Beyond Rituals: My New Understanding of ‘Dharma Assembly’
What does Dharma Assembly mean? To my understanding, Dharma Assembly means a group of people coming together to learn and practice the Dharma. It should embrace much more than just chanting for good health, wealth and blessings. Why do we need to follow so many rituals at a Dharma Assembly? What the true meanings of these rituals and why they are necessary? I wanted to find out.
My friend made a vow to attend the Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Assembly, better known as the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, at DDM Taiwan every year. She would attend one shrine per year for ten years to receive Dharma teachings and chant sutras conducted at the ten different shrines. As of today, she only has three more shrines remaining. Why did my friend decide to make such a big vow? Am I missing out on something very valuable?
More importantly, for the last ten years I have been following news and reports on the annual Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Assembly conducted by Dharma Drum Mountain. The Dharma Assembly at DDM runs for eight days simultaneously at ten halls. Although not physically present, participants who lived overseas and faraway could also practice together via live online streaming.
After the assimilation of Buddhism into Chinese culture centuries ago, the Water and Land Dharma Assembly absorbed local customs and began burning materials, including replicas of ancestors’ memorial tablets, to provide comfort for ethereal sentient beings. Concerned about the natural environment, Dharma Drum Mountain did not conduct this particular Dharma Assembly until they were able to solve this issue. They abandoned conventional tradition by adopting technology to project digital tablets on a screen. The tablets would appear from the bottom and scroll to the top until they disappeared, as if sending them off. This innovative idea greatly impressed me.
They also invited a team of academics to study the Water and Land Dharma Assembly’s origin and history over time, as well as the various formats of its proceedings. This research informed the late Master Sheng Yen who developed a version of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, presently used by DDM, which addresses environmental concerns and suits modern lifestyles. The Master’s rationale and aim was to make this practice more readily accessible to the general public—allowing them to better understand its meaning and participate in it together. This way, individuals can deepen their practice to improve their relationship with nature, society and others.
These keys reasons led me to discover for myself what is it like to experience in DDM’s Dharma Assembly. In November 2017, I flew from Sydney to Taiwan for firsthand experience.
Each of the ten shrines simultaneously hosted a different method of Chan practice, such as reciting mantras, chanting of different sutras and repentance practice. The participants could generally practice at their preferred shrine but because the shrines were quite some distance from each other, switching between shrines could be a logistical issue. Originally, I had already settled on a particular shrine but due to some amazing causes and conditions, I ended up practicing at the Main Shrine which conducts the most important rituals and is led highly-esteemed Fashi.
Since the start of the General Assembly, Fashi told us not to request benefits for ourselves but to work towards benefitting others. Over the following days we learnt the meaning behind the name of the Water and Land Dharma Assembly; the relationship between the Main Shrine and all the other shrines; and the reason that this Dharma Assembly is considered one of the grandest Buddhist rituals, serving all beings with universal compassion.
In the Main Shrine, we chanted the repentance sutra. Here all the formalities of inviting, welcoming, offering of food and Dharma, and farewell are conducted. It is a gathering of beings from the higher and lower realms. We performed the rituals of chanting and praising the Buddha, Bodhisattva, Praetyka-Buddha and Sravaka from the Four Holy Realms and inviting them to help release beings in the lower realms (Hell Realm, Ghost Realm, Animal Realm, Asura Realm, Human Realm and Deva Realm) from their suffering. Over the course of performing the rituals of repentance, making offerings, and reciting mantras, sutras and the Buddha’s name, we cleanse our own minds, give rise to the great compassion and generate the Bodhi mind. Thus, DDM named this assembly as the Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Assembly.
The other shrines were named according to the sutras chanted here, such as the Lotus Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. Every night, a Tantric ritual is performed to feed sentient beings from lower realms and Dharma talks were given by highly esteemed Fashi. They explained the process of the ritual and the meaning of feeding sentient beings from the lower realms and how relates to our practice.
We were also told to renew our beginners’ mind and practice diligently by adopting a mindset of sincerity, gratefulness, equality, generosity and no seeking. Diligence, however, does not mean practicing with exertion or force. Instead we should relax and not tense up, maintain clarity and not discriminate.
While at the Dharma Assembly, I discovered that there are eleven shrines but the last one cannot be found on a map. The eleventh shrine can be found within the self as the DDM volunteers practiced the Six Paramitas while they worked. I came upon this accidentally after stumbling into the kitchen whose volunteers have the challenging feat of preparing three meals a day for 64,000 people over eight days! The volunteers were diligently applying their method; working orderly with mindfulness or quietly chanting to themselves. It was so serene; no one was bothered by my presence. Despite having lost my bearings I felt calm in their presence and awed by this exemplary practice of Chan in daily life.
This entire experience opened up a new dimension for me, in terms of knowledge and experience. Fashi told us that if we are truly sincere, we will experience resonance and feel connected. While performing the repentance ritual and chanting a Tibetan mantra, I was so touched that tears streamed down my face. After waking up on the third morning, with my eyes opened while lying in bed, I felt that my mind was extremely calm and peaceful. That sense of calmness and peacefulness was something I had never experienced before. Attending this Dharma Assembly was a wonderful experience for me and I am most grateful for all the causes and conditions that allowed me to practice at the Main Shrine, all the Fashi, volunteers and participants who came together to teach, share and learn the Dharma.
You can all join this wonderful Dharma Assembly even if you cannot make the trip to DDM Taiwan in person. Since 2013, everyone from around the world can participate online via Cloud Technology. At the 11th Great Compassion Water and Land Dharma Assembly, approx. 250,000 people from all over the world participated online and practiced together. Of course, practicing in person is significantly more beneficial and the ultimate experience that we should aim for.