History

According to historical records of Song dynasty (10th – 13th century C.E.), the tradition of Deliverance Service for All in Water and Land started during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Liang ( 502-549 C.E.). It is said that the emperor dreamt a sagely monk, who suggested him that, “regarding the endless sufferings of the four modes and the six realms (or six gati) of rebirth, why don’t you organise an assembly to deliver all the beings in water and land from that?” The next day, he consulted his civil and military officials about the dream but none of them could interpret it. A monk named Bao Zhi advised to turn to Buddhist scriptures. The emperor agreed and recruited a number of monks from India to study the Tripitaka, i.e. the entire volume of Buddhist Canon. Three years later, the formulation of a ritual guideline for deliverance services was accomplished. Soon after that, a Water-and-Land Aid was held at Jinshan Temple for universal confession and deliverance and the rite had become a prevailing religious culture during the Song dynasty.

Significance of the Deliverance Service

The temple at Ngong Ping was founded by three monks from Jiangsu Province in 1906 and was officially named ‘Po Lin Monastery’ in 1924. The 7-day Deliverance Service for All in Water and Land was held here from the 12th to 19th of the eleventh lunar month every year. In addition to free meals, the monastery invited monks to chant and deliver all beings in water and land from the sufferings of the four modes and the six directions of rebirth, and at the same time, they also prayed for individual health, social property and peace of the world.

The Service being a mass rite that the involved repentance was significant not only in religious terms but also in the secular term. Believers took the chance to pray for their relatives and ancestors with gratitude for the legacy they left to today. On the first day of the Deliverance Service, delegates from national department of religious affairs, legislators, officials and Buddhist institutions were all invited to the opening ceremony at the Po Lin Hall. The guests were shown thecharity achievements made by the monastery in the past years and updated the construction project of the Ten Thousand Buddha’s Hall.

The Escort

The climax came with the Escort on the closing day in order to send the welcomed sages respectfully to depart. At noon of the last service day, a line of monks who were chanting in the Tai Hung Po Din (the main hall for worship), stepped down from the hall with patakas (flags or streamers) in hand and headed towards the Circular Mound Altar in front of the Tian Tan Buddha. Upon reaching the Altar, the monks started burning paper-maches including horses in five colours and Prajna’s boats (or, boats of wisdom) as well as offerings, the statue of Tai Shi, the transcripts of prayer, and tablets for the sages, which means sending the sages up to the devaloka, or the heaven. While the monks were performing the Escort, others let free different animals living in sky, land and water. When all rituals were completed, the 7-day assembly ended by fulfilling its merits and virtues successfully.

Moreover, it is noted that the altars were more formal and strict in decoration than regular worship sites. The statue of Buddha was set in the centre of the interior altar and various offerings like fruits, flowers, candles and joss sticks fill the altar table. The walls of both sides were covered by the portraits of Buddha and sages which were especially intended for the occasion, meaning that the attendance of all sages have been solicited.