The Medicine Buddha Repentance Ceremony is a Buddhist Dharma service in which the assembly gathers to pay homage to the Buddhas, practice repentance, make vows, and dedicate merits. The ceremony usually includes the Incense Praise, chanting of the Buddha’s name, repentance verses, praises to the Buddha, bowing vows, the Three Refuges, and dedication of merits. According to different causes, conditions, and purposes, similar ceremonies may be held for blessings and longevity, memorial dedication, or in honor of the sacred days of specific Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, such as Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

This ceremony centers on paying homage to Medicine Buddha, the Buddha of healing, longevity, and protection from calamities. Through the power of Medicine Buddha’s great vows and compassionate light, we pray that all participants may repent past karmic obstacles, increase blessings and wisdom, enjoy peace and well-being in body and mind, be free from calamities and hindrances, and attain health and longevity. During the ceremony, the assembly chants the Buddha’s name, bows in repentance, praises the virtues of Medicine Buddha, and dedicates the merits of bowing, repentance, offerings, and vows to present family members, ancestors, karmic creditors, and all sentient beings, wishing that all may be free from suffering, attain peace and joy, and together realize Buddhahood.

The word “universal” means that this is a communal practice open to everyone. With sincere reverence, the assembly joins together in bowing to the Buddha and practicing repentance. In doing so, we not only pray for blessings and the removal of obstacles for ourselves and our loved ones, but also repent the unwholesome karma created through body, speech, and mind in the past, thereby giving rise to a pure mind, a compassionate mind, and a mind of wisdom. Participating in the Medicine Buddha Universal Blessing Ceremony is not only a way to pray for peace and health; it is also an opportunity to learn from the spirit of Medicine Buddha’s Twelve Great Vows, aspiring to benefit ourselves and all sentient beings through purity of body and mind, compassion, and wholesome vows.

When the Medicine Buddha was practicing the Bodhisattva Way, he vowed to help the sick and poor reach enlightenment. He made twelve great vows specifying how he would abate their suffering with expedient means before setting them on the path to buddhahood. Attending the Medicine Buddha Ceremony is an expedient means to increase our blessings and bring relief to bodily illnesses. These, however, are only temporary blessings. To realize the true benefits of the ceremony, we must cultivate the mind to be “undefiled, free of anger, malice and discrimination, and give rise to the wish to bring benefits, peace, and happiness to all sentient beings with kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.”

　　The verse above is how the Medicine Buddha Sutra describes the buddha mind. With the wisdom of emptiness, it no longer attaches to any phenomena; with the compassion and vows to relieve the suffering of others, it is free from anger and malice. When we chant, practice, and live every moment of our lives in abidance with the buddha mind, we will surely attain enlightenment.

 BLESSING CEREMONY & MEMORIAL SERVICE

　　In a Blessing Ceremony, participants respectfully invite the Three Jewels to preside over the formal chanting of sutras and mantras as well as other ceremonial activities. Through the compassionate power of the Three Jewels and with a mind of utmost sincerity and respect, we dedicate merits for a harmonious world and to dispel karmic obstacles. Blessing Ceremonies help us and our families achieve longevity, avoid misfortune, increase merits and wisdom, and have our affairs go smoothly, so peace and purity can fill the Dharma realm.

　　Memorial Services are dedicated to the deceased and karmic adversaries from the past. By dedicating merits to them, participants help remove their karmic obstacles, so they can transcend suffering, experience joy, and be reborn in a wholesome place.