Final Preparations Before the Buddha Recitation Retreat (Fo Qi)
On the last weekend before the Buddha Recitation Retreat, Mituo Village welcomed the gathering of many dedicated volunteers. With selfless hearts, everyone worked together to ensure the retreat could be held smoothly: cleaning the Buddha Hall, arranging the reception area, tidying the rooms, preparing supplies… Everything proceeded busily yet in good order. After two days of tireless dedication, all the preparations for the retreat were finally completed.
🙏 Our deepest gratitude to all the volunteers who came to support this week. In the final days before the retreat, everyone worked tirelessly from dawn until nightfall, striving to make every detail more complete. Your diligent contributions are witnessed by Heaven and Earth, felt by the Buddha, and worthy of admiration and rejoicing.
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Staying True to Our Original Aspiration · Encouraging One Another
One Dharma friend suggested: besides the endless work and cleaning, Volunteer Days should also include moments of stillness and peace—times for sincere sharing and exchange on the Dharma. This thought was inspiring—how often do we keep our heads down rushing forward, yet forget to look up toward the distance?
The original intention of supporting Amitabha Village is to build a Pure Land in this world, allowing more people to be nourished and uplifted by the Dharma. Even if our current days are filled with tasks, our direction remains clear: “Happily learn the Dharma, happily practice as a Buddha.” We believe that in the near future, we will be able to sit together around the fire, discuss the Dharma, and cultivate the Pure Land practice as one.
Great Master Yin Guang once taught:
“With one portion of sincerity and reverence, one portion of karmic obstacles is dissolved;
With one portion of reverence, one portion of blessings and wisdom is increased.”
The support given by today’s volunteers is exactly the planting of wholesome causes for future blessings and wisdom, sown with a reverent heart.
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Blessings and Causes · In Accord with the Buddha
The Elder Master often said: It is not that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas lack compassion, but rather that sentient beings lack sufficient merit. Although we are ordinary beings of limited blessings, if we unite as a community and give rise to sincere aspiration, our merit will surely increase day by day. With greater merit, we naturally attract the blessings of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors, as well as the support of holy places and good spiritual friends.
Great Master Shandao said in his Commentary on the Contemplation Sutra:
“Those who aspire to be born in the Pure Land, whether for one day or seven days, if they single-mindedly recite the Name of Amitabha Buddha, will surely attain rebirth.”
Supporting Amitabha Village is not only outward labor—it is also an inner cultivation, harmonizing our hearts with the Vows of the Buddha.
In the past, when Dharmakara Bodhisattva (the Buddha-to-be Amitabha) made his Forty-Eight Great Vows, he contemplated for five kalpas and practiced for countless eons, thereby completing the splendid Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Though we cannot compare ourselves to the Buddha, this act of aligning our hearts with his Vows is enough for us to proudly say: “We are true practitioners of the Pure Land path.”
Great Master Lianchi also urged people to recite the Buddha’s Name:
“One recitation of the Buddha’s Name increases immeasurable blessings;
One prostration before the Buddha eradicates sins as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.”
Thus, our support at Amitabha Village today is itself a response paper on our path of practice. Every bit of our dedication and effort is a cause for liberation—benefiting both ourselves and others.
Vows Without Ceasing · Together Perfecting Pure Land Practice
Great Master Ouyi once said:
“Faith, vow, and recitation of the Name—this is the true cause of Pure Land practice.”
Every act of support is the fulfillment of our faith and vows; every thought of dedication is the planting of Pure Land causes. May these causes and conditions ultimately guide us to reunite with Amitabha Buddha in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
The Buddha Recitation Retreat · A Sincere Invitation
This weekend, Mituo Village will respectfully commence the seven-day Buddha Recitation Retreat. For seven days and nights, we will single-mindedly recite the sacred Name of Amitabha, holding our minds without distraction. We sincerely invite all Dharma friends to put aside worldly affairs, gather at the Dharma center, recollect the Buddha, recite the Buddha’s Name, and cultivate the Pure Land practice together.
The wholehearted support and dedication of everyone has also inspired the compassionate presence of a great teacher—Venerable Master De Yi and his team, who have traveled from afar to lead us in a week of dedicated practice. The Master upholds the precepts with rigor and skillfully guides the assembly, and is especially revered for his melodious chanting of Dharma hymns and dignified use of Dharma instruments, which deeply inspire the minds of practitioners. Under his leadership, the retreat will be orderly, and the recitation of the Buddha’s Name will penetrate deeply into our hearts, swiftly gathering the six senses and uplifting the mind of practice. This is a rare and precious opportunity—may everyone cherish it and participate joyfully.
May we, in the sound of the Buddha’s Name, wash away worldly dust, increase blessings and wisdom, and sow the causes for rebirth in the Pure Land. May the merits of this Buddha Recitation Retreat be dedicated to all beings throughout the Dharma Realm: may they be free from suffering, attain happiness, and be reborn together in the Land of Bliss. And may every person who contributes their heartfelt effort resonate deeply with the Buddha, strengthen their faith and vows, and be filled with Dharma joy.