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A Buddhist Blessing Ceremony |
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In October 2007, a
Buddhist blessing ceremony was performed in our apartment building, following the death of one of the
residents.
This traditional
ceremony was held in the large open space at the entry to our
apartment building and was performed by 9 monks (a very
auspicious number of monks to have perform a ceremony!). The purpose was to restore
harmony and remove any negative energy...
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To begin, an
altar is prepared
and blessed. Candles and
incense are lit.
And, offerings of
food and flowers
are made.
A long
string
is tied around the entire building,
top to bottom and then tied around
the Buddha images on the altar... |
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...the head monk begins the prayers and unwinds the string
so that all the monks are holding it in their hands
as they begin to chant |
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The
chanting lasts for over 30 minutes and the prayers fill the
whole building with the most beautiful, peaceful energy |
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The vibrations seem to penetrate into the very structure of the
walls, purifying and releasing anything negative or "stuck"
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| When
the chanting is finished, offerings are presented to the monks |
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They
are given food, toiletries and a variety of specialty items
they do not buy for themselves |
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At
the completion of the ceremony, the head monk cuts portions
of
the string (which has now been completely infused with prayers) and
each person receives an individual blessing |
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He
cuts the string, prays with it cupped in his hands, then he
blows the blessing into the string. It is then tied onto the
person's wrist (monks cannot touch women, so he places it in our
hand) |
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The
head monk also visited each apartment to
sprinkle holy water and perform a blessing.
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As a foreigner
living in Thailand, it was such a joy to be part of this
beautiful, traditional ceremony. It was also wonderful to
feel the difference in the building afterwards - it was an
amazing sense of peace, happiness and community.
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Visit
other pages in Deb's
Photo Gallery
Visit
Deb's
Flowering
Moon website
to learn more about Sacred Space Design, Feng Shui, Space Clearing,
Coaching and other ways to bring more balance and beauty to life.
All photos
copyright Deb Swingholm 2008 .
All rights reserved. |
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