The 2011 Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Service Draws to an End with Great Vows
The 2011 Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Service drew to a close with recitation of the Great Vows on the afternoon of 2 December, following eight days of compassionate sutra-chanting by devoted monastics and participants at the DDM World Center for Buddhist Educatio
Before drawing the last dharma service to dignified close, DDM’s Abbot President Venerable Guo Dong, monastics, and faithful participants made their compassionate vows together - praying for peace, cessation of war, diseases and natural disasters in the world, as well as offering their wishes to transfer the merits of sutra-chanting to all beings before the grand Buddha statues.
Venerable Guo Dong said that this year, there were more than 50,000 devoted believers participating in the service at the Center, with an online community of over 70,000 believers across 41 countries, who also joined in real-time for the event. This reflected the strength of Dharma Drum Mountain as one of the significant practice centers of orthodox Chinese Buddhism.
The Abbot President added that the year of 2012 would mark the 20th anniversary of the idea of ‘Spiritual Environmentalism’ advocated by the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen, the founder of Dharma Drum Mountain.
In tribute of the Venerable Master’s great vow of compassion, the Abbot President announced that 2012 will be commemorated by DDM as the ‘Year of Spiritual Environmentalism’ where we will continually strive for the propagation of Spiritual Environmentalism in society to bring about peace and harmony.
(translated by Jin Yang/edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)