Sunday, 04/19/2026
Peace ceremony in Tay Khanh Pagoda, Thai Binh
Update: 02/02/2017
The Old year passed, and a new year is coming with people’s aspiration for prosperous life and peace. In the most crucial moment of New Year’s days, people certainly look forward to receiving Buddhas and Bodhisattvas’ blessing themself and other peoplewith expectancy, physical beauty, enjoying the blessings of the light of compassion and wisdom from Buddhas. Therefore, going to prostrate before Buddha and attending the peace ceremony at the beginning of year has become a spiritual practice of Vietnamese. In the spirit of such practices, annually, on the 5th of January lunar, Tay Khanh Pagoda celebrates New Year’s formally and solemnly.
On this occasion, Venerable Abbot Thich Tam Kinh gave a Dharma talk on the topic: “The Meaning of Bhaisajyaguru sutra†to all the participants in Bodhi-mandala.
During the sermon, the Venerable showed the mass how to practice Dharma through reciting Bhaisajyaguru sutra’s name . He said when we recite Namo Lapis Lazuli Medicine Buddha, the healer of outer and inner sickness, we should remember that inner sickness is spiritual sickness which comes from false thoughts and outer sickness is physical sickness coming from greed, anger and ignorance.Oncethe causes of our sickness are realized, it is quite easy to be cured.â€
It is noticeable that when practitioners recite Medicine Buddha’s name, it certainly reminds them that it is Buddha, the greatest physician, who wrote out prescriptions on which practitioners can rely to purify their six bases, body and mind through Buddha recitation.And those who trust in Medicine Buddha, the healer of outer and inner sickness, believe to be blessed by the power of his great vows . Buddha cannot be found somewhere. Buddha is within your own mind. We are just ordinary humans so inevitably attracted by five desires, sixgunas and delusion which causes us to have a feeling of being distant from Buddha. Patriarchs taught that: "Peaceful mind is Buddha mind.†Peaceful mind is the one that is not polluted and perfectly clear. This is doubtlessly the best philosophy that we all need to adopt and practice to gain our retreat achievements.
After the Dharma is the Buddha ritualincense offering, and chanting for peace . All the participants in the Bodhi-mandala were chanting with single-mindedness and sincerity. Before leaving, the attendees were given a DVD“Quang Do†each.
Here are some recorded images:
Translated into English by Bui Ngoc Trinh.