Mount Wutai celebrates Buddhist birthday

Ceremony to celebrate Guanyin's birthday, on April 7. [Photo/fjnet.com]

There was a ritual at Mount Wutai, in Shanxi province, at Dailuoding Temple, at 4:30 in the morning of April 7 (Feb 19 on the lunar calendar), to celebrate the birthday of Avalokiteśvara, or Guanyin in Chinese Buddhism, who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas.

The ceremony, with Changshan, head of the Wutai Buddhist Association and abbot of the temple presiding, attracted hundreds of Buddhists who chanted sutras and prayed, leaving many offerings in front of the sculptures, including incense, flowers, lanterns, candles, fruits, tea and traditional dishes.

Monks performing the ritual, guided by Changshan (red robe), on April 7. [Photo/fjnet.com]

This ceremony could date back as far as the Sui Dynasty (581-618) when the master, Huiguang, led his disciples in the ritual annually, according to the classic "Jin Guang Ming Jing" (In Chinese Classic of Golden Light), a work of sutras for protecting the nation.