Curated by the LJM Worldwide Association for the 108 Forms of Avalokitesvara, the University for Life & Peace, and the Shyushi Institute in Japan, the fourth International Guanyin Symposium will take place synchronously in the Sheng Shan Temple of the LJM Monastery in New Taipei City, Taiwan, and the Menicon Annex Concert Hall in Nagoya, Japan. Featuring discourses and sharing of seven scholars from Japan and Taiwan, the event explores how best to mitigate the Earth’s ecological crises with practice of Bodhisattva Guanyin’s great compassion. It is hoped that all participating netizens will help promote the ideal as the envoy of Bodhisattva Guanyin.
The Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM) upholds the practice and tradition of Bodhisattva Guanyin’s teachings and is known as a reputable Guanyin monastery in northern Taiwan. To enable access en masse to an in-depth understanding of Bodhisattva Guanyin’s teachings, the Monastery founded the LJM Worldwide Association for the 108 Forms of Avalokitesvara in 2018, hosting the annual international symposium as one of its signature activities.
According to Master Guan Chun, an executive member of the LJM Religious Affairs Committee, Bodhisattva Guanyin always stands by you for that steadying composure free of fear, whether you practice Buddhism or not. Given the challenges our world has been dealing with in recent years from natural calamities triggered by climate change and the pandemic to man-made catastrophes of war and pollution, how do people achieve peace of mind and inner calm amidst all the overbearing hecticness around us? A tested and proven answer lies in what Dharma Master Hsin Tao has been sharing with the world in his lessons for ecological spirituality and the practice of Bodhisattva Guanyin’s ‘Perfecting the Hearing Organs’. Sentient beings may join one another in compassion and peace to show collective care for an Earth in crisis, creating a resonance of love and compassion blessed by the Bodhisattva.
Chen Guo-Ning, the chair of the Worldwide Association for the 108 Forms of Avalokitesvara, unveiled the theme of the 2022 event, ‘By the Power of Mindfulness of Guanyin, a Pure Land Manifests on Earth— An Era of Peace When Bodhisattva Guanyin Reappears (Online)’. Honoring the Bodhisattva as a ‘Goddess’ whose love penetrates all sentient beings in the universe, attendees look forward to reexamining the Earth’s ecological hazards and coming up with concrete solutions to realize the world a ‘Pure Land of Bodhisattva Guanyin’, where the land is purified as the mind is purified. The attendees will also work on exploring ways of promoting the Bodhisattva’s teachings to bring the world love and compassion in the post-pandemic era.
The seven scholars from Japan and Taiwan invited to present papers at the fourth International Guanyin Symposium are Tachikawa Musashi, Professor Emeritus from the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan; Zhou Xia, Guest Researcher of Buddhist Culture Institute at Doho University in Nagoya, Japan; Lai Shen-Chon, Professor of Chinese Literature & Director of the Research Center of Eastern & Western Philosophy at National Taipei University; Pia Giammasi, Master of Pali and Buddhist Studies at University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka; Chen Yu-Feng, Founder & Chairman of Taiwan Academy of Ecology, Taiwan; Lee Hong-Yuan, Professor of Civil Engineering at National Taiwan University in Taiwan, and Chien Yin-Hsin, an instructor at National Lo-Tung Commercial Vocational High School in Taiwan. Riding on the theme of ‘How the Guanyin spirit creates a turn-around of the present ecological crises’, their discourse can be expected to be both engaging and inspiring. Aficionados of the Guanyin culture, religions, and culture by and large are invited to join in for interaction and exchange with the scholars from Japan and Taiwan.

The site capacity for the Taiwan venue has been set for 100 participants maximal due to Covid-19 considerations. Access https://youtu.be/UPS32Z6i7xc for livestreaming, and https://tv.093.org.tw/en/coverage/detail/91 are available for more information.