At the age of twenty-nine, during the several excursions, Prince Siddhartha deeply realized the suffering of birth (Jāti), Aging (Jara), Sickness (Vyādhi), and Death (Marana). Thus he quietly left the palace, abandoning his royal responsibilities and status, and began his spiritual journey. “In Chinese Buddhism, this day is observed on the eighth day of the second lunar month.

After becoming an ascetic, Prince Siddhartha wandered, learning from different teachers, and practiced extreme ascetism. During the period of ascetic practice, he ate only one grain of rice a day, yet he did not attain ultimate truth. Later, Sujātā offered milk porridge to Prince Siddhartha. After accepting Sujata’s offering and regaining strength, Prince Siddhartha sat beneath the Bodhi tree, vowing not to rise until he attained supreme enlightenment. Finally, on the night of the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he beheld the morning star and attained supreme enlightenment, realizing dependent origination and the truth of life and the universe, and thus became the Buddha.

To commemorate the Buddha’s Renunciation Day, Than Hsiang Temple held a noon offering ceremony at the Main Shrine Hall on the eighth day of second lunar month. At approximately around 10:45a.m., the noon offering ceremony began. Under the guidance of the Sangha members, everyone chanted sincerely and with concentration. Following that, Sangha members led everyone to the San Sheng Dian on the ground floor for the dedication of merit. The ceremony concluded successfully.

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More photos:https://thanhsiang.org/CH/node/6913
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