Jeweled Flower Hall
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- Jeweled Flower Hall
Jeweled Flower Hall
Gold and silver, pearl and jade, rare stone and gems—they are considered the rare and precious jewels in this world. Yet, China's first Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma says: "Among all the jewels, the jewel of Dharma is the most extraordinary." To Buddhists, the most precious thing of all is indeed the chance to see the Buddha and hear his teachings, and through believing, understanding and practicing the Dharma, to transcend life and death, the unending cycle of suffering.
A sutra says: "Among all the fields of merit, the Buddha's is the greatest."
The kind act of giving produces the positive karma that yields blessings; and offering precious things to the buddhas and bodhisattvas is a way we pray for blessings for all beings. Yet, cultivating according to the Dharma, thus ultimately freeing one from endless eons of suffering, is the highest offering of all.
May all beings encounter the Buddha, the Dharma, and see the blossoming of the most precious flower of our original mind.

1736-1795 C.E.
Porcelain
48 cm
304C Jeweled Flower Hall: Offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
