The founder of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door and the renowned leader of the Australia Chinese community, Master Jun Hong Lu, who had accomplished his mission to perfection in the human realm, passed into parinibbana peacefully in Sydney, Australia, at the age of 62, at 4.00 a.m. 10 November 2021.
Master Lu’s mission in propagating Buddhism can be traced as far back as 1997 before he founded Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door in 2006. Master Lu, who travelled to the breadth and width of the world, endured 20 years of hardships and tribulations spreading the Buddha-dharma. He had led over 10 million deluded sentient beings into the door of Buddhism to carry on the lifeline of Buddhism in this Age of Dharma Decline. His boundless merits in promoting Mahayana Buddhism is exemplary to all in the three realms of existence.
Throughout His 20-year splendid journey in propagating Buddhism, He devoted all his life and experienced untold hardships to awaken sentient beings to believe the law of cause and effect and break the shackles of superstition. During his retreat for recuperation, the Master displayed great tenacity and unwavered spirit. He remained optimistic in his endeavours to spread the Buddha’s teachings. He persisted in giving discourses on Words of Wisdom. He cared for the suffering humanity during the pandemic, instructing them to recite the Medicine Buddha Dharani to fend off the negative energy and the effects of the collective karma.
Master Lu’s illustrious achievements in promoting the Buddhist teachings, the traditional Chinese Culture and World Interreligious Sustainable Peace had won recognition internationally. He had been invited to deliver keynote speeches at UNESCO on several occasions. As an outstanding patriotic Chinese community leader for the last 30 years, Master Lu had contributed to fostering friendly ties between China and Australia.
Closely following the footsteps of the Buddha and promoting Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s spirit of compassion, Master Lu dedicated His life to the well-being of sentient beings. Master Lu perfected the spirit of altruism by bearing the sufferings of sentient beings. He has attained Buddhahood to perfection. His mortal physical form may have passed into parinibbana, but His dharma body will live in eternity and His spirit of compassion will continue to shine universally. It is now the responsibility of His disciples and Buddhist practitioners to carry on Master Lu’s mission of propagating Buddhism in order to realise Master Lu’s wish for Guan Yin Citta to thrive for generations to come.
As instructed by our revered late Master Lu before his departure, fellow disciples and Buddhist friends of Guan Yin Citta may recite the following Buddhist scriptures as a gesture of gratitude as well as in memory of Master Lu:
10-15 November – Mainly the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva on the first six consecutive days.
10-12 November – The Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance on the first three days*.
13 November – The Great Compassion Mantra*.
14 November – The Heart Sutra*.
*The recitation should be performed on a voluntary basis. There is no cap on the number of recitations.
Practice Centres worldwide can make the arrangement to set up an altar to display the portrait of Master Lu for the next one to two weeks to allow followers of Guan Yin Citta to pay respect and perform recitations in memory of the late Master Lu as a mark of gratitude.
The Secretariat
Guan Yin Citta Dharma
10 November 2021
【Commemoration Protocols for Practice Centres Worldwide (The Set-up in Practice Centres and Commemoration Ceremony)】
The setting up of an altar and related matters:
◇ The altar must be placed in front of the Buddhist altar and it should be positioned in the centre. It should be placed close to the Buddhist altar. The altar should be slightly lower than the Buddhist altar and adorned with yellow cloth – similar to that used to cover the Buddhist altar.
◇ The coloured portrait of our late Master Lu, who was pictured with palms put together, should be placed in the centre of the altar. For printing purposes, the electronic colour print portrait provided by Oriental Radio is recommended. The portrait should be framed in a golden frame with its measurement not exceeding that of the Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
◇ An incense burner, one or two oil lamps and a water cup can be placed on the altar. The water in the cup is to be discarded after offering and it is not recommended for consumption.
◇ Fruits can be offered as per usual. Fruits that have been offered can be freely distributed for consumption so that others can immerse in dharma bliss. Brightly-coloured fresh flowers should be offered. Offering of wreaths or white flowers is not recommended.
◇ During this period, Practice Centres should replay the recording of the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva 24 hours nonstop (can be downloaded from the link below). The broadcast should last one to two weeks in accordance with the length of the prayer period. It is not necessary to replay it beyond this period.
◇ Members of public are allowed to pay respect and prostrate to the portrait of Master Lu in the Practice Centres.
◇ Buddhist friends should refrain from being overly grief-stricken as doing so would render it a funeral wake. Instead, they should pay their respect in a dignified manner and show their gratitude to make it a solemn event. Buddhist practitioners should bear in mind Master Lu’s spirit of compassion and altruism as well as his teachings. This is the best way to express their gratitude and to honour the memory of the late Master Lu.
◇ The portrait of Master Lu can be taken down and the altar dismantled after one or two weeks’ time. This can be done between noon and 2pm when the sun is right overhead. It is not necessary to perform recitation of any specific Buddhist scriptures. It suffices as long as the altar is dismantled with feelings of respect and gratitude.
◇ The portrait of Master Lu should be wrapped in red cloth and stored properly (can be stored together with other Dharma items). Do not display the portrait for worship for an extended period.
◇ During each of the 7th day within the 49-day period, the 100th day, and the anniversary ceremonies, the portrait of Master Lu may be displayed for worship and commemoration. The portrait should be put up in the morning on the day of the ceremony, and should be taken down, wrapped and stored properly at noon the next day.
All disciples and Buddhist friends of Guan Yin Citta may perform the recitation of the following Buddhist scriptures for Master Lu:
10-15 November – Mainly the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva on the first six consecutive days*
10-12 November – The Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance on the first three days*
13 November – The Great Compassion Mantra*
14 November – The Heart Sutra*
*The recitation should be performed on a voluntary basis. There is no limit as to the number of recitations.
Before performing the recitation, state the following prayer:
“I, <full name>, would like to recite the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva or the <title of the Buddhist scriptures> for Master Lu.”
After this period, one may continue to recite the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva. Buddhist friends may also offer Little Houses (addressed to ‘Lu Jun Hong’) at home. Offering any Self-Cultivation Record Form is not recommended. On normal days, offering Little Houses to Master Lu on a daily basis is not recommended. One may offer Little Houses on special days (on the 1st and 15th days of each lunar month) and Buddhist commemorative days to express gratitude to Master Lu.
【Procedure for Worship】
After the altar is set up, light the oil lamp and offer three incense sticks (one incense stick can be used for continuation of offering).
Kneel and recite the following in groups:
Deepest gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha (repeat three times and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Namo the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva (repeat three times and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Nan Jing Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Tai Sui Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Guan Di Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Zhou Tsang Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Guan Ping Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Group recitation:
Deepest gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu for His great resolve to descend to the human realm to help all sentient beings. With His merits perfected, we shall continue to follow in the footsteps of our late Master to propagate Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, and follow the teachings of the Tathagata Avalokiteshvara (Guan Yin) Bodhisattva. I hereby recite with the heart of the Tathagata, practise the compassion of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, and strive to help all predestined sentient beings in the world.
Recite in groups:
The Great Compassion Mantra once;
Heart Sutra once;
and Qi Fo Mie Zui Zhen Yan 7 times.
Group recitation:
Deepest gratitude to Namo Shakyamuni Buddha (repeat three times and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Namo the Greatly Merciful and Greatly Compassionate Guan Yin Bodhisattva (repeat three times and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Nan Jing Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Tai Sui Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Guan Di Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Zhou Cang Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Guan Ping Bodhisattva (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Deepest gratitude to Master Jun Hong Lu (recite once and perform three prostrations)
Rise at the end of the ceremony.
Note: The abovementioned protocols may also serve as a reference for Buddhist friends with Buddhist altar at home. For the mini Buddhist altars, Master Lu’s image may be placed next to the image of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, and the abovementioned prayer may be stated, but do not kneel or perform prostrations in front of the mini Buddhist altar.
Click to download the recording of the holy name of Guan Yin Bodhisattva and images of Master Jun Hong Lu (you may choose any of the images to download and print for worshipping purposes).
http://riccharddlujunhong.info/Pic-Download/ShengHao-ShiFu/