The Water and Land Dharma Function of Shaolin Temple see holy ones off on May 26, 2021. Buddhist activities including providing offerings, burning incense, seeing judges off and freeing captive creatures were held at the inner shrine while life extension and rebirth to the Pure Land were hosted at the outer shrine. All monks together with the dharma function’ s benefactors, volunteers and so on saw holy ones off that afternoon. 

Buddhist activities including life extension and rebirth to the Pure Land were hosted at the outer shrine, saluting all Buddhas, repenting of evil karma and providing offerings for the Triple Gems at the end of the Water and Land Dharma Function at 7:30 am.

Successful offerings and incense were offered at the inner shrine at 8 am. Masters presiding over the assembly guided benefactors to offer incense to 24 seats of the Heaven and the lower world in turn, making them enjoy fine dharma food and attain enlightenment.

All benefactors followed masters to free captive creatures and pray meanwhile representing creatures to repent of evil karma of all ages, and confer the Three Refuges to help them tie with Buddha. These merits and virtues of freeing captive creatures would be dedicated to benefactors and their clan relatives of all ages.

At 1 pm, as the 21-gun salute lingered in the sky and bells and drums sounded simultaneously, five gurus guided benefactors to burn incense and worship. 24 dharma masters carried coil incense on the shoulder and held dharma boards of beings of the six realms of existence from the Heaven and the lower world, being off the inner shrine to the outer shrine. People left the Great Shrine to the Pagoda Forest to see holy ones off after masters presiding over the assembly guided all benefactors and volunteers circuiting the holy ones three times at the Great Shrine. Dharma masters held Buddhist flags high preparing the public for a coming event, and the honor guard was solemn, proceeding slowly. People devoutly saw off all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other holy ones of the ten directions, and beings from the six realms of existence as well as their clan relatives were rebirth to the Pure Land.

When arriving at the Pagoda Forest, dharma masters put all dharma boards in the boat of the Western Paradise. Then monks jointly chanted Amitabha meanwhile the gun salute was fired. The boat of the Western Paradise bearing vows of paying a debt of gratitude, attaining enlightenment and benefiting beings, was burned to pray for all beings releasing from suffering to the Western Paradise.

Shaolin Temple’s Water and Land Dharma Function in Xinchou Year has been completed successfully so far. All benefactors have endless merits and virtues, with which people devoutly pray for world peace, security of the country and people, the end of the epidemic and good weather for the crops. (Reported by Ma Ang, photographed by Yue Long, Gong Wuwei and Liu Shengkai and edited by Zou Xiang)