2024 Filial Piety Emperor Liang Repentance Dharma Service

Emperor Liang Repentance Service

The Emperor Liang Repentance (also known as the Place of Compassion Repentance) was compiled by the Ch'an Master Pao-chih and ten other honorable monks. This repentance was so named because it originated from the Emperor himself. A devoted Buddhist, Emperor Wu (of the Liang Dynasty) took the Bodhisattva precepts during the second year of his reign, and abided to them strictly for the rest of his life. In addition to building many temples and hosting numerous Dharma services, he also studied extensively the teachings of Buddha during his life time. Thereupon, he was also known as the Bodhisattva Emperor. Queen Chi, the emperor's first wife, was a jealous and temperamental woman. Hence, her thoughts and words were extremely wicked.

Due to her snake-like nature, she descended to the world of pythons after her death at age thirty. However, her spirit was not obscured; she was not ignorant of her karmic causes. During the second year of his rule, Queen Chi visited the Emperor one night at the palace. At first, the emperor did not recognize the snake was his wife. Thus, the queen revealed herself and told him why she had assumed the body of a python. She also made her current sufferings and all the bad deeds she had ever committed known to the Emperor. She begged him to rescue her from the miseries. Upon learning the truths, Emperor Wu immediately invited Ch'an master Pao-chih and other honorable monks to write a repentance of ten scrolls for the queen in accordance with the disciplines of the sutra and the essentials of confessing one’s sins. Shortly after the repentance service, Queen Chi, dressed in high-topped hat and red gown, revisited the emperor, “With the aid of Buddha’s strength, I was able to shed the body of a python, and be reborn in the Celestial Realms; hence, I am here to pay my gratitude.? After her speech, the figure disappeared. The merit one accumulates from the repentance is thus inconceivable and beyond ordinary comprehension. Thenceforth, the Emperor Wu’s repentance service is one of the most popular and widespread repentance services because it benefits both the living and the dead. Today, it is still being held regularly.

Filial Piety Emperor Liang Repentance Dharma Service
& Offering to the Sangha

Filial Piety Emperor Liang Repentance Dharma Service & Offering to the Sangha

The 2024 Ullambana Festival (the month of filial piety) is approaching soon. To emulate the Arhat Maudgalyayana's memorialization of his mother and promote the virtue of filial piety and repaying kindness, Hsi Lai Temple will be conducting the Filial Piety Emperor Liang Repentance Dharma Service from Aug 4-Aug 11 and the Yogacara Offering Service on Jul 21 & Aug 11. Merits gained from these Dharma services will be dedicated to the ancestors and departed loved ones so that they may be reborn in the Buddha's pure land. This is also a good opportunity to repent transgressions, purify the minds, and nurture the wisdom.

The annual Sangha Day is also approaching. According to the Buddhist tradition, one may cultivate tremendous merits by making offerings to the Sangha, and practice filial piety by dedicating the merits to their parents and ancestors, and to all the sentient beings. The best way to make offerings to the Triple Gem and support the monastery is to make offerings to the monastic community rather than to just one person or a small number of people; to make offerings for the entire year rather than for only one meal; to make offering consistently rather than just for the present. In this way, one is supporting the Sangha and helping them practice and spread Buddhism, and therefore make this practice with deepened meaning. In order to thank all the devotees and Dharma friends for their kind support, Hsi Lai Temple will conduct a Yogacara Offering Service in the afternoon of the Sangha Day (Sunday, July 21 at 2:00 pm) for them.

In addition, during the entire seventh lunar month (from August 4 to September 2), the monastics will lead devotees to chant the Ksitigarbha Sutra every morning and evening in the Main Shrine and transfer all merits to the devotees and benefactors' parents, ancestors, and loved ones. You and your family are most welcome to attend the services and share in the Dharma joy.

May the Triple Gem bless you and your family!