The New Year's Universal Gateway of Guanyin Bodhisattva & Ringing the Auspicious Bell Ceremony

Guanyin Bodhisattva, whose name means “observer of sounds”, is also known as Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. A bodhisattva is one who aims to become a buddha and help all beings reach enlightenment. Though Guanyin had attained buddhahood countless kalpas ago, she manifests as a bodhisattva for the sake of sentient beings. In a distant kalpa, when Guanyin was still cultivating the Way, she heard a chanting of the Great Compassion Mantra. Deeply moved, she immediately vowed to manifest a body with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes to better serve suffering beings. At that moment, her body was adorned with a thousand hands, each with an eye in its palm.
　　Although Guanyin is already a buddha, she manifests as a bodhisattva because of her unconditional compassion and boundless vows. Guanyin, the observer of sounds, vowed to hear the cries of beings in distress and immediately come to their aide. Depending on the needs of sentient beings, Guanyin can appear in 32 different forms, from man to woman, monk to statesman. Whatever form one resonates with, that is the form Guanyin manifests. The bodhisattva has also vowed that anyone who hears or recites her name will be freed from suffering.
　　The Universal Gateway of Guanyin Bodhisattva, a chapter in The Lotus Sutra, describes the power of the bodhisattva’s vows. The Great Compassion Repentance liturgy, compiled by the Tiantai Master Zhili in the Song dynasty, is based on the Great Compassion Mantra. In this ceremony, participants chant the Universal Gateway and prostrate to the Great Compassion Repentance liturgy. With a mind of reverence and purity, participants open their hearts and learn from the spirit of Guanyin to care for ourselves and all beings with unconditional compassion.