Welcoming 2026: Baoyun Monastery Holds the New Year’s Day Morning Service to Meet the Buddha

At 6:30 a.m. on the first morning of 2026, nearly 700 devotees gathered at Baoyun Monastery in Taichung to practice the morning service together. Under the guidance of Venerable Guo Lii (果理法師), Managing Director of DDM Branch Monastery Administration, Venerable Chang Sheng (常乘法師), Master of the Meditation Hall; Venerable Yan Qi (演啟法師), Director of Baoyun Monastery; and the monastics in charge of assembly affairs, the congregation chanted the Surangama Mantra and the Heart Sutra in unison to welcome the New Year. Participants made wholesome vows for themselves and dedicated blessings to the world, praying that everyone may live in abundance and that peace and auspiciousness fill every place.

"This first morning service of the year—coming to the monastery to meet the Buddha and receive the illumination of the Buddha's light—is a most auspicious and fortunate beginning," Venerable Guo Lii shared in her Dharma talk and explained that when body and mind are settled, pure wisdom naturally arises. She also invited everyone to stay after the service to enjoy the Peaceful Porridge prepared by kitchen volunteers who began cooking at 2:00 a.m. This marked the monastery's first reopening of morning vegetarian meals since the COVID-19 pandemic. Holding the warm porridge in their hands and savoring its nourishing flavor made from fresh ingredients, participants felt a joy that permeated both body and mind.

Venerable Chang Sheng then shared a story from Volume Two of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. At age sixty-two, King Prasenajit lamented his aging and declining body. The Buddha asked him whether the water of the Ganges he saw at age three differed from what he saw now. The king replied, "There is no difference." The Buddha then asked, "The body grows old and ill, but does the mind that sees the Ganges—the knowing and aware mind—also grow old or wrinkled?" After a moment's reflection, the king answered, "No. The mind that sees the Ganges has neither aged nor wrinkled." The Buddha told him that while the body ages and falls ill, everyone possesses an unborn and undying Buddha-nature—the capacities of seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing. Using this story, the Venerable Chang Sheng encouraged the assembly to diligently practice the huatou, "What is it before a single thought arises?" By continually inquiring until delusive thoughts are exhausted, one can awaken and realize one's nature, thereby seeing the original face that is neither arising nor ceasing.
Baoyun Monastery's New Year's Day morning service, now in its eleventh consecutive year, has become a shared practice for many families. Traditional Chinese medicine physician Li Cheng-hong (李承鴻), who began his spiritual journey at Dharma Drum Mountain in his youth, attended the service with his sister and two sons. Another couple, Liu Guo-zhou (劉國州) and Wu Yiwen (吳逸雯), brought their daughters—one in high school and one in junior high. Liu said with joy, "I'm deeply moved that my daughters were willing to get up early on New Year's Day to attend the morning service together. I hope they stay safe and happy, and do what they truly wish to do." The sisters shared that their New Year wish was for their family’s health and peace.

Dr. Yang Zhi-jun (楊智鈞), who had just opened his practice in Taichung, took refuge at the Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education last September. Since then, he has developed the habit of doing morning and evening practices. Attending the Śūraṅgama morning service at Baoyun Monastery for the first time, he shared that when he began chanting the opening line, "Homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Śūraṅgama Assembly," he was moved to tears. It was a deeply special experience for him. He said, "For the New Year, I wish for my family's peace and well-being, and I hope to diligently cultivate the Buddhadharma and discover the original face that is unborn and undying.”

Nathan, a young man from the United States, developed an admiration for Chinese Buddhism after participating in a seven-day Chan retreat at Dharma Drum Retreat Center in the U.S. He traveled specially to Taiwan and, upon learning about the Śūraṅgama morning service at Baoyun Monastery, came to experience it in person. Though he does not understand Chinese and could not grasp the meanings of the mantras and sutras, he said that the atmosphere of the Dharma assembly made him feel calm and settled, and the pure environment of Baoyun Monastery filled him with joy.




Original tex in Chinese: 陳逸慧
Photos: 何國亮、邱森
Translation: Patricia Yang 
Editing: Keith Brown