THREE THOUSAND BUDDHAS REPENTANCE SERVICE
The Three Thousand Buddhas Repentance Service, is a regular annual service performed after the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is by far one of the most important series of ceremonies in the year because it focuses on a few central ideas of Buddhism.
At the same time, Three Thousand Buddhas Repentance gives Buddhists the opportunity to re-experience a certain cleansing of the mind and to be reminded of theirBuddha-nature, the teachings of Buddha, and why we are here.
This Repentance services was organized over a six week period, symbolically divided to represent with individual emphasis on the past, present and future Buddhas. One of the key ideas of assembly revolves around the Buddhist conception of “karma.” By general definition, karma explains that in the duration of one’s life, the effects of all the deeds and actions one has committed in the past, present or future makes one responsible for the path of their own lives and what impacts they can bring to the lives of others. Therefore, we find that the significance of participating in these services is that we can improve our lives in the present. This is achieved by opening ourselves before the Buddha and removing ourselves of all the offenses and obstructions of bad karma in the past. Bad karma consists of the evils in one’s history- be it greed, hatred, or wrong-doing by speech, body, and mind. Thus, through the act of repent, these evils are removed by pledging to The Ten Vows of the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (普賢十大願). Such vows advocate ideas of:
1. Paying respect to all Buddhas (禮敬諸佛)
2. Praising the Enlightened Ones (稱讚如來)
3. Practicing the act of offerings (廣修供養)
4. Avoiding from negative forces and reducing karmic hindrances (懺悔業障)
5. Accumulating good merit and cultivating good virtue (隨喜功德)
6. Asking for the dharma wheel to be turned (請轉法輪)
7. Requesting the presence of Buddha in our world (請佛住世)
8. Following the Buddha’s teachings (常隨佛學)
9. Being in harmony with all living beings (恆順眾生)
10. Teaching and passing on good to all beings (普皆回向)
During each assembly of karma purification, participants in the Dharma Hall are divided into 2 subsections before the Buddha image; one on the left and one on the right, leaving a walkway in the middle . Each section will bow simultaneously to every Buddha’s name chanted. As a humble actor respect and repentance, bowing requires five bodily parts touching the ground: forehead, palms and knees. This physical expression is also said to be a sort of meditation in movement. It reinforces our intentions of repent and reform while it also allows individuals to pledge acts of goodness and virtue in
the present and future.
