Hsu Yun Temple in Nuuanu is inviting the public to witness a rare Festival of Water and Land, considered the ultimate of Chinese Buddhist rituals.
"It is the highest and grandest Chinese Buddhist service," said Jeanne Lum, president of the Chinese Buddhist Association of Hawaii, which owns the temple. "It is a blessing service for the living and for the dead, and is prayed in seven rooms at the same time. It requires a minimum of 60 high dharma monks."
The event, which gets underway Sunday, was timed to coincide with the annual Ching Ming season to honor ancestors.
Seventy-four monks will take part in the service, including Ven Dun Ru, the head of Hsu Yun Temple, and two local monks. She said 67 monks are coming in from Shanghai’s Long Hwa temple (the oldest temple in Shanghai), two from New York and two from Los Angeles. Also, 30 lay volunteers from Shanghai and New York will be assisting.
"This is a very costly project and has never been done in Hawaii," Lum said. With a price tag of $300,000, Chinese businesses are among the event’s top contributors. Temple members are also contributing their services and accommodations, said Lum, who is opening her home to 13 volunteers.
The public may attend the free ground-floor festivities every day from Sunday to April 19.
» Sunday: 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Complimentary jai, a Chinese vegetarian stew, will be served at lunchtime.
» Monday, Wednesday and April 18: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 to 10:15 p.m.
» Tuesday and Thursday: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
» Friday: 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Birds will be released at 8 a.m.
» April 19: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with jai served at lunchtime, followed by a bonfire and firecrackers between 2 and 4 p.m.
The festival’s ceremony "involves an invocation of beings from higher realms to deliver those in lower realms from their suffering, and benefits both the living and the deceased," according to a news release. "Those who participate receive great merit and blessings for themselves, their families and extended families."
On the festival’s last day, paper models of boats and horsemen as well as plaques containing the names of the deceased are burned in a final farewell and closing of the service. This last ritual is often the most elaborate and elegant, involving rarely performed music played on monastic instruments. The service ends with a bonfire.
The temple is at 42 Kawananakoa Place. Parking will be at Maemae Elementary School on Wylie Street and at nearby churches. For details, call 536-8458 or email Lum at genieqc@yahoo.com.
