Liang Emperor’s Repentance Dharma Assembly(Temple Retreat)

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Liang Emperor’s Repentance Dharma Assembly(Temple Retreat)

August 30 - September 6

 

Liang Emperor’s Repentance Dharma Assembly

  • Date: August 30, 2025 – September 6, 2025
  • Location: Mahayana Temple Retreat
    710 Ira Vail Rd, Leeds, NY 12451

We warmly invite you to participate in the Liang Emperor’s Repentance Dharma Assembly, a profound practice to dedicate merit for departed loved ones, purify karma, and accumulate blessings and wisdom. The Liang Emperor’s Repentance Sutra was composed by Emperor Wu of Liang to liberate his late empress and is considered one of the most sublime repentance rituals in Buddhism. Through chanting and bowing during this sacred ceremony, we aspire to eliminate karmic obstacles, resolve grievances, and generate blessings for the world’s peace and harmony.

The Significance of the Liang Emperor’s Repentance
This Dharma assembly embodies the essence of repentance. By venerating the Buddhas, chanting sutras, offering lamps, and making offerings, participants seek the Three Jewels’ blessings. The merit generated not only supports the liberation of ancestors but also brings blessings for the living, including family harmony, career success, and physical and mental well-being.

The Liang Emperor’s Repentance Text (Liang Huang Bao Chan) was composed by Emperor Wu of Liang to perform spiritual liberation for his empress, Lady Chi. Known for her jealousy, Lady Chi often harbored ill will towards the women of the harem and spoke with a venomous tongue. She resented Emperor Wu’s devotion to Buddhism and once tore apart a Buddhist scripture, The Lotus Sutra. Additionally, she mocked the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and defiled monastic rules by offering monks false vegetarian meals wrapped in dough but containing onions, garlic, leeks, and even meat. Fortunately, the monks, endowed with wisdom, prepared their own food and replaced her impure offerings.

Living in the palace, Lady Chi failed to cherish her blessings and ignored the law of karma. Engaging in acts that led to negative cycles of rebirth, she passed away at the age of 30. Due to her wrathful and venomous nature, she was reborn as a python after death.

Several months later, Emperor Wu was startled by rustling sounds outside his bedchamber. He discovered a massive python coiled on the palace steps. Terrified, the emperor was further shocked when the python spoke, saying, “Do not be alarmed, my lord. I am Lady Chi, fallen from grace. Due to my disbelief in Buddhism and misconduct in life, I have descended into the animal realm. I now suffer hunger, pain from venomous insects on my scales, and endless torment. Out of our past bond as husband and wife, I implore you to show mercy and deliver me from this suffering. If freed, I vow to repay your kindness.”

Emperor Wu, overwhelmed by fear and sorrow, sought guidance from Chan Master Zhigong. The emperor asked, “Why has Lady Chi fallen to the state of a python?” Master Zhigong replied, “She lacked faith in Buddhism, was jealous of others, disrespected the Three Jewels, and failed to cultivate virtue. She viewed the palace as a paradise, enjoying blessings without creating merits, disregarding karma, and fearing no retribution.”

The emperor inquired, “How can I liberate her?” Master Zhigong responded, “To liberate her, you must sincerely repent, host grand offerings, invite esteemed monks, establish a sacred venue, and proclaim the Dharma. You, Your Majesty, must personally bow, recite scriptures, and confess sins.”

Following these instructions, Emperor Wu commissioned Master Zhigong and others to draft a repentance text in 30 volumes based on Buddhist scriptures and principles. After the rituals of repentance and prostration were completed, a radiant celestial being appeared before Emperor Wu, expressing gratitude: “Through the power of the Buddha, I have been freed from the python’s form and will ascend to the heavens. I have come to offer my thanks.”

This repentance text, initiated by Emperor Wu and effective in liberating Lady Chi, has been revered for generations. It is credited with transforming countless beings and is known as the Precious Repentance (Bao Chan). It is believed to eliminate disasters, remove sins, and bring blessings. Named The Compassionate Dharma Field Repentance by Maitreya Bodhisattva in a dream, the text was later condensed into ten volumes. Due to its origins with Emperor Wu, it is also called The Liang Emperor’s Repentance Text.

Known as the most extensive repentance text in Chinese Buddhist history, it is honored as the “King of Repentance Texts.” Buddhist practitioners commonly use it for disaster prevention and the liberation of deceased souls, making it one of the longest-practiced repentance rituals in Chinese Buddhism. Its comprehensive content integrates the teachings of Mahayana sutras and the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Having evolved over more than a millennium, The Liang Emperor’s Repentance Text is suitable for both monastics and laypeople. Repentance teaches us to cleanse our hearts in the waters of the Dharma. The practice purifies the mind stained by sins and encourages proactive acceptance of karma with responsibility. This form of repentance cultivates compassion, inspiring the practitioner to benefit all beings and walk the Bodhisattva Path. The practice combines scripture recitation and prostration, engaging body, speech, and mind in the purest way.

You are sincerely invited to join the Liang Emperor’s Repentance Ritual to pray for the liberation of ancestors, repentance of karmic debts, and the accumulation of merit and wisdom. As one of the most revered repentance texts in Buddhism, The Liang Emperor’s Repentance Text aids beings in eradicating karmic obstacles, resolving enmities, and enhancing blessings. It is also a prayer for world peace and the happiness of all sentient beings.

Join us at the serene and dignified Mahayana Temple Retreat, where we will gather to receive the Buddha’s compassion, cultivate merit, and strengthen our connections with one another.

For more information, please contact us at info@mahayana.us or visit our website.

Details

Start:
August 30
End:
September 6

Organizer

Mahayana Temple
Phone:
+2129258787
Email:
info@mahayana.us
View Organizer Website

Venue

Mahayana Temple Retreat
700 Ira Vail Road
Leeds, NY 12451 United States
+ Google Map
Phone:
5186223619
View Venue Website

Open Hours

8:30am - 5:30pm EST
Every Day

Contact Us

133 Canal Street, New York, NY 10002
Tel: (212) 925-8787
Extension 110 or 103

2025. All Rights Reserved.

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