THE FIVE HUNDRED NAMES OF AVALOKITEŚVARA BODHISATTVA CEREMONY

THE CEREMONY OF THE FIVE HUNDRED NAMES

THE MIRACULOUS POWER OF LISTENING AND COMPASSION

Just hearing the name of Avalokiteśvara,

Or beholding the sacred image with reverence,

By mindfully reciting that majestic name,

All disasters vanish, and auspiciousness prevails.

A Journey Back to the Self-Nature

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva is the embodiment of infinite compassion, eternally listening to the cries of suffering in the world to provide relief according to the needs of sentient beings. The Liturgy of the Five Hundred Names is not merely a collection of five hundred noble titles but a profound spiritual journey following the practice of "Returning the hearing to listen to one's own nature".

Prostrating with five points of the body touching the ground to honor each name is how the practitioner learns to let go of the ego and turn the faculty of hearing inward to illuminate the mind. Every name chanted is a step away from the shore of delusion, leading us back to the perfect, all-pervading nature of hearing that dwells throughout the ten directions of the dharma realm.

Turning the mind back, the nature of hearing transforms,

Letting all external scenes fade, only pure listening remains.

Listen deeply, not to the external environment,

When scenes depart, the hearing nature itself is 'Hearing Hearing'.

Namo Perfectly Penetrating Faculty of Hearing,

Great Compassionate Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. (o)

Namo The Five Hundred Names of Avalokiteśvara Sūtra, the Miraculous

Application, the Effortless Divine Virtue beyond Conception. (o)