New Guan Yin Citta Practice Centre Established in Taiwan

To commemorate the Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s Enlightenment Day, a Grand Blessing Ceremony was recently held at Fuyan Huguo Zen Monastery in Yilan, Taiwan. On this blessed day, the official opening of a new Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door Buddhist Practice Centre was also held. Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door has been in Taiwan for many years. Under the leadership and guidance of Master Jun Hong Lu, the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door has propagated quickly over the past few years. Since 2013, Master Jun Hong Lu has given two large-scale Dharma Talks in Kaohsiung and Taipei, with 5,000 to 10,000 people in attendance. A number of major cities including Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taitung, Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, Keelung, and Chiayi have established Guan Yin Citta Practice Centres, serving as the spiritual homes for many Buddhist practitioners and friends. This new centre in Yilan marks a major milestone for the development of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door in Taiwan. On this day, more than 500 Buddhist abbots, monks, practitioners, and friends from Taiwan and all over the globe attended this magnificent ceremony.

The Grand Blessing Ceremony started at 10am and was conducted in the open space area of the Ruyi Hall. This ceremony was hosted by Venerable Shi Hong Rong, the abbot of Fuyan Huguo Zen Monastery in Yilan, and Venerable Shi Wei Fang, the abbot of Ru Yi Temple in the United States. The ceremony involved chanting of Buddhist scriptures followed by a series of rituals. Statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, Guan Yin Bodhisattva, Nanjing Bodhisattva, Tai Sui Bodhisattva, Guan Di Bodhisattva, Zhou Tsang Bodhisattva, and Guan Ping Bodhisattva were blessed and then worshipped by the attendees who were present at the ceremony. An atmosphere of solemnity and reverence pervaded the area during the entire blessing session.

After the blessings, the two abbots and Venerable Shi Xin Jing, the abbot of Guan Yin Hall of Wisemans Ferry, Australia, delivered their speeches respectively. They commended the establishment of this new Buddhist practice centre in Yilan, Taiwan, as being an auspicious outcome for not only the local people, but also all Buddhists worldwide. Thanks to the blessings from Bodhisattvas, the full support of Master Jun Hong Lu, and the hard work of many dedicated people, the entire ceremony progressed smoothly.  

The Fuyan Huguo Zen Monastery was built way back in the 1961. Each year, a seemingly endless stream of pilgrims comes to worship at the monastery for the past 50 years. Now, with the establishment of the new Guan Yin Citta Buddhist Practice Centre, visitors can experience even more spiritual benefits when visiting the place.

In the afternoon, the guests were treated with the screening of touching videos showing Buddhist Master Jun Hong Lu’s Dharma propagation activities around the world. This was followed by Master Jun Hong Lu’s introductory Dharma messages for the people of Taiwan. Since 2015, Guan Yin Citta Practice Centres in Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung have organised four large-scale Buddhist charity events, with tens of thousands of attendees having come to experience their vegetarian delicacies. Dozens of small-scale events have also been held in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Tainan, and Yilan. The objectives of organising these events are to promote the core values of Buddhism, traditional Chinese culture, and to advocate for a compassionate vegetarian diet that brings immense benefits to our health and environment. These activities have always received great recognition as well as positive feedback from the local communities.

Hopefully, with the new establishment of the practice centre in Yilan, Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door will continue to flourish across Taiwan, and make more positive impacts on the society. In this way, more people can start to practise the Buddhism way of life and to begin applying the wisdom of Dharma into their daily lives to improve and change their destinies.