Dharma Services
Regular Dharma services are held on Sunday and weekday mornings, usually chanting various sutras such as the Diamond Sutra or the Amitabha Sutra. Meditation sessions, retreats and Buddhism classes, are held on some days of the week, which are offered in both English and Chinese. Monks and nuns who reside at the temple speak a variety of languages besides Mandarin, primarily English and Cantonese, are available to perform weddings or funerals services.
Many larger services held annually mostly revolve around filial piety, along with the Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian philosophy of worshiping one's parents and ancestors. In the spring, they hold a large service in commemoration of Ching Ming, a traditional Chinese festival where many pay respects to deceased relatives by cleaning their graves. In the summer, they hold a large service in commemoration of Ullambana. During this time, they also hold a ceremony known as Sangha Day, where devotees gather to honor the monastics by offering food to them, as well as offer a public cultural performance, performing classical and traditional Chinese music or elegant solo dances.
Annually, retreats and services are held for taking refuge in the Triple Gem, receiving the five precepts, and a short-term monastic retreat where disciples are able to temporarily experience life as a monastic.
Read more about this topic: Hsi Lai Temple
Famous quotes containing the word services:
“Working women today are trying to achieve in the work world what men have achieved all along—but men have always had the help of a woman at home who took care of all the other details of living! Today the working woman is also that woman at home, and without support services in the workplace and a respect for the work women do within and outside the home, the attempt to do both is taking its toll—on women, on men, and on our children.”
—Jeanne Elium (20th century)