Nearly 5,000 Gather in Hong Kong for the Yogacara Flaming-Mouth Ritual to Pray for Peace

Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM)’s first “Three Great Masters Yogacara Flaming-Mouth Ritual” organized by an overseas center was held at 2:30 p.m. on September 6 at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. Nearly 5,000 DDM’s monastics and devotees gathered for the practice, with more than 1,000 others participating simultaneously online. The assembly conveyed blessings and gratitude through the chanting of the “Verses for the Six Realms” and the “Auspicious Verses”. The ceremony concluded successfully after the three Vajra Masters formed the “Mudra of Complete Offering and Sending Forth”. For six hours, the sound of the Dharma resonated in all directions. The devotees responded with tears of emotion and warm applause, creating a deeply moving and unforgettable moment in history.

Before the ceremony, Dharma Drum Mountain Abbot President Venerable Guo Huei (果暉法師) first encouraged participants to relax both body and mind and, with a respectful and reverent attitude, follow the monastics in chanting the sutras and mantras. The three Vajra Masters performed the ritual by forming esoteric mudras with their hands, reciting mantras with their voices, and engaging in visualization with their minds. Through these practices, they expounded the Dharma and bestowed precepts upon sentient beings, thereby helping beings in the hungry ghost realm and the hell realm receive both food offerings and Dharma nourishment. In doing so, they may be freed from the suffering of hunger, open their hearts and minds. In addition, they may be guided toward fortunate rebirths or even the Pure Land, thereby alleviating the suffering of the cycle of birth and death.


Venerable Guo Huei emphasized that the distinctive excellence of the Chinese Buddhist Yogacara Flaming-Mouth Ritual lies in its integration of exoteric and esoteric teachings, its benefits for both the living and the deceased, and its simultaneous cultivation of compassion and wisdom. It also embodies the compassionate spirit of Guanyin’s path of liberating beings from suffering. Therefore, participants not only share in the benefits of practice and the merits generated on behalf of those to whom the dedication is directed. More importantly, they have the opportunity to awaken the inherently pure nature that is no different from that of the Buddha. The pure mind expressed in the teaching “When the mind is pure, the Buddha land is pure” is also what Master Sheng Yen advocated as “spiritual environmental protection.”

Venerable Guo Huei encouraged participants to bring the non-discriminating and equanimity mind experienced during the ceremony into their daily lives. In this way, they themselves may experience less vexation and suffering while also helping others obtain compassion and wisdom through the Buddha Dharma. Venerable Guo Huei invited members of the public to continue participating in the Hong Kong Centre’s comprehensive Buddhist studies programs and meditation experiences, working together to advance its mission: “With spiritual environmental protection at its core, promoting Chinese Chan Buddhism through the Threefold Education, and bringing about the purification of the world.”


The ceremony proceeded through a series of rituals, including purification of the altar, inviting the sacred beings, summoning sentient beings, making food offerings, taking refuge and receiving precepts, universal offerings, and dedication of merits and making vows. Venerable Guo Xing (果醒法師) and Venerable Guo Chi (果器法師), Vice Abbots of DDM, together with Venerable Chang Xue (常學法師), served as the three Vajra Masters. The three Vajra Masters and the monastic community guided participants through chanting and visualization, joining together in prayer that all sentient beings may be free from suffering.

Volunteer Peng Lixue (彭麗雪) shared that more than 40 lay Buddhists had traveled from Shanghai to attend the ceremony. Some people from Shandong who admired Master Sheng Yen also made a special trip to Hong Kong. They were deeply moved by the warm care extended by the DDM monastics and volunteers, as well as by their assistance in fulfilling participants’ wishes through the “Cloud-based Prayer” service.

Deng Bing (鄧兵), who traveled from Chengdu, Sichuan, said that he took a train and then a bus to Hong Kong, making the journey in approximately 24 hours. One reason he attended a Yogacara Flaming-Mouth Ritual for the first time was to dedicate the merits to his wife’s grandmother, who had passed away following an accident. As he practiced together with the Vajra Masters and the assembly, he felt that the dedication of merits was particularly powerful. He also recalled seeing how Dharma Drum Mountain provided concrete, step-by-step assistance to communities affected by the Wenchuan earthquake, helping people learn to harmonize body and mind. This experience led him to strongly identify with the ideal of a “Pure Land on earth.”

Liu Fangxing (劉芳杏), who has participated in Yogacara Flaming-Mouth Rituals held in Taiwan many times, said this was her first time attending the event in Hong Kong. She was deeply impressed by the calmness and order demonstrated by thousands of devotees throughout the ceremony, which she felt was especially inspiring for participants from overseas. Huang Jiemei (黃潔梅), a volunteer with the meditation group at the centre, shared that she first became connected with the Dharma Drum Mountain Hong Kong Centre eight years ago after watching a video featuring Master Sheng Yen. She said that the remarkable atmosphere of tranquility and the smooth, orderly arrangements at today's event were a reflection of the guidance that the monastics regularly provide.

Dharma Drum Mountain noted that in 1988, founder Master Sheng Yen visited Hong Kong for the first time to teach the Dharma, where he was warmly received by an enthusiastic audience. In 1996, the Hong Kong branch was established, marking a journey that has now spanned 30 years. Throughout this journey, the Dharma Drum Mountain Hong Kong Centre has been grateful for the public’s recognition of its vision of “uplifting the character of humanity and building a Pure Land on earth.” This shared commitment has helped nurture a center that serves as a spiritual pearl illuminating the hearts of people in the East. On November 7, Dharma Drum Mountain Hong Kong Centre will hold its first “Outdoor Meditation for 1,000 People” in West Kowloon. Members of the public are warmly invited to register and participate：https://www.ddmhk.org.hk


Original text in Chinese: 張曜鐘
Photos: 李東陽
Translation: Patricia Yang 
Editing: Keith Brown