June 25th marks the 40 anniversary of the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM). Hundreds of LJM followers joined the Thousand-People Pilgrimage to the upper Wu Sheng Monastery in the morning and took part at a Dharma event for the God of Fortune. At the same time, monastics at the  lower Sheng Shan Temple hosted a Dharma function of group practice and anniversary celebrations which gathered the LJM Founding Abbot Master Hsin Tao and his followers coming from both domestic and overseas. New Taipei City Civil Administrator K’o Ching-Zhong presented a horizontal plank inscribed with ‘Peace of Life’ on behalf of the City government to acknowledge LJM’s long-term dedication to the promotion of Buddha’s teaching. The twin concept of ‘Life & Peace’ was later prioritized in Master Hsin Tao’s celebratory remarks, in that the ideology of Life & Peace boils down to ecological sustainability attained via respect, inclusion, and sharing. 

A series of events and activities held both digitally and offline preceded the anniversary celebrations to warm up the main event as a milestone after the pandemic. Congratulatory messages online were a clear sign of how much people missed visiting the Monastery while bidding their best wishes for seeing the LJM moving forward. The LJM ‘Clean up the Beach’ campaign mobilized more than a hundred volunteers to reactivate the ‘Loving the Earth, Loving Peace’ initiative. Furthermore, many scenic spots were made accessible with guided tours for the two days June 24 and 25 to pamper the LJM followers who had to stay away due to the pandemic. Visitors went down memory lane en route the tours while taking in narrations of LJM’s humble beginnings to appreciate the magnitude of its accomplishment over time. The signature LJM Chan meditation was offered up for experience at the Forest Meditation Hall for participants to savor the real utopia of Life & Peace in Nature’s embracement.

June 25th also marked the completion of a short-term monastic retreat, in which the participants gained a deeper realization of Buddha Dharma. Their understanding and endorsement with the LJM tradition of Chan Meditation and Compassion, as well as Master Hsin Tao’s respect on all life forms as one living community are meanwhile furthered during the eight-day monastic life experience. On the eve of the completion, the participants shared their feeling and appreciation, pledging to live a better life with the Dharma to benefit others and guiding them toward the path of enlightenment. The participants were among the thousand pilgrims who reached the upper Monastery on foot in the morning to mark the LJM 40th anniversary.

Besides the retreaters, pilgrims to the morning's thousand-people pilgrimage included the LJM masters in residence and followers from different LJM branches. Before departure, Head Master Chang Tsun explained to the pilgrims the merits of taking a pilgrimage, encouraging all to complete the journey with gratitude for the four kindnesses, repentance, and bodhicitta. When the crowd of more than a thousand pilgrims gathered at the Bodhisattva Tara Plaza with everyone holding a Siam tulip and joyfully waving their hand to chant ‘Happy 40th Anniversary to LJM and Rejoice in Life & Peace’, it was a sight to behold and to remember.

Dedicated to a firm faith in Bodhisattva Guanyin based on a calling from early on, Master Hsin Tao  founded the LJM as a monastery in honor of the bodhisattva of compassion. In celebration of the 40th anniversary, the lower Sheng Shan Temple hosted a Dharma practice of joint recitation of the Universal Door Chapter in the Lotus Sutra. The merit was dedicated to all sentient beings for their peace and happiness. The group practice also served as a vehicle to amplify the far-reaching merit of positive karma thus earned, such that life is sustained in peace, the planet Earth remains safe and secure, and misfortune and adversities are kept at bay.

The celebration ceremony kicked off with a lively drumming performance, following by a violin recital, animated youth choir, and award presentations which marked highlights of the occasion. The honors went to four categories of awardees—  outstanding pilgrims, charitable practitioners, Chan-for-life doers, and essay contest winners on the topic of ‘the LJM Four-Phased Education Module’. There were also testimonials of how people in daily life can best put the LJM tradition of ‘Compassion & Chan’ to work. Following the citations and awards, Master Hsin Tao gave teaching and presided over a refuge-taking practice. The melody of Happy Birthday was playing in the air, and everyone began to sing along to the tone of the song ‘LJM: Our Home, Sweet Home’, which brought the event to a happy ending. Somehow someone started chanting ‘Life & Peace’, and the crowd got excited and the chanting became really animated and the anniversary celebration thus ran its full course to end on a high note.  (Courtesy of LJM)

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