thought were held in the Chan Wu Hotel; the forum on documents and big datea of Shaolin culture was held in Dihao Hotel. More than one hundred experts and scholars made their active speech from angles of their own research field on each sub-forum, actively making suggestions about significant development of Shaolin culture, and contributing their wisdom and strength.
On the morning of Oct. 17 at 9 o’ clock, the “Science of Shaolin”, approved by the relevant united front work department and the religious affairs department, and hosted by Shaolin Temple, was grandly opened at the Great Awakening Hall of Shaolin Temple. Guests present included: master Shi Yongxin, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, vice president of the Buddhist Association of Henan Province and abbot of Shaolin Temple, Hu Baoxin from the united front work department of Henan Provincial Party Committee, Yang Sanzhong from the Henan Provincial Religious Affairs Committee, Shao Jun, president of the Buddhist Association of Henan Province, professor Huang Xianian from the institute for world religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, Director Li Zhonghua from the institute of philosophy and culture of Peking University, professor Ma Tianxiang from the institute of philosophy of Wuhan University and so on. The symposium on Science of Shaolin set three forums: the study of inscription in Shaolin Temple (before Song Dynasty); Buddhism and Chinese traditional ecological thought; big data of files and Shaolin culture.