The entire ritual programme of the
Yaoshi Bao Chan is divided into three volumes. The twelve great vows of
Yaoshi and the meaning of the
Yaoshi jing are respectively incorporated into the ritual's liturgical text, so that the reciters can repent, worship the
Triple Gem, recite mantras and pay homage to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas throughout the liturgy. The liturgy is typically performed through a style of Chinese Buddhist chanting called
fanbai.
Volume One (1368 - 1644) statue of Yaoshi Fo at Chongfu Temple
[zh] in
Shanxi,
China. This section begins with a recitation of a hymn by participants called the
Yangzhi jingshui zan (楊枝淨水讚, lit: "Praise of the Willow Branch and Pure Water"): The assembly then chants "
Namo Qingliangdi Pusa Mohesa" (南無清涼地菩薩摩訶薩), meaning "I take refuge in the Bodhisattva
Mahāsattvas of the Pure and Cool Ground", up to three times. Next, the assembly chants "
Namo Sheng Guanzizai Pusa" (南無聖觀自在菩薩), meaning "I take refuge in the Noble
Guanzizai Bodhisattva", up to three times as well. This is followed by the chanting of numerous mantras, namely the
Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, all the
Ten Small Mantras as well as three more repetitions of the
Aparimitāyur-jñāna-suviniścita-tejo-rājāya Dhāraṇī. The
Heart Sūtra is then chanted, followed by three repetitions of "
Mohe bore boluomiduo" (摩訶般若波羅蜜多), meaning "Mahāprajñāpāramitā". Following the initial purifications, the assembly offers incense with another hymn called the
xiangzan (香讚, lit: “Incense Praise”) that describes the incense smoke pervading the
Dharma Realm and reaching the assembly of Yaoshi. The assembly then chants three times that they take refuge in the
Bodhisattva Mahāsattvas of the incense cloud canopy (香雲蓋菩薩摩訶薩). Verses providing a visionary description of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, commonly known in Chinese as
Puxian (普賢), is then chanted. This section describes Puxian appearing on a white elephant mount, emitting multiple kinds of lights which manifests countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who rain down flowers upon the assembly while jade maidens play music and sing songs praising the
Mahāyāna, surrounded by transformation Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and praised by heavenly maidens. The participants then sincerely make one full prostration to each of the constantly abiding Triple Gem of the ten directions before kneeling down and holding up an offering plate filled with flowers, incense and rice to make the offering. During this time, the participants chant verses expressing their wish that the fragrant flowers will decorate all immeasurable sacred Buddha Lands in the ten directions, and that they will accomplish the Bodhisattva path to the complete level of a Tathāgata. and rebirth in the three evil destinies (of
hell-beings,
hungry ghosts and
animals). The liturgy then cites the
Yaoshi jing, noting that it was out of compassion for such suffering sentient beings that Yaoshi instructed those who read and recited his sutra to make of seven images of himself, each with seven lamps, their flames “as large as cart-wheels,” maintained unbroken for forty-nine days. The liturgy states that such practices are suitable for
kṣatriyas and for wealthy
householders whose treasuries overflow with resources. The liturgy further states that, for “those of meagre means” who rejoice in the Dharma but who cannot afford to adorn their practice according to the full prescription, the method of repentance of the
Yaoshi Bao Chan was translated from the
Yaoshi jing so that all may benefit. The liturgy recommends that practitioners should observe purity, fast, and bathe; practice either in a monastery or at home; invite monastic companions or gather virtuous friends; sweep, cleanse, and purify the place; offer incense, flowers, lamps, and candles according to their ability; follow the prescribed verses and chants; and bow with utmost sincerity and devotion. According to the prose, if practitioners were to follow these instructions, then there will be nothing sought that will not receive a response, and no vow made that will not be fulfilled. The assembly then takes refuge in a particular list of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other holy Buddhist figures. This list is invoked repeatedly at various points later in the ritual, and makes its first appearance here. The list consists of: After taking refuge in the list of Buddhist divinities, the assembly next recites a section listing the wide range of motivations sentients for which sentient beings should undertake and practice Yaoshi's dharma. It states that any sentient beings who wish to bring welfare and happiness to themselves and others, remove all karmic obstructions, and establish superior merit may perform this practice. These include those who wish to fulfil the great vows of the Buddhas, to uphold all Buddha-names and the treasury of true Dharma, or to attain
anuttara-samyak-sambodhi together with the Buddha's thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs. Others may seek immeasurable wisdom and skilful means in order to establish beings in the Mahāyāna; to practice
brahmacarya, keep unbroken precepts, and perfect the three sets of pure precepts; or to obtain complete sense faculties, freedom from illness, and abundant household wealth. Some may wish to escape
Māra’s nets and the snares of heterodox views; women may aspire to be reborn male; parents may wish to obtain sons or daughters; others may desire long life, release from legal punishment and sorrow, fine food, Dharma nourishment, splendid garments, and precious adornments. Practitioners may also aspire to perfect generosity without stinginess, to acquire right view, diligence, well-regulated intentions, learning, sharp faculties, understanding of profound teachings, constant access to good spiritual friends, and the ability to maintain all disciplinary rules. Some may pray for rebirth in
Amituofo (Amitābha)’s Western Pure Land of
Sukhavati to hear the true Dharma; others wish to restore purity after breaking precepts or to extend an exhausted lifespan; still others may seek the pacification of calamities afflicting entire realms and populations. All such people, the liturgy says, should purify themselves, adorn the rite according to Dharma, and single-mindedly take refuge in Yaoshi and cultivate samādhi. This is because Yaoshi, while practicing the Bodhisattva path, made twelve sublime vows whose merit enables those who hear his name to have their karmic obstacles removed and their wishes fulfilled. Therefore, practitioners are urged to trust, understand, practice as taught, and offer even body, life, and possessions without stinginess, with the assurance that the intended results will be achieved. (1368–1644) mural of
Yaoshi with
Bodhisattvas and
heavenly kings. Currently held at the
Royal Ontario Museum. The assembly then reaffirms refuge in the previous list of Buddhist divinities again. After this, the practitioners earnestly take refuge and invite all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to descend to the ritual space, together with the celestial beings of the
devas,
nāgas, the
Eight Legions, and the
yakṣa generals, asking them to arouse compassion and bear witness to the rite. The participants declare that they undertake the repentance not merely for themselves but on behalf of all beings in the ten directions and all six realms, aspiring to cultivate unsurpassed bodhi, remove all karmic obstacles, and enter together into the great ocean of the Tathāgata's vows. They vow to manifest bodies universally, to make offerings to all Buddhas and the Triple Gem in a single instant, and to liberate all beings of the six realms in a single thought, establishing them in the wisdom of equality. Thus, with single-minded diligence, they practice according to the teachings and beseech the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, especially through the power of Yaoshi's original vows, to accept their repentance, remove their obscurations, and perfect their conduct and aspirations. The liturgy praises Yaoshi as an “Omniscient, Perfectly Enlightened One,” whose radiance surpasses sun and moon, whose brilliance awakens even beings in dark realms, and whose compassionate vows ensure that all who seek him have their wishes fulfilled and their illnesses dispelled. Even if one were to spend an entire aeon proclaiming the breadth of his vows and skilful means, the liturgy says, they could not be exhausted. Therefore, the practitioners once again wholeheartedly take refuge and bow in reverence. After this, the assembly recites the
Yaoshi Guanding Zhenyan, a popular mantra which is associated with Yaoshi. Following this, they chant a short hymn of praise to Yaoshi: The assembly then chants the name of Yaoshi several times before ending with "
Namo Xiaozai Yanshou Yaoshi Fo" (南無消灾延壽藥師佛), meaning "I take refuge in Yaoshi Buddha who averts calamities and extends lifespans". The term "
Xiaozai Yanshou" is a particularly popular epithet of Yaoshi and is frequently used to venerate and pay respects to him in Chinese Buddhist practice. Next, the assembly chants another short
gāthā before ending volume one with more recitations of "
Namo Xiaozai Yanshou Yaoshi Fo" while circumambulating the altar and dedicating the accumulated merits:
Volume Two (1368 - 1644) statue of Yaoshi Fo at
Liurong Temple in
Guangzhou,
China. Cast in 1663.Volume two opens with an invocatory verse that hails Yaoshi as the compassionate lord who responds to the cries of beings throughout the cosmos: The liturgy then states that all Buddhas, out of pity for sentient beings, have proclaimed the
Yaoshi Bao Chan. The assembly “now takes refuge in all Buddhas” and chants their refuge in the same extended list of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and holy figures introduced in volume one. Having bowed to the Buddhas, the assembly proceeds to a formal repentance. Each member of the assembly then chants that they, along with all others in the assembly, undertake this practice universally for the “four kinds of kindness” (to parents, sentient beings, sovereign, and Triple Gem), for the three realms of existence (
Kama-loka,
Rupa-loka and
Arupa-loka), and for all beings throughout the
Dharma Realm. They vow to cut off the three obstacles (arising from afflictions, karma and retribution) and devote themselves to repentance. The prose describes how from beginningless time, because of attachment and mistaken views, sentient beings inwardly cling to self and others, externally follow bad friends, and fail to rejoice in even the slightest good done by others. Instead, through the three karmas of body, speech, and mind, they “broadly commit various evils”: even if their deeds are not broad, their evil intentions pervade. Day and night, these offenses continue without interruption. They conceal their faults, do not wish others to know, do not fear the evil destinies, lack shame and remorse, and even deny the law of cause and effect. Such karmic obstructions, the liturgy says, have not yet been repented. Now, before the Buddhas of the ten directions and Yaoshi, the practitioners arouse deep faith in karma and retribution, profound shame and great fear. They “expose and repent,” resolve to cut off the mind of continued wrongdoing, arouse bodhicitta, abandon evil, cultivate good, and diligently restrain the three karmas so as to reverse their heavy past transgressions. They express joy and rejoice in even the slightest good performed by both ordinary beings and sages, and recollect that Yaoshi Buddha, by his great vow-power, can rescue them from the “ocean of two deaths” and set them firmly upon the “shore of the three virtues” (wisdom, kindness and the elimination of afflictions). They beseech Yaoshi's compassion to accept and protect them, and take refuge and bow to him with sincere minds. The assembly then chants their refuge in the same extended list of Buddhist divinities. (618–907) image of the
Pure Land of
Yaoshi, from the
Mogao Caves near
Dunhuang in
Gansu,
China. Yaoshi is seated in the center of the image, while
Bodhisattvas are dancing and playing music in front of him. Currently located at the
British Museum Department of Asia.|leftA second major repentance section then follows, this time framed explicitly in terms of “diseases” as a metaphor for karmic afflictions. The assembly confesses that from beginningless time up to the present, they have been afflicted by many types of “diseases”: the disease of greed, anger, and jealousy; the disease of arrogance and pride; the disease of not recognizing good and evil; the disease of not believing in sins and blessings; the disease of filial impiety and the
five heinous crimes; the disease of reviling and disgracing the Triple Gem; the disease of failing to observe vegetarian practices; the disease of breaking
śīla; the disease of praising oneself and disparaging others; the disease of insatiable craving; the disease of being infatuated with sights and sounds; the disease of clinging to fragrance and touch; the disease of wrong faith and inverted views; the disease of indulgence in licentiousness and alcohol; the disease of heedlessness and lack of restraint; the disease of “encountering a physician and yet given non-medicine,” as well as the disease of all manners of external calamities, insults, grief, mental anguish and bodily suffering. At this point, the assembly chants a section of the liturgy that quotes directly from a passage that is in most contemporary publications of the
Yaoshi jing, recalling that, in order to eliminate these illnesses and fulfill their wishes, Yaoshi entered a samādhi called “Eliminating All the Sufferings and Distress of Sentient Beings” (除滅一切眾生苦惱). Having entered this concentration, he emitted a great light from his
uṣṇīṣa, and within that radiance he proclaimed the
Yaoshi Guanding Zhenyan. The assembly recites the mantra again at this point. Then, the liturgy describes the earth trembling and great light shining forth; all sentient beings have their sicknesses dispelled and obtain peace and happiness. The liturgy concludes that the power of repentance is an efficacious medicine which cures the myriad diseases of the mind and provides a marvelous prescription for transcending birth and death. The assembly then chants an exposition on Yaoshi as the “Great King of Physicians,” who administers medicine according to the illnesses of sentient beings. It explains that the
four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are medicines; patience and gentleness are medicines; right faith in the
Triple Gem is a medicine; diligent cultivation of merit and wisdom is a medicine; the
six pāramitās are medicines; the
amṛta of the Dharma is a medicine; desiring and seeking the Dharma is a medicine; Cultivating the truth and conserving energy is a medicine; returning to one's fundamental origin is a medicine; the ability to correct one own's faults is a medicine;
skillful means are medicines; remaining calm and keeping an unassuming attitude in the face of adversity is a medicine; purifying the mind and cutting off desires are medicines. Practitioners are urged to “pound, sift, and compound” these medicines, and “take them at the proper times”. From the standpoint of ultimate truth, however, the liturgy then states that sentient beings’ various illnesses are all the same “illusory illness” and the Buddha's various medicines are all the same "illusory medicine.” It expounds that if one speaks of many distinct methods, this is merely conventional and “inverted”, and rhetorically asks, according to the
Ekayāna and
True Suchness, what increases or decreases, is pure or impure, is good or evil, is sin or merit, is illness or cure. The liturgy then gives the analogy of a person in a dream who dreams of being sick, seeking a doctor and being cured after taking medicine, but who then wakes up and realizes that there is no illness or medication at all in reality. Likewise, sentient beings’ afflictions are ultimately illusions, and the Tathāgata's teachings are likewise skillful illusions. Citing the
Lotus Sūtra, the liturgy states that the Dharma spoken by the Buddhas is “one mark and one flavor”: the mark of liberation, the mark of separation, the mark of extinction, and the ultimate attainment of
nirvāṇa, returning to
emptiness in the end. The liturgy then states that, just like how rain falls from one cloud but nourishes medicinal trees of various sizes, the assembly has now, through the Buddha's grace, heard the name of “
Yaoshi Liuli Guang Rulai” and will therefore no longer suffer the hardship of illness, ultimately attaining
Unsurpassed Bodhi. For this reason, they vow from this day until the end of their lives to “share one mind” in taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. The assembly once again chants the extended list of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and holy beings as an act of refuge. (618–907) painting of Yaoshi. Held at the
Palace Museum in
Beijing. A third major repentance section then follows. The assembly chants a list of practical instructions for sentient beings who wish to be freed from the suffering of illnesses. The liturgy advises others to uphold for that person the
eight precepts for seven days and seven nights; to offer food, drink, and other requisites to the monastic saṅgha according to their abilities; and to worship and circumambulate day and night in the six periods of practice, making offerings to Yaoshi. They are enjoined to recite the
Yaoshi jing forty-nine times, and to light forty-nine lamps whose light remains unextinguished for forty-nine days. By doing so, the liturgy promises, the sick person can attain deliverance from grave dangers, and avoid harm from various evil ghosts. In light of this, the liturgy states, the present assembly diligently burns incense, scatters flowers, lights lamps, hangs banners, engages in
life release, and cultivates merit, so that they may be delivered from suffering and freed from misfortunes. The assembly then humbly requests Yaoshi to act as the witness of their repentance. The participants confess that from beginningless time up to the present, whatever they have done that does not accord with their wishes is entirely due to karmic retribution from past evil deeds. Therefore, they must now exert themselves in repentance.The assembly then enumerates a series of karmic consequences that they repent for, namely the karmic retributions of: nightmares and omens and various misfortunes in the
human realm; evil illnesses that persist for months and years, leaving one bedridden and unable to rise in the human realm; epidemics and pestilences of winter and summer as well as plagues and febrile diseases in the human realm; disasters of water, fire, thieves, and weapons in the human realm; injuries inflicted by lions, tigers, wolves, poisonous snakes, scorpions and centipedes in the human realm; the sorrows and suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death in the human realm; the accumulation of evil karma through body, speech, and mind of all
sentient beings; the rebirths in the three evil destinies where one endures severe torment for innumerable thousands of years of all sentient beings; the endless transmigrations through the
hell realm,
animal realm, and
hungry ghost realm of all sentient beings, so that they will no longer be reborn in any of the evil destinies; the rebirths as slaves and servants driven by others of all sentient beings; the rebirths as oxen, horses, camels, and donkeys constantly beaten and forced to bear heavy loads while tormented by hunger and thirst of all sentient beings; as well as the effects of harmful magic, curses, poisons, flying corpses, malevolent spirits, and deceptive supernatural disturbances in the human realm. These present and future calamities in human and heavenly realms, namely countless disasters, plagues, and fatal afflictions, are all brought before Yaoshi and the “ocean-like assembly of holy beings” as the assembly repent of them and begs for all such karmic retributions to be completely extinguished. The liturgy reiterates that “disease” and “medicine” ultimately return to a single illusion, and declares that that karmic retributions and obstacles arise from evil karma. The assembly then performs a grand
dedication of merit. They vow that the merit produced by this repentance of the three obstacles (arising from afflictions, karma and retribution) enjoy incalculable and inextinguishable bodily and mental peace, abundant food and clothing, flourishing families, full granaries and treasuries, dignified forms, keen intelligence, wisdom, courage, and power, with generals protecting them as well as the Buddhas and divine beings supporting them, and that all their undertakings be successful. in
Hunan,
China.|left The assembly further wishes that they speedily attain
Bodhi, adorned with brilliant marks, radiant lights and supreme majesty; that all sentient beings beings illuminated by the light awaken and pursue their chosen wholesome endeavors; that all sentient beings obtain inexhaustible resources and lack nothing in their possessions; that all sentient beings establish the
Mahāyāna and abide securely on the Bodhi path; that all sentient beings maintain unbroken precepts (and if broken, regain purity); that all sentient beings be upright and wise, possess complete faculties and freedom from illness; that all sentient beings have every kind of sickness dispelled and household prosperity ensured; that all sentient beings transform from female to male, endowed with the marks of a great person, until they attain
Bodhi; that all beings escape
Māra’s nets and the entanglements of heterodox teachings; that those oppressed by grief, and sorrow from legal punishments be liberated; that all sentient beings have sufficient food and drink and ultimately, through the taste of the Dharma, ultimately attain peace and happiness; that all sentient beings obtain the garments they desire; that all sentient beings enjoy long life, wealth, high office, as well as male and female offspring, and that whatever they seek be accomplished. The assembly then requests that in all worlds, strange disasters, the nine kinds of untimely death, the eight difficulties and three calamities, foreign invasions, bandits and rebellions, and all other evil disasters be entirely eradicated; that the realm be peaceful, the winds and rains arrive in season, grains and crops ripen, and that all sentient beings be free of illness and full of joy, have their Bodhi vows and practices increase in clarity in every moment and always think of relieving suffering beings as if they were their own. The assembly further wishes that, in lifetime after lifetime, wherever they are, they will be reborn far from border regions, in families of right faith, with dignified appearance, wisdom, eloquence, freedom from evil dharmas, closeness to good spiritual friends, firm adherence to discipline, and establishment in the
Mahāyāna. The assembly also prays that, in lifetime after lifetime, wherever they are, they may promote and manifest the Buddha-Dharma, break the nets of demons, vigorously cultivate the
six pāramitās, widely cultivate offerings, perfect merit and wisdom, practice patience and diligence, and ultimately realize the Bodhi path. The assembly then concludes that the practitioners must constantly recollect and repay the compassion and virtue of Yaoshi by ceaselessly benefiting and bringing peace and happiness to all beings. Thus thee assembly again single-mindedly take refuge and bow in reverence. The
Yaoshi Guanding Zhenyan is then recited once more, followed by a final short hymn praising Yaoshi as the supreme physician-king of the East: As in volume one, volume two concludes with more recitations of Yaoshi's name as well as "
Namo Xiaozai Yanshou Yaoshi Fo" by the assembly while they circumambulate the altar and dedicate the accumulated merits.
Volume Three and
Candraprabha flanking him at
Haihui Temple in
Hunan,
China. Volume three opens with an invocatory verse that describes the Buddha's salvatory activities: The liturgy then states that all Buddhas, out of pity for sentient beings, have proclaimed the
Yaoshi Bao Chan. The assembly again takes refuge in all Buddhas and chants their refuge in the same extended list of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and holy figures introduced in volume one. Having bowed to the Buddhas, the assembly proceeds to another formal repentance section. According to the liturgy, since they have already confessed earlier offenses, the assembly should now generate a “mind free of defilement and turbidity, without anger or harm,” and develop the four immeasurables benefits of happiness, compassion, joy, and equanimity toward all sentient beings. Following this, they should gather their thoughts and contemplate correctly, neither severing afflictions nor dwelling in the sea of afflictions, and observe that all dharmas (phenomena) are empty. The assembly then chants a short meditation on the mind's nature: this “deluded mind” that arises in accordance with conditions, does it arise because of the mind or not because of the mind? Is it both because of the mind and not because of the mind, or neither? as well as the “Liberated Sangha of the three vehicles and four fruits” whom the assembly hopes will "bestow compassion and mercifully receive (the assembly)". The assembly next chants a prose section acknowledging that they have deviated from their true nature and fallen into the stream of delusion, drifting in
saṃsāra, attached to forms and sounds, accumulated the karma of having
āsravas via the
ten fetters (lack of conscience, lack of shame, envy, parsimony, remorse, drowsiness, flightiness, slackness, wrath, hypocrisy) and ten afflictions (
craving,
aversion,
delusion, pride, doubt, view of attachment to self, view of attachment to extremes, non-Buddhist religious views, view of attachment to views, view of incorrect attachment to precepts), as well as generating boundless sin through the
six senses and
six sense-objects. The assembly further admits to being lost in the sea of suffering, drowning on the wrong path, clingig to the self and indulging in attachment to others, upholding what is crooked and discarding what is right as well as accumulating countless karmic over many lifetimes. The assembly then repents to the Triple Gem and prays for the Buddha to liberate them and for virtuous friends to guide and support them, such that they may escape the abyss of afflictions to reach the other shore of
Bodhi. The assembly then goes on to articulate aspirations: that worldly fortune and rank flourish in this life, that the seedlings of wisdom flourish in the next, to be born in
Madhyadeśa, often meet wise teachers, take ordination as a monastic with right faith, enter the path with childlike innocence, have sharp faculties (
six senses) and harmonious body-speech-mind, remain unstained by worldly ties, maintain pure
brahmacarya and precepts and remain untouched by worldly defilements, strictly protect their dignity and ensure that even the smallest creature remains unharmed, avoid the eight difficult conditions and lack of the four conditions, have
prajñā manifest and
bodhicitta never regress, cultivate the true
Dharma and fully understand the
Mahāyāna, open the gate of the
six pāramitās, cross the ocean of the three
asaṃkhyeya kalpas (which refers to the length of time a
Bodhisattva must spend cultivating before attaining
Buddhahood), erect the banners of Dharma everywhere, break the nets of doubt, subdue all Māras, inherit the Triple Gem and making them flourish, serve Buddhas in the ten directions without fatigue, master all Dharma Doors and thoroughly understand them, widely cultivate blessings and wisdom, universally benefit the multitudes of sentient beings, gain the six supernormal powers, and complete Buddhahood in one lifetime. in
Hong Kong. The assembly then vows that, following their previously articulated aspirations, they shall never abandon the
Dharma Realm but enter all the myriad worlds that number as many as dust motes, emulate
Guanyin’s compassion and
Puxian’s vast vows, appear in different bodies in other worlds and this world according to the needs of
sentient beings and preach the wondrous Dharma, sometimes emitting great light and sometimes performing various divine transformations even in the evil destinies such as the realms of hells and hungry ghosts. Each member of the assembly vows that all who see their form or even hear their name will arouse
bodhicitta and forever be liberated from the sufferings of
saṃsāra. The liturgy vividly describes transforming the lands of fiery cauldrons and icy rivers (meaning
hells) into fragrant groves, causing those who "eat copper and drink iron” (meaning
hungry ghosts) to be reborn in the
Pure Land, freeing beings with fur and horns (meaning
animals) and those burdened by karmic debt and resentment from bitterness and allowing them to receive benefits and bliss, appearing as herbs in times of plague and as grains in times of famine, as well as benefiting all without exception. Finally, the assembly prays that their karmic creditors from past and future lives as well as their current family members escape the four kinds of birth, abandon attachments built up over countless kalpas, and, together with all sentient beings, attain
Buddhahood. The vow closes with the formula: “Even if the void has an end, my vow has no end. May sentient and insentient beings alike together perfect omniscient wisdom.” The ritual ends with verses for concluding the altar (結壇). The assembly chants that the merit of the repentance is supreme and dedicates them to all sentient beings sinking in suffering such that they may swiftly be reborn in the
Pure Land of
Amituofo. The assembly then invokes the Buddhas of the three periods (of past, present and future),
Wenshu (Mañjuśrī),
Puxian,
Guanyin, and all great
Bodhisattva Mahāsattvas, as well as
Mahāprajñāpāramitā, before proclaiming a short verse describing their attributes: "Dwelling in the world, yet like empty space. Resembling the lotus flower, unstained by water. Their minds pure and undefiled, transcending these things. I bow in reverence to the Unsurpassed Honoured One." The liturgy then recites the
Three Refuges vows: “I take refuge in the Buddha, may all sentient beings understand the great Way and the unsurpassed mind of the Dharma; I take refuge in the Dharma, may all sentient beings deeply enter the Buddhist canon and attain wisdom as vast as the ocean; I take refuge in the Saṅgha, may all sentient beings guide and harmonize the masses without any obstructions." The assembly then ends the third volume and by proclaiming a salutation to the noble assembly. == Ritual manual ==