'', performs
deity yoga with the Bodhisattva
Guanyin as the
yidam.
Ritual Outline The Buddhist version of the rite involves assembling beings from all of the
six realms of
saṃsāra, which involves an assault on hell followed by a banquet for the
egui. There are two types of
Yuqie Yankou rites: the "
yin yankou" (陰燄口,
Yīn yànkǒu) which is usually held for the benefit of the recently deceased and ancestors, and the "
yang yankou" (陽燄口,
Yáng yànkǒu) which is usually held for the longevity and general blessings of the living as well as for warding off disasters. The officiating monastics also makes use of tantric ritual items during this process, such as
vajras (金剛棒,
Jīngāngbàng) and
ghantas (金剛鈴,
Jīngānglíng).
Entering Samadhi (1368–1644) statues of the
Five Tathāgatas in
Shanhua Temple in
Datong,
Shanxi,
China. From left to right:
Baosheng Fo,
Amituofo,
Piluzhena Fo,
Achu Fo,
Bukong Chengjiu Fo.|left The chorus sings a hymn praising the
Five Tathāgatas while the celebrant begins empowering himself by first blessing the five-pointed leaves of the Five Buddha crown (by using ambrosia-water to trace
Siddhaṃ characters on them) and then fastening the leaves. According to Zhuhong's commentary on the liturgy, not only are the
Five Tathāgatas present in the crown, but the entire
maṇḍala of the Thirty-seven Deities (三十七尊,
Sānshíqī zūn) in the
Diamond Realm (金剛界,
Jīngāngjiè) described in the
Vajraśekhara Sūtra is installed in the crown and will also confer their blessings and powers on the celebrant. After doing so, the celebrant maintains the “pride of Guanyin” (觀音慢,
Guānyīn Màn), which is a term used to refer to the divine pride which is common in
tantric practices that accompanies the identification of oneself with an enlightened being, as opposed to the mundane definition of pride as arrogance. While in this state, the celebrant will then visualize himself universally feeding all those in hunger. The purification process then begins with the recitation of two specific mantras, after which the celebrant delivers two quatrains praising the wisdom, eloquence and purity of Guanyin as well as her powers to dispel illnesses and aeons of calamity before requesting Guanyin to turn her attention towards humanity (人間,
rénjiān) by manifesting herself.
Ganlu, the sweet nectar which bestows immortality, is often used as a metaphor for
Nirvana, so the Buddhist teachings (which lead to Nirvana) is likened to the gateway to obtaining
ganlu. This section then ends with the recitation of another mantra.) associated with
Guanyin to enter the
daochang. The subsection then closes with the assembly reciting more mantras and quatrains, such as the
Thirty-five Confession Buddhas, to the accompaniment of percussion instruments.
Universal offering The
Heart Sūtra, read silently rather than chanted, as well as a hymn summoning the various beings within
saṃsāra to the rite and expounding the goals of the ritual are recited by the assembly. The celebrant then visualizes the six offerings of incense, lamps, (sandalwood) paste, fruits and music as the rest of the performers sing descriptive verses corresponding to the visualization. Each offering is associated with a specific goddess known as a Buddha-mother (佛母,
Fómǔ), who are embodiments of the Buddha's six virtues of generosity, morality, forbearance, vigor, meditative-concentration and wisdom. More mantras and gāthās are chanted before the subsection ends.
Lower Section Entering Samādhi The celebrant chants several quatrains together with the chorus, offering praises and homage to the
Buddha,
Dharma,
Sangha and
Guanyin. The celebrant then meditates on transforming himself or herself into the form of
Guanyin as in the Upper Section, but using a more detailed and elaborate meditation sequence in this section. This subsection closes with the rapid recitation of the “Breaking
Diyu Gāthā” from the
Avataṃsaka Sūtra to the accompaniment of percussions performed by hitting a
wooden fish after the celebrant has successfully visualized himself or herself as fully identified with
Guanyin.
Inviting And Summoning is the bodhisattva most associated with the salvation of beings who reincarnate in hell. The celebrant continues to recite mantras while visualizing himself or herself as
Guanyin breaking
Diyu (the
Buddhist hells) apart and freeing suffering beings. This is accompanied by the clashing of cymbals and the ringing of vajra bells by the assisting monastics. After this, the percussion ensemble reaches a cacophony, announcing and celebrating the destruction of the hells. Led by the celebrant, the performers invite and receive bodhisattvas associated with the salvation of souls in hell, including
Dizang (地藏菩薩,
Dìzàng Púsà) and the "Sovereign Who Leads Souls Bodhisattva" (引魂王菩薩,
Yǐnhúnwáng Púsà). After this, the performers chant the formal text for summoning the different types of beings to the rite. The first type to be summoned to the rite is the orphaned souls of the emperors, kings, dukes and all members of the various royal families. This is followed by the summoning of the orphaned souls of fallen warriors, officers and generals in battles and other brave soldiers who have died. Next the orphaned souls of the civil officials, ministers and other non-military officials of the past are summoned. The next group to be summoned is the orphaned souls of the scholars and members of the Confucian literati. Other groups summoned to the rite are orphaned souls of monks and nuns, virtuous lay Buddhists, Daoist practitioners, merchants and traders, soldiers who died in battles, pregnant women killed, or those who died in childbirth, courtesans, those who died due to water, fire and other accidents, and finally the beings of the six realms of
saṃsāra and the ten types of orphaned souls.
Exoteric food bestowal The celebrant addresses all the orphaned souls that have been summoned to the rite. After admonishing the summoned orphaned souls the right decorum and deportment to adopt at the rite, the celebrant then instructs the orphaned souls to take refuge in the Buddhas and receive the
Dharma-seal so that they can eventually attain
enlightenment. The celebrant then instructs and leads all gathered at the
daochang (ritual space) in a hymn in praise of
Guanyin. As the hymn is sung, the celebrant begins to bless the platters of food-offering placed in front of him or her by tracing Sanskrit syllables written in
Siddhaṃ. The hymn ends with a supplication to
Guanyin. The food is then scattered into the space directly in front of the Yuqie Altar. As the celebrant begins to toss the food-offering into the space in front of him, the
weina recites hymns describing the partaking of the bestowed food by the orphaned souls.
Eliminating impediments depicting the six realms of sentient beings in
saṃsāra at the
Dazu Rock Carvings in
Chongqing,
China. In this subsection, the celebrant, supported by the
weina and
yuezhong, uses mantras and mudrās to invite all sentient beings in the six realms of
saṃsāra:
devas, humans,
asuras, animals,
eguis and
hell-beings to the ritual space and partake of the nourishment. The celebrant chants several several other mantras and quatrains in a ritual act to eradicate the karmic offenses of the beings invited to the feast. Then, the celebrant performs a repentance ritual on behalf of the guests gathered at the feast, chanting new sets of mantras and performing more mudrās and visualizations. Finally, ambrosia is bestowed to quench the fires tormenting the
eguis and their constricted throats are opened via the recitation of more mantras.
Esoteric Food Bestowal This subsection begins with the administering of the
Three Refuges to the beneficiaries of the rite, the generation of
bodhicitta, followed by the transmission of the
esoteric samaya precepts. All are accomplished by the celebrant and the performing monastics reciting several sets of mantras and quatrains. After this, the ambrosia-food is transformed and multiplied by the celebrant using dhāraṇīs accompanied by visualizations before being offered to the summoned beings.
Transference of merit The monastics perform a prose addressed to the guests of the rite, admonishing them not to constantly crave after ordinary food obtained through the trading of livestock, food associated with blood and flesh, alcohol and the pungent plants while encouraging them to rely on the Dharma-food that that has been bestowed at the rite, which facilitates the generation of the
bodhicitta and ultimately leads to the attainment of
Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. The prose then invites everyone at the rite to
transfer all the merits gained from the performance of the ritual to “the unexcelled Bodhi”. The assembly next recites the
Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī while the attendant monastic uses rice grains to perform a ritual act that rouses all the ghosts and spirits into quickly taking rebirth in
Amituofo's Pure Land of
Sukhāvatī. More hymns and verses are then recited. At the closing of the rite, a final mantra and mudrā is performed by the celebrant to send off the summoned beings. Accordingly then, Buddhas, bodhisattvas and other enlightened beings return to their respective pure lands while the unenlightened beings of the six realms are released or liberated from their respective states of ignorance and suffering. The celebrant then delivers a prose section to expound on how sentient beings give rise to delusions or the false from the True and remove the Five Buddha crown. All participants then recite the
Hundred Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva (金剛薩埵菩薩,
Jīngāngsàduǒ Púsà) and the celebrant delivers a final pronouncement. In this subsection, ritual exclamations deriving from
gong'an practices associated with the
Yunmen school of Chan are also incorporated into the liturgy.
Closing All participants then descend from the Yuqie Altar and processes to the front of the Mianran Altar while chanting homages to
Amituofo. At the Mianran Altar, the placards bearing the names of the beneficiaries of the rite are removed together with the placard with the name of
Mianran Dashi. All participants then walk to an open space where the placards are set on fire while the
Heart Sūtra is recited as the fire burns. The monastics and laity then return to the Yuqie Altar. Together facing the Yuqie Altar, both monastic and lay participants sing a general hymn of dedication of merit and a dedicatory hymn of taking refuge in the
Three Jewels accompanied with the full percussive ensemble. As they finish the last prayers, the food offered at the Mianran Altar is quickly distributed to all those who participated in the rite. == See also ==