The Filial Piety Dharma Assembly held in conjunction with the Ullambana festival of the seventh lunar calendar commenced with the cleansing ceremony led by Venerable Wei Wu at 9.30am. The ceremony continued at 10.00am with the Buddha-name chanting by the Sangha members accompanied by devotees. At 11.00 am the Puja offering was carried out and this brought to a close the early session of the Dharma assembly. Lunch was served to the devotees at the canteen while getting ready for the commencement of the final event of the day, namely the Three-Session Pure Land Chanting scheduled to start at 1.00pm.and to end by 6.00pm

The Three-Session Pure Land chanting as its name implied, divides the course of the recitation into three sessions spread over roughly 5 hours. The first session began at 1.00pm as scheduled. The chanting involved the cultivation of earnest faith, the making of vows for the Pure Land and the seeking of penitence for past wrong doings. The repeated chanting of the Amitabha Sutra and the recitation of the Amitabha resonated in the packed hall. Due to the overwhelming response and shortage of space many participants were directed to the Mezzanine floor above.

At 2.30 pm after the fist session, Venerable Wei Wu explained the meaning and origin of the Ullambana festival in the Buddhist context and in relation to the Chinese tradition of Filial Piety. Traditionally, Chinese interpret the 7th month of the lunar calendar as the month of the hungry ghost whereby they are allowed to roam the human world. As filial piety being an inalienable heritage of Chinese Culture, the descendants would normally make generous offering and burn paper money in memory of the departed. For some, this gesture of appeasement may imply an exchange for their blessing and protection. Therefore, this is a month when one has to exercise extreme care in one's word and action lest one may be befallen with misfortunes.

“However, in the Buddhist tradition as taught by the Buddha in the Ullambana Sutra,” according to Venerable Wei Wu, “the Buddha instructed Maudgalyayana, who sought the Buddha's help in rescuing his mother from the hell realm, to assemble the Sangha and to offer them food and requisites (in a basin known as the Ullambana basin) and through the awesome spiritual power of the assembled Sangha of the ten directions, Maudgalyayana's mother received the power of the merits and virtues of the Triple Gem and was thus saved from the torment of the hell realm. In the sutra, the Buddha told all the good men and good women, the disciples of the Buddha who cultivate filial conduct, to constantly recall their present fathers and mothers when making offering as well as the fathers and mothers of seven lives past.”

“Every year on the 15th day of the seventh month, they should always, out of filial compassion, recall their parents who bore them and those of seven lives past and for their sakes perform the offering of the Ullambana basin to the Buddha and the Sangha and thus repay the loving kindness of the parents who raised and nurtured them. All Buddha's disciples should respectfully receive this dharma”.

After hearing Shifu's Dharma lecture, all Buddhist disciples should diligently practice the teaching with delight.

The Three-Session Pure Land chanting ended at 5.30 pm. The blessed memorial cards with names of the deceased were removed from the altar and dispatched to the ground floor for burning amidst the chanting of the Buddha-name.