As abbot Shi Yongxin claimed “Jie!”, Shaolin Temple’s 49-day Chan meditation improving session in Gengzi Year ended up completely on Jan. 6, 2021. During the time a total of 106 people including elders, holy men from mountains, old Chan masters, fresh Chan monastics gathered at the Meditation Hall together, overcoming fatigue, delusion and other difficulties to sit meditation and enlighten themselves as well as achieve realization within a set timeframe.
On August 8, 2020, or the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, welcome the Bodhisattva Enlightenment Day. Shaolin Temple hosted the sacrifice-offering assembly for Bodhisattva to bless prosperity for our country and peace for our people and COVID-19 patients recovering from the epidemic soon. On the same day, the Bodhisattva Enlightenment Day was completed successfully.
The 6th day of the sixth lunar month is the time of sutra basking. The 6th day of the sixth lunar month or July 15 is the traditional Sutra-Basking Festival in Buddhism. In the morning Shaolin monks chanted sutra in the Sutra-Keeping Pavilion while Buddhist literature basked. Buddhist literature basking encouraged monks to continue inheriting tradition and attain wisdom.
Nov. 4, 2020, or the 19th day of the ninth lunar month, welcomed the renunciation day of Bodhisattva. Shaolin Temple’s repentance assembly on the renunciation day of Bodhisattva was successfully completed in Gengzi Year through three-day reciting. Abbot Shi Yongxin burned incense, offered sacrifice, devoutly prayed and extensively delivered sentient beings on the morning.
The Three Ordination Platforms ceremony sponsored by the Buddhist Association of Henan Province and undertaken by China Songshan Shaolin Temple, was successfully conferred in Shaolin Temple in Guimao Year on May 5 or 16th day of the third lunar month in 2023. Preceptors delightedly got Buddhist Certificates, Protection Buddhist Certificates and Buddhist Alumni Book, obtained pure body, pursued precepts successfully, attended the farewell ceremony and went out from the Meditation Hall.
The Three Ordination Platforms Precept Transmission Ceremony in Guimao Year was solemnly held in Shaolin Temple. To make newly-precepted monastics feel the lifestyle of Buddha being alive, Shaolin Temple held the mendicancy ceremony successfully on the morning of April 25, 2023.
Permanent monks of Shaolin Temple conducted auspicious prayers to universal Buddhas following reciting and releasing prayers to universal Buddhas following evening reciting invited by broad believers on the first and fifteenth days of each month since the 1st day of the leap month in Guimao Year. Pray for world peace, prosperity of the Party and country, security of the country and people, good weather for the crops and releasing from suffering and disasters.
To inherit and carry forward the Buddhist tradition and wisdom as well as adhere to instructions left by Buddha and brighten Buddha’ s precepts and dharma,junior monks with Sramanera Precepts were conferred on Bhikkhu Precepts in the Three Ordination Platforms of Shaolin Temple from April 15 to 23, 2023. All junior monks with Sramanera Precepts witnessed by the Three Precept Masters and Seven Witnesses mounted the platform delightedly to accept the pure body of Bhikkhu Precepts from April 19 to 23.
The Three Ordination Platforms Precept Transmission Ceremony of Shaolin Temple in Guimao Year was orderly conducted, teaching using the alms bowl to have a meal, wearing robes, all night repentance and other dharma activities solemnly from April 5 to 14, 2023. New monastics were conferred on the Sramanera Precept on April 12.
The Water and Land Dharma Function in China Songshan Shaolin Temple was launched From May 8 to 15, 2023. Chanting, repentance, offering sacrifice to all Buddhas and Bodhisattva to help all spirits of the six realms of existence to benefit both the living and deceased and all spirits of ten directions through seven days and seven nights.
On May 15 in 2023, vegetarian hosts set the grand feast to honor Buddha and monks and invited the Great Monk Shi Yongxin, abbot of Shaolin Temple to give dharma speeches at the Water and Land Dharma Function, whose supreme merits and virtues were transferred to all beings for release of suffering, good weather for the crops, health and happiness of people and world peace.
The ritual boundary-building for the inner shrine of the Water and Land Dharma Function was launched on May 11, 2023. The core of the Water and Land Dharma Function is inner shrine. The ritual boundary-building ceremony of the inner shrine started formally at 3 o’ clock am.
The outer shrine of the Water and Land Dharma Function in Shaolin Temple in Guimao Year was launched on May 9, 2023. The six shrines including the Great Shrine, the Lotus Shrine, the Sutra Shrine, the Huayan Shrine and the Pure Land Shrine were peaceful and solemn. Buddhists recited sutra, repented, offered sacrifice to Buddhas and saints each day, based on offering foods universally, to help the six realms of existence meanwhile widely setting shrine space to pray for believers getting rid of disasters, world peace and safety of the country and people.
To universally help the diseased and sentient beings of the Ten Dharma Realms, a 7-day Water and Land Dharma Function was launched in Shaolin Temple From May 8 to 15. Pray for the prosperity of the country, good weather for the crops, world peace, security and health of people, and a permanent departure from suffering; pray for benefactors getting rid of disasters, extending the life, family happiness and safety and good luck; release souls of ancestors of all ages, clan relatives, karmic creditors, infant spirits and others to the state of paradise.
The three sub-forums of the 2021 science of Shaolin seminar were simultaneously held at the Lu Ming Mountain Villa from Oct. 23 to 24, 2021. Present experts, scholars, dharma masters totaling more than one hundred guests delivered their speeches, gave their ideas and shared their research results.
On Oct. 18, 2020, the symposium on science of Shaolin continued being held. All dharma masters, experts and scholars expressed their own views freely and drew on the wisdom and the masses, interpreting the supreme charm and internal, profound connotation of Shaolin culture, and obtaining phased achievements on the symposium on the afternoon of Oct. 17. Dharma masters, experts and scholars present continued discussing its rich connotation of science of Shaolin from different angles and directions, and offering advice and suggestions for inheriting and carrying forward Shaolin culture on Oct. 18 all day. Honorable guests present analyzed contents and value of inscriptions from professional angles on the sub-forum of “study on inscriptions of Shaolin Temple before Song Dynasty”, promoting the exploration and arrangement of Shaolin culture.
On Oct. 17, 2020, at 2 pm, the three sub-forums of the 2020 symposium on science of Shaolin were held simultaneously. Thereinto, the two forums on study on inscriptions of Shaolin Temple before Song Dynasty, and Buddhism and Chinese Traditional Ecological Thought were held in the Chan Wu Hotel; the forum on documents and big datea of Shaolin culture was held in Dihao Hotel. More than one hundred experts and scholars made their active speech from angles of their own research field on each sub-forum, actively making suggestions about significant development of Shaolin culture, and contributing their wisdom and strength.
On the morning of Oct. 17 at 9 o’ clock, the “Science of Shaolin”, approved by the relevant united front work department and the religious affairs department, and hosted by Shaolin Temple, was grandly opened at the Great Awakening Hall of Shaolin Temple. Guests present included: master Shi Yongxin, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, vice president of the Buddhist Association of Henan Province and abbot of Shaolin Temple, Hu Baoxin from the united front work department of Henan Provincial Party Committee, Yang Sanzhong from the Henan Provincial Religious Affairs Committee, Shao Jun, president of the Buddhist Association of Henan Province, professor Huang Xianian from the institute for world religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, Director Li Zhonghua from the institute of philosophy and culture of Peking University, professor Ma Tianxiang from the institute of philosophy of Wuhan University and so on. The symposium on Science of Shaolin set three forums: the study of inscription in Shaolin Temple (before Song Dynasty); Buddhism and Chinese traditional ecological thought; big data of files and Shaolin culture.