Kuan Yin Ceremony · Monthly
On the Saturday closest to each month’s full moon, we gather on Zoom to offer the Kuan Yin Compassion & Renewal Ceremony. Drawing from the Chinese Mahayana tradition, this practice honours the eternal vow of Bodhicitta, offering compassion, healing, and protection to all beings.
No previous experience is needed, and all are welcome.
Upcoming Ceremony Dates
Nov 28, 11 - 12.30 PT
Dec 19, 9 - 10.30 PT
Key Information
Online via Zoom, an hour and a half long.
Details, text, and materials will be sent before the ceremony and posted in the Zoom chat.
Registration closes one hour before the ceremony begins.
Suggested optional dana: $1–$30. No one will be turned away due to financial need.
Because this offering is practice-based, it will not be recorded.
About the Ceremony
“The worshipped and the worshipper are empty and still in nature. The response and the way are intertwined inconceivably.” – from the Kuan Yin Compassion & Renewal Ceremony
Theravada Buddhist traditions observe Uposatha days, which follow the phases of the moon, especially the full and new moons. Observance days are times to pause and recalibrate around our practice. In this spirit, the Kuan Yin Ceremony is held each month as a time to pause and deepen our practice together.
This ceremony is a core part of Sacred Mountain Sangha’s Dharma practice. In Chinese, Kuan means “to listen” or “to contemplate,” and Yin means “sound.” Kuan Yin is known as the Bodhisattva who “contemplates the sounds of the world at ease, while responding through merciful and fierce compassion to overcome obstructions.”
Kuan Yin is understood in different ways and appears in different forms. Traditionally, Kuan Yin is a timeless being who vows to remain near this realm to rescue and awaken living beings. Kuan Yin can also be seen as an archetype, a subtle presence, or a protector: gentle and fierce compassion appearing when needed to heal, awaken, and transform the hearts of living beings. Ultimately, Kuan Yin represents the timeless, knowing, present citta (heart-mind) within all.
In this ancient ceremony, we invoke the transformative power, energy, and frequency of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva; the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, saints and sages; and all supportive ancestral, elemental, and angelic forces, to help dissolve obstacles in this critical time of profound planetary transformation.
The ceremony also supports our individual practice, helping to dissolve personal, familial, and ancestral obstructions, as well as obstructive karma, throughout all realms, time, and space.
Acknowledgement
This ceremony was adapted by Kittisaro & Thanissara from the original Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony (Dabei Chan Fa Hui), inspired by the Maha Karunika Citta Dharani Sutra, as transmitted by the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
It was first composed by Venerable Master Fa Zhi of the Tien Tai school. The exact date is unknown, but it was during the Sung Dynasty (960–1279).
We offer our profound respect and gratitude to all lineage holders of Chinese Mahayana who faithfully held and passed down this ceremony from generation to generation. We also bow to the transmission of this sacred Dharma through all lineages, reaching back to its roots in India and the ancient mists of time.
Namo Kuan Shr Yin Pu Sa. Namo Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.