Temples at Mount Wutai celebrate Buddhist birthday

Temples at Mount Wutai, North China's Shanxi province launched a series of rituals on March 27 (Feb 19 on the lunar calendar), to celebrate the birthday of Avalokitesvara or Guanyin in Chinese Buddhism, who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas.

Ceremony to celebrate Guanyin's birthday at Longquan Temple, Mount Wutai, March 27 [Photo/chinanews.com]

Buddhists at the Fomu Grottoes, Tayuan, Shuxiang, Pushou, Santa, Zhenrong, Longquan, Dabao, Puhua, and Baiyun temples all gathered together. They chanted sutras to pray for world peace, national prosperity, good harvest and happiness.

Offerings such as incense, flowers, candles, fruits and traditional dishes were presented in front of the Buddha sculptures.

Buddhists chanting sutras to celebrate Guanyin's birthday at Baiyun Temple, Mount Wutai, March 27 [Photo/chinanew.com]

This ceremony could date back as far as the Sui Dynasty (581-618) when the master, Huiguang, led his disciples in the ritual annually, according to the classic “Jin Guang Ming Jing” (In Chinese Classic of Golden Light), a work of sutras for protecting the nation.

Mount Wutai is one of China's four famous Buddhist mountains and is home to the Bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjusri or Wenshu in Chinese. It has been recognized as a World Heritage site for its cultural landscape by UNESCO in 2009.