Setting of Motivation for Monlam Great Prayer Festival (Monlam Festival) 2016
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As everyone knows, the Monlam Festival originated from The Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish, under the section entitled The Taming of the Six Heretic Teachers.
On a day which fell between the new moon and the full moon of the first month of spring, Shakyamuni Buddha exhibited supernatural power at a large assembly held in Sravasti, subduing the six heretic teachers and misguided disciples. With Shakyamuni Buddha’s great and swift power of compassion and perfect wisdom, the heretic army’s flag was demolished. Following that, the banner of the true and perfect Dharma teachings was established. During this process, not only countless sentient beings were liberated but many people also attained the extraordinary karmic fruition.
From then onwards, on this remarkable day annually, many lineage masters in India would set up rare and vast offerings to offer to the Three Jewels. In addition, there would be sutra chanting, aspirational prayers and contributing offerings to all sentient beings.
When Buddhism was initially propagated to Tibet, the lineage masters in Tibet followed the practice of those in India, making offerings in accordance to the teachings, but this practice gradually faded in the later period when Buddhism began to decline. However, as it was Master Tsong-Kha-Pa’s wish for the supreme teachings to remain, the Dharma wheel to be continuously turning, for sentient beings to be able to accumulate merits and be blessed by the grace of Buddha limitlessly, he made aspiration with an extremely vast compassionate heart and organized a very grand Monlam festival for all.
Therefore, at present, we will come together to participate in this Monlam Festival also for the purpose of supplicating for true teachings to remain, for sentient beings to obtain peace and joy, for the world to be free from hunger, natural disasters, drought and etc., for wars among countries to extinguish, as well as for the entire human race and all the sentient beings in the worlds of the ten directions to be in harmony.
During the Monlam Festival, we will listen to the sutra and make offerings. The Sangha and the lay community will also gather together under one roof. Thus, it is said that during this period, the accumulated karmic cause for either virtuous or non-virtuous deeds will multiply. However, as our schedule will be tightly packed with learning the Dharma, everyone will appear very joyful and harmonious. Henceforth, there will probably not be any non-virtuous deeds like harsh speech or conflicts in this large gathering. Instead, everyone will develop a sense of compassion, a power of strength from the heart, among the Sangha and the lay community. Some of our usual disrespectful or unrestrained behaviour concerning the body, speech and mind, will be naturally controlled. As such, we become more gentle and kind, and are able to experience infinite dharma joy over the great faith we have developed and the virtuous deeds we have done.
Hence, this occasion is hard to come by on earth, especially for practitioners like us, it is a very rare gathering. I earnestly wish that everyone can make good use of these few precious days of Dharma learning opportunity, and make tremendously ardent and vast offerings to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and all the lineage masters.
The primary manifestation of vast offerings is as follows: You must feel joyous in your heart, establish the true motivation and transform them (vast offerings) into clouds of offering. This is the way to offer to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Also, to make offerings to the vast Sangha community – such as to all the Sangha in Feng Shan Monastery, the entire Sangha community in Taiwan as well as in the entire world – and to all the wise Sages in the worlds of the ten directions, all need to be offered. While we made these aspirations and offerings at the festival, it is possible that people with undefiled karmic power could experience many Sages, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas arriving at the festival and accepting our offerings. Although we might be using only a little effort in offering perhaps a lamp or several cups of water or even in offering a hundred lights etc., yet we could offer to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas we thought of in our hearts, and the countless highly accomplished beings who would come to accept the offerings. Therefore, this way of accumulating of merits is countless and limitless.
The significance of this Monlam Festival is to give sentient beings peace and joy, allowing sentient beings to accumulate merits. We as one of the sentient beings, must be very, very respectful and cherish this once-a-year’s opportunity. Thus, I wish that everyone can vastly make offerings, develop joy and earnestly listen to the Dharma. Make use of the Buddhist lineage and heritage of this Monlam Festival to accumulate very vast merits for oneself and others.
There are two types of merits, one is accumulated externally and the other is accumulated internally in the mind. If you can accumulate these two great collections of merits and dedicate these merits for the true Dharma to stay for a long time, dedicate to the peace and happiness of all sentient beings, dedicate for the liberation of all sentient beings, that I can be a day earlier to arise the attainment of the foundation of the three paths, a day earlier to attain Buddhahood — especially having the Mahayana aspiration based on a bodhicitta mind as the root, this would require really vast merits. Therefore, I truly rejoice and am very envious that everyone can practice during this Monlam Festival.
Hope that everyone can cherish the festival every second, every moment of this passing time and use it to create the most virtuous karma. When Master Jih-Chang established this Monlam Festival in Taiwan, he also made very, very great aspirations, wishing that the true Dharma would remain for a long time, and for sentient beings to be happy and have peace. Hence, I also wish that everyone would make similar aspirations during the Monlam festival, showing great gratitude to the lineage masters who brought us this festival, and practice earnestly and respectfully. Thank you everyone
Translation and review by: Valerie Chau, Loke Mun Yee, Dawn Chen