City of Ten Thousand Buddhas - Cremation Ceremony
| The elder monks and fourfold assembly of disciples passing offerings to the Venerable Master.
|
At
9:40 in the morning, the Ceremony for Passing Offerings was held. One
hundred and eight offerings were passed from hand to hand among the two
thousand and some devotees. This was the final offering to the
Venerable Master by his disciples before the cremation.
The
Cremation Ceremony began at one o'clock in the afternoon. The Venerable
Master's disciples and people from all walks of life, over two thousand
in all, lined up and walked into the Patriarchs' Hall one by one to
gaze upon the Venerable Master's visage for the final time. At three
o'clock, the Venerable Master's casket was carried to the cremation
site by a procession of over two thousand people. At 4:20, as the
assembly sincerely recited the name of the Buddha, Dharma Master
Mingyang lifted the torch, recited a verse, and then shouted, "Light
the fire!" The Venerable Master's disciples knelt and bowed, bidding
farewell to their spiritual teacher.
| On the way to the cremation site. |
| Placing the casket into the crematory. |
The body of the Venerable Master Hua was cremated on July 28, 1995,
at the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in northern California. More
than two thousand devotees from around the world watched mournfully as
the blue flames rose higher inside the crematory. Although the
Venerable Master's flesh body was cremated, his spirit of not seeking
any benefit for himself and wishing only to bring peace and happiness
to living beings will remain forever in the hearts of all Buddhist
disciples.
Adapted from an article by Zhao Shan,
p. 110 - 111, "In Memory of Ven. Master Hua, Vol. II"
|
