On May 31, Dharma Realm Buddhist Association commemorated the Third Anniversary of the Venerable Master's Nirvana at the City of Ten Thou­sand Buddhas in Talmage, California. Over a thousand Buddhists from around the world attended. Beginning at seven in the morning, they gath­ered at the front gate. While chanting "Homage to the Great Means Expan­sive Flower Adornment Sutra, and to the Buddha and Bohisattvas of the Sea-vast Flower Adornment Assembly," they made full prostrations every three steps and bowed their way to the Buddha Hall, in memory of the teachings given by the Founder of the City, the Venerable Master Hua.

The Flower Adornment Repentance Ceremony began at eight o'clock. In the afternoon, the three-week Flower Adornment Sutra Recitation Assembly began. The Master's final instructions to his disciples was that after he was gone, they should be mindful of the Buddha and recite the Flower Adornment Sutra for one week to seven weeks. Before the Flower Adornment Sutra Reci­tation Assembly began, the Flower Adornment Repentance was held to purify the body, speech, and thoughts of the participants.

After the Repentance, the assembly filed into Wordless Hall to behold the Venerable Master's sharira (relics after cremation). The more than ten thousand pieces of the Master's multi-colored sharira have been distrib­uted to over thirty branch temples founded by the Master throughout Asia and North America. Although only a portion of his sharira are on display in Wordless Hall, they still serve to remind disciples of the Master's ex­emplary practice of tirelessly turning the Proper Dharma Wheel by ex­plaining Sutras and speaking Dharma every day.

After leaving Wordless Hall, the assembly walked to the Hall of Patriarchs, where the Great Ceremony of Passing Offerings began. One hundred and eight kinds of offerings were divided into groups and passed from person to person through the multitude of over a thousand people as a token of utmost respect and remembrance. Due to the limited space in­side the Hall of Patriarchs, many people had to stand outside the Hall to participate. Inspired by the Master's universal compassion and lifelong ascetic cultivation, they were not deterred by the blazing noontime sun as they stood outside during the entire ceremony.

The more than a thousand participants in the Third Anniversary of the Venerable Master's Nirvana were given a special surprise after lunch. Over a thousand strands of recitation beads that the Master had kept were distributed to the assembly in accordance with the Master's final instructions. Along with the beads, everyone received a book­mark with a quote of the Master, the "true words" of cultivation he left behind—no fighting, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no pursuit of personal advantage, and no lying—to remind everyone to make the best of life and cultivate diligently.

The events concluded in the afternoon with a Liberating Life Cer­emony and a transmission of the three Refuges and Five Precepts. Representatives from Dharma Realm Buddhist Association's branch temple returned to their respective temples to carry out the Master's vows—to spread the Proper Dhrama and make the Sagely Teaching flourish. The three-week Flower Adornment Sutra Recitation Assem­bly continued at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, symbolizing everyone's eternal remembrance of the Venerable Master.