In the Year of the Rabbit, may kindness and compassion be the keys to wholesome outcomes.
Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple 2023 Peace Lantern Festival will be held from January 22 to February 5 (the 1st to 15th day of the first lunar month). Venerable Master Hsing Yun's New Year blessing – May Benevolence and Harmony Bring Peaceful Wellbeing; Let Abundance and Joy Yield Auspiciousness in Our Lives – will be the main theme to wish everyone well during this 15-day lantern festival. At the beginning of the New Year, we invite you and your family to come to Hsi Lai Temple for blessings and to bring peace and happiness home!
On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, Venerable Master Hsing Yun instructed us, “In 2023, the Year of the Rabbit, treat people with compassion, and all good things will come to perfection." Although the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters have not yet dissipated, we can rely on the mastery of right understanding and right view to fill the world with care and harmony. The dark days will eventually be dispelled by us while a safe and warm Year of the Rabbit is welcoming us.
After going through natural calamities, man-made disasters, and the threat of the pandemic in 2022, we need more guidance down the road to enhance our blessings and wisdom, so that we can move forward steadily into the new year. "Peace Lantern" means peace and auspiciousness. It holds the meaning of dispelling darkness and bestowing light. Just like the Buddha’s light shines universally, the world will be full of warmth, happiness, light, and harmony.
2023 Lunar New Year Dharma Services
- 1/21(19:30): Lunar New Year‘s Eve Dharma Service
- 1/22(10:00): Homage to Thousand Buddha Dharma Service
- 1/28(19:30) & 1/29(09:00): Offering to Buddha and Celestial Guardians Dharma Service
- 2/5(10:00): Light-Offering Inauguration Dharma Service
Lunar New Year Cultural Performances
On the first day of the Lunar Year, there will be cultural performances like North Shaolin Lion Dance, Dunhuang Dance, Rangashree Dances of India, Aztec Eagle Dance and etc to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Main Theme Lantern
In 2023, the Year of the Rabbit, Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s New Year’s blessing to everyone is “May Benevolence and Harmony Bring Peaceful Wellbeing; Let Abundance and Joy Yield Auspiciousness in Our Lives.” He wishes that everyone treats each other with benevolence, harmony, humility, and compassion. With benevolence and harmony, we can have peaceful wellbeing all year round. Once we have peaceful wellbeing, we can be prosperous, joyous, and auspicious. All good things will be achieved.
Wishing Tree
In the new year, we should set new goals for ourselves. Make New Year's resolutions in front of the Wishing Tree and implement them step by step towards our goals.
Moonlight Novice
In the Avatamsaka Sutra, there is a verse which says, “The bodhisattva is like a clear cool moon, constantly coursing through ultimate emptiness; once the minds of sentient beings are purified, the bodhi moon shall manifest.” This means that the bodhisattva is like the moon traversing the sky. As long as the minds of sentient beings are purified without any defilements, the moonlight of awakening will be reflected in their hearts. The Moonlight Novice, like a bodhisattva who compassionately cares for all by treating all sentient beings with benevolence, harmony, humility, and compassion, will naturally bring peaceful wellbeing.
Lucky Rabbit Welcomes the New Year with Joined Palms
Putting palms together is also called "joining palms." When we put ten fingers together, it represents the Ten Dharma Realms – buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, sravakas, heavenly beings, human beings, asuras, hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals – joined in one mind and oneness with all life. This display shows that all things living on the earth have an interconnected relationship of oneness and coexistence and should live in harmony with one another.
Fearlessness in Heart, Dharma Realm in Mind
The Buddha is presenting the “mudra of fearlessness,” which is a hand gesture representing the Buddha’s great compassion for the relief of suffering beings, hoping to cause all sentient beings to feel peace, joy, and fearlessness. With open hands, the monastics symbolize “Dharma Realm in Mind, Universe in Heart.”
Journey through the Buddha Lands – An Interactive Tech Experience
During the Lunar New Year Festival this year, adhering to Venerable Master Hsing Yun's philosophy of "Propagating the Dharma through Science and Technology", Hsi Lai Temple combines cutting-edge technology to interpret the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Pure Land, and leads the public to discover "the Buddha in heart; the Dharma Realm in mind." For this, we create a brand-new technological experience for visitors touring Hsi Lai Temple.
Bodhisattva in Our World through Paintings - Creative Art traveling exhibit by Hui Chuan Wang
Melbourne resident and artist Dr. Hui Chuan Wang, Ph.D. shares her works created through the exhibit topic “Painting the Bodhisattvas of the Human World” with works created in Taiwan and Australia. The artist records her life and expresses her thoughts through painting. She also proposes questions through her art, while attempting to find answers throughout the creation process.
Because of this, each of her creations is a search for her true self. While looking into why the Bodhisattvas carry a smile, the artist referred to the saying by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, “When there is Dharma, there is a way.” Reading Hui Chuan Wang’s creations is like listening to her share her experiences voyaging with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Lunar New Year Jade Rabbit Painting Exhibition
This year's art exhibition showcases a summary of student work after studying professional painting. At this time, we share with you, our work and our joy of the art journey. With our paintings, may we usher in the blessings, happiness, and peace of the Spring Festival!
Lunar New Year Food Fair
Hsi Lai Temple's 2023 Lunar New Year Food Fair will showcase the traditional to the exquisite, with various styles of vegetarian food, allowing you to taste a different kind of plant-based cuisine. On the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, there will be many special food stands gathered for two consecutive days, so that your New Year’s outing will not be boring! The food stands are located in the parking lot in front of the Bodhisattva Hall, so you can eat wherever you go!
Hsi Lai Temple
- 01/22 — 01/23 ◎ 08:00 — 20:00
- 01/24 — 01/27 ◎ 09:00 — 17:00
- 01/28 — 01/29 ◎ 08:00 — 20:00
- 01/30 — 02/03 ◎ 09:00 — 17:00
- 02/04 — 02/05 ◎ 08:00 — 20:00
Temple Visit Reservation
No reservation is needed for 1/22~2/5
Free Shuttle Bus
- 1/22、1/23、1/28、1/29. Please park your car at Puente Hills Mall; shuttle bus service is provided to and from the temple.
- Puente Hills Mall: 1600 South Azusa Avenue, City of Industry, CA 91748. Entrance at Colima Road and Albatross Road
- Shuttle Bus Service Times
- Park at your own risk, please double check and make sure vehicle is locked, no visible items in the vehicle. Hsi Lai Temple is NOT responsible for loss or damage to personal property at Puente Hills Mall property.
01/22: 08:00 — 17:00
01/23: 08:00 — 16:00
01/28: 08:00 — 16:00
01/29: 08:00 — 16:00
※ Our shuttle service may be subjected to change to due to unforeseen circumstances. Thanks
