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Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, his Dharma name was An Ci and style name was Du Lun. He was born in 1918 on the sixteenth day of the third lunar month in Shuancheng county, Jilin Province (Today's Wuchang county, Heilongjing Province). At the age of nineteen, he requested Venerable Master Chang Zhi of Sanyuan Monastery of Harbin to shave his head. After receiving the Shramanera (Novice) Precepts, he built a simple hut by his mother' grave and observed filial piety for three years. In 1947, he received the complete precepts of a Bhikshu (monk) at Fayu Monastery at Putuo Mountain in Zhejing Province China. In 1956, he received the Dharma-transmission of Venerable Master Hsu Yun and the Dharma name Hsuan Hua, and became the ninth patriarch of the Wei Yang Sect. In 1962, he arrived by plane to San Francisco, USA. Later he established the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA), where the headquarters is located in City of Ten-thousand Buddhas in Ukiah, California.
Venerable Master Hua based himself on the Three Great Principles and the Six Great Guidelines of the widely practiced Bodhisattva conducts.?ourageously facing every hardship, he not only established monasteries, temples, and centers for cultivation in the West, but also benefited living beings by translating Buddhist Sutras into western languages, establishing Buddhist schools, lecturing on the Sutras to propagate Dharma.
For prompting the three-thousand-year-old tradition of Buddha dharma in the modern Western world, Venerable Master Hua advocated uniting the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism in order for living beings in the Dharma-ending age to understand the true face of Buddha dharma. In all branches of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the five schools, Chan, Doctrine, Vinaya, Esoteric, and Land, are propagated according to people's will and abilities.?e broke down the boundary lines of different branches of Buddhism. A solid foundation was built for the development of Buddhism in America. Step by step his wish of setting the proper Dharma in the West became true.
As compassionate as Guan ShihYin (Avalokiteshvara) Bodhisattva, Venerable Master Hsuan had worked for world peace with great effort and contributions. The Venerable Master fasted for 35 days and prayed to resolve the Cuba Missile Crisis. He applied the divine power from his vows to keep his residential areas from the attack of natural disasters. He also advocated using the eight Chinese culture virtues of filial piety, fraternity, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, incorruptibility, and a sense of shame to save the soul of men, to improve world' education, and to devote to world peace. Under moral calls of the Venerable Master and the power of his vows, many of his disciples began a Three Steps One Bow Pilgrimage to pray for world peace and to purify their and other living beings' soul. The evidence had been shown on the several thousand miles journey of the Three Steps One Bow Pilgrimage.
A renowned Buddhist master of this era, Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, manifested Nirvana on June 7, 1995 in Los Angeles, USA. The sun of wisdom suddenly falls; the people of the world mourn together. We have lost the guardian in the Saha world. Although we the ordinary people can not reach any closer to the magnificent realm of the Venerable Master, but his life long time of upholding the precepts, tireless cultivating, propagating Dharma, and benefiting living beings have lit up the beacon in the Dharma-ending age. He left behind with unlimited Buddha Dharma treasures for our future generation.
A branch of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association in the Greater Washington Metropolitan area, Avatamsaka Vihara, holds an annual memorial assembly on the Nirvana day of Venerable Master Hsuan. In the assembly, we will worship the eighteen great vows of the Venerable Master and hold other Dharma activities to cherish the memory of the renowned Master' moral style. We will recall the teachings and inherit the precious Dharma treasures that the Venerable Master had left for us to guide the people in the society towards a pure and noble way. We welcome people from all walks of life to participate in the assembly enthusiastically.
| The Eighteen Great Vows of Venerable Master Hua
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1. I vow that as long as there is a single Bodhisattva in the three periods of time throughout the ten directions of the Dharma Realm, to the very end of empty space, who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
2. I vow that as long as there is a single Pratyekabuddha in the three periods of time throughout the ten directions of the Dharma Realm, to the very end of empty space, who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
3. I vow that as long as there is a single Shravaka in the three periods of time throughout the ten directions of the Dharma Realm, to the very end of empty space, who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
4. I vow that as long as there is a single god in the Triple Realm who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
5. I vow that as long as there is a single human being in the worlds of the ten directions who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
6. I vow that as long as there is a single asura who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
7. I vow that as long as there is a single animal who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
8. I vow that as long as there is a single hungry ghost who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
9. I vow that as long as there is a single hell-dweller who has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
10. I vow that as long as there is a single god, immortal, human, asura, air-bound or water-bound creature, animate or inanimate object, or a single dragon, beast, ghost, spirit, or the like of the spiritual realm that has taken refuge with me and has not accomplished Buddhahood, I too will not attain the right enlightenment.
11. I vow to fully dedicate all blessings and bliss which I myself ought to receive and enjoy to all living beings of the Dharma Realm.
12. I vow to fully take upon myself all sufferings and hardships of all living beings in the Dharma Realm.
13. I vow to manifest innumerable bodies as a means to gain access into the minds of living beings throughout the universe who do not believe in the Buddha-dharma, causing them to correct their faults and tend toward wholesomeness, repent of their errors and start anew, take refuge in the Triple Jewel, and ultimately accomplish Buddhahood.
14. I vow that all living beings who see my face or even hear my name will fix their thoughts on Bodhi and quickly accomplish the Buddha Way.
15. I vow to respectfully observe the Buddha's instructions and cultivate the practice of eating only one meal per day.
16. I vow to enlighten all sentient beings, universally responding to the multitude of differing potentials.
17. I vow to obtain the five eyes, six spiritual powers, and the freedom of being able to fly in this very life.
18. I vow that all of my vows will certainly be fulfilled.
Schedule ( 6/20/2010)
| 8:30am - 10:00am | Avatamsaka Repentance |
| 10:00am - 10:50am | Passing Offerings |
| 10:50am - 11:30am | Dharma Talk |
| 11:30am - 12:20pm | Vegetarian Lunch |
| 12:50pm - 1:20pm | Liberation of Life |
| 3:20pm | Dedication of Merit in the Rebirth Hall |
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