On July 20th, 2025, Compassionate Service Society organized a gathering with a Food Offering Ceremony on the occasion of the 100th day Memorial of sister Katherine Kim Liên Nguyễn. Sister Katherine was a very active and dedicated member of CSS and her life was an inspiration to other volunteers. Her heart went out to all who suffers and always try to think of way to help others. 170 persons attended the ceremony and 115 dishes were prepared by attendees as offering to sister

(Translated from a talk given by Venerable Hằng Trường in Vietnamese on July 5th, 2025) Let me tell you a story. There was a couple who had been married for 22 years and had three children. After living together for 22 years, the wife realized that their marriage needed to end. Why was that? I listened carefully to understand. The story began with a very beautiful love. But gradually, life brought pressures and changes, such as changes in careers and responsibilities. Their r

In the past, when Venerable Master Hsuan Hua returned to Taiwan for the first time, many spirits of aborted babies came to him for help. He had been in the United States for a long time before visiting Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia on that trip. He was very surprised by the large number of those spirits in Asia. Therefore, he performed a ceremony that very few people have ever conducted. It was called the "Transmission of the Precepts in the Dark Realm" ( U Minh

Translated from a lecture by Dharma Master Heng Chang in Vietnamese. The lecture is in a series regarding the Dharma of The 42 Hands and Eyes. Why does Kwan Yin Bodhisattva have so many hands and eyes? The thousand hands are called "skillful means" (upāya). These skillful means arise because of great compassion. It is only through compassion (mahākaruṇā) that one can develop such skillful means. Why do we want to help others? Because we care. Without compassion, we wouldn’t w

Series on Questions and Answers about Mandala Question: Amitofo. May I ask, when entering the Mandala and praying for the deceased to be reborn in the Pure Land, I don't understand if being reborn means they no longer undergo reincarnation, or if they are reborn in a better realm? Answer: Thank you for asking. The answer is that I don’t know, because the truth is we just do our best. We know the formula in Buddhism, and we just follow that. We do it wholeheartedly, sending th

Today, I will talk about the fifth characteristic: the feeling of often being harmed or persecuted. If the Wood element is too strong, we tend to say things that hurt others and, at the same time, attract harm or persecution from others. What is Wood? Wood represents the characteristics of trees, and trees signify life. The Wood element is associated with the liver. The liver is a large organ located (in the abdomen) on the right side. Because it is on the right side, we say

Today, I will talk about gossip and controversy. If your Yin Fire is too strong, you tend to be talked about by others, and you also enjoy talking about others. Fire represents flames, an uncontrollable nature. The Five Elements include Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. So, where does Fire reside? Fire resides in the heart. Externally, the heart is connected to the tongue, and internally, it is linked to the small intestine. What happens when Yin Fire is too strong? It cau

Good morning, everyone. This is today's Dharma Espresso. We continue the story of the Kitchen God reporting the things he has witnessed in our home. When the Jade Emperor hears the report, He certainly won't punish or reward because He is not a judge. He is simply a wise and high moral being. Therefore, He will guide us toward the good things we should do in the Year of the Snake. Since we cannot directly ask the Jade Emperor, we turn to scriptures and texts to find any advic

Good morning everyone, this is Dharma Espresso for today, and may the sun rays warmly welcome you to a peaceful new day. Dear friends, we will continue the talk about the story of the Kitchen God, a very interesting tale. On the 23rd day of the lunar month, when the Kitchen God returns to heaven, he reports to the Jade Emperor about the happenings on earth. But the question is, what does the Jade Emperor do? If we do good, will he reward us? And if we do bad, will he punish u

Click above to listen to narration Good morning everyone, this is today's Dharma Espresso, on the last day of 2024. Today, I will discuss the topic of "Seeing Comprehensively." To lead into this topic, let us recall a Vietnamese tradition on the 23rd day of the last lunar month (a week before the Lunar New Year), which is the day to send the Kitchen God back to heaven. This is a special and meaningful custom. What does the Kitchen God go to heaven for? To report to the Jade E

November 18th, 2024 This year, the Thanksgiving celebration was held at the main headquarters of the Compassionate Service Society in Anaheim, California. About a week before the event, a small group of members gathered to plan for the day. The spirit of Thanksgiving is to bring warmth and express gratitude, so the organizing team wanted to create a fun, cozy and connected atmosphere that would allow attendees to feel appreciated. Although it was a small ceremony, the team me

After the successful World Peace Gathering on October 12 and 13, 2024, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the delegation of the Compassionate Service Society visited the ecological forest known as Penglai River Ecological Park in Nanzhuang Township, Miaoli County on October 16. This touristic site is renowned for its unique natural beauty, featuring streams flowing through beautiful pebbles, along with various animals, birds, fish, insects, and walking trails. Most notably, the forest is

Throughout life, we often overlook our perspective and never think about how important it is. Perspective can also be called our viewpoint. Sometimes those at a higher level cannot see the issues below. When looking from a lower perspective, we may not understand or see clearly, so we need to elevate our viewpoint. Sometimes, when you’re at the peak of a mountain, you cannot see what the peak looks like and you need to be out of that peak to see it! Why do we go hiking today?

Excerpt from a lecture by Master Hằng Trường on the Spiritual Dialogue program – 12/2023 Why is the Mandala a spiritual home? A Mandala is also known as an "ordination platform," an area consisting of square and circular shapes. Square Shape In ancient times, the Buddha established an area (a space) with a square shape for ordaining purpose. Every two to three months, he would ordain monks or gather them to recite the precepts. He simply use four posts at the corners to cre

METEORA THROUGH THE LENS OF BUDDHISM Everyone experiences travelling and sight-seeing, whether with family or in groups, and each trip carries its own unique significance. Following the footsteps of our teacher, some members of the Compassionate Service Society recently undertook a pilgrimage to Meteora, Greece, to visit several monasteries of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Currently, only six monasteries are still active and open to visitors. One of these monasteries is for nu

If anyone asks me which of my friends has left the best impression and the greatest admiration, I will not hesitate to answer: it is Mr. Đoàn Chí Dũng, a man who, due to an unfortunate accident, faced numerous physical challenges. However, he possessed a strong will and a generous, kind heart, and always ready to serve the Compassionate Service Society. Mr. Dũng had been active with the Compassionate Service Society (CSS) for many years. When he was very young, he had a car a

(Lesson learned after the visits of the Meteora’s Monasteries) In the few days of the pilgrimage to Greece, the CSS pilgrims visited several monasteries in Meteora (dubbed the Spiritual City in the Sky), beginning with the smallest monastery and ending with a visit to the largest of the monasteries, the Great Meteoron. At its peak, about 400–500 people lived and carried out their activities at this location. It resembled a village with the distinct features of a community. In

During the recent pilgrimage to Greece, 80 members of the Compassionate Service Society (CSS), visited The Parthenon, a famous temple atop the Acropolis of Athens. This is the greatest architectural achievement of ancient Greece, built between 447 and 432 B.C. Many tourists have visited and continue to visit this place, with many harboring the hope of witnessing a marvelous work from thousands of years ago, wondering if anything as beautiful as this could ever be built again,

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Ullambana Period is the time to honor the ancestors, send blessings to loved ones and offer compassion to...

Is there a Difference of Being Alone and the Feeling of Loneliness? The difference between aloneness and loneliness is the lack of Light....