Long Beach Monastery - Ceremony for Placement in the Casket
On
June 12 at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the ceremony for placement in
the casket was held for the Venerable Master Hua, a renowned Buddhist
master of his era, in southern California at Long Beach Monastery,
which is adjacent to the Pacific shorefront. Dharma Master Xu Lang, the
Abbot of Wonderful Dharma Temple, led the ceremony. Several hundred
people, including the Venerable Master's left-home and lay disciples,
and admirers of the Venerable Master's lifelong efforts to propagate
the proper Dharma, including many members of the Los Angeles branch of
the T'zu Chi charity organization, participated in the adorned and
solemn ceremony.
A few minutes before four o'clock, yellow
canopies were opened outside the entrance of Long Beach Monastery,
which the Venerable Master established single-handedly. Disciples knelt
on both sides of the monastery's entrance-way and recited the Buddha's
name to welcome the Venerable Master. At quarter after four, the
Venerable Master's body arrived at Long Beach Monastery on East Ocean
Boulevard. The memory of the Master's repeated and earnest
remonstrations to them when he was alive brought tears to the eyes of
many disciples. Nine-year-old Amy Zhang innocently remarked, "How I
wish I could hear the Master speak to us, but now it's impossible."
Excerpt from p. 48 - 49, "In Memory of Ven. Master Hua, Vol. I"
Original article from Chinese World Journal, (June 18, 1995)
| Disciples respectfully wait for the Ven. Master. |
| Elder Master Xulang hosts the Ceremony for
Placing the Body in the Casket. |
|
