Medicine Buddha Repentance Ceremony – Finding Spiritual Sustenance

A Medicine Buddha Repentance Ceremony was held at the temple to celebrate Medicine Buddha’s birthday on 30th October. This ceremony was presided by Venerable Abbess Manshin over a congregation of 160. Together they chanted and paid homage to the “Compassionate Medicine Buddha Treasured Repentance Text”, with the goal of purifying body and mind, and to increase wisdom.

During the Dharma talk the Abbess addressed the question of “Even though that we are not lacking both material and food, what do we lack in life?” Through this question the audiences were directed to analyse the 16 types of illnesses mentioned in the repentance text, which promoted everyone to self-reflect themselves regarding described ailments.

The Abbess also talked one’s need for courage when facing the cycle of birth and death. Only with sufficient resources in the right causes and conditions can we break through the 5 covers of “greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance and doubt” then a higher existence in life can be opened up to us. She also described the 13 kinds of wondrous medicines for treating the 16 kinds ailments mentioned in the repentance text, which were truly like lights to guide our path. The Abbess used the examples of: “After a poet ate food, the food will be digested into poetry that can touch the world. After a painter ate food, the food will be digested into painting to beautify life. After a kind and loving person ate food, compassion will fill their body and mind. After a spiteful person ate food, then their resentment will burn even hotter. After a cultivator ate food, it will be transformed into nutrients for accomplishing the Way.” These admonitions were all used to encourage everyone to often recite the Buddha’s wise words to cool their simmering afflictions and to discover their spiritual sustenance.