CELEBRATION OF AVALOKITESVARA
BODHISATTVA’S BIRTHDAY
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, who is otherwise known as Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy. She is the protective enlightened deity and is the embodiment of kindness, compassion and love for all beings.
At ABLS, our Resident Venerables and devotes commemorated the birthday of our Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on March 23, 2008, which is the second moon of the Lunar New Year. We recited a series of Mantras, one of which included the well-known, Great Compassion Mantra (大悲咒). Devotees of ABLS were blessed as their names and names of their loved ones were lit by candles. In the process of chanting and bowing, the ingestion of holy water represented the idea of allowing wholesome energy and Buddha’s compassion into our minds.
Conveniently coinciding with the Three Thousand Buddhas Repentance Service, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Birthday was a reinforcement of paying respect to the Buddha, learning more about compassion, and pledging acts of good will. Submerged in positive energy, everybody returned home with Buddha’s protection and blessings.
