The Liberation Rite of Water and Land (Chinese: 法界聖凡水陸普度大齋勝會; pinyin: Fǎjiè Shèng Fán Shuǐlù Pǔdù Dàzhāi Shèng Huì), also known as Shuilu Fa Hui (水陸法會), Shuilu Daochang (水陸道場), or Shuilu Dahui (水陸大會), is a Chinese Buddhist ritual performed by temples and presided over by high monks. The service is often credited as one of the greatest rituals in Chinese Buddhism, as it is also the most elaborate and requires the labor of monastics and temple staff and the financial funding of lay Buddhist sponsors. The ceremony is attributed to the Emperor Wu of Liang, who was inspired one night when he had a dream in which a monk advised him to organize a ceremony to help all beings living on land and in the seas to be surfeited from their suffering, hence the name of the rite. The ritual itself was compiled by the Chan Buddhist master Bao Zhi (宝志禅师, 418-514).
The main goal of the ceremony is to invite beings of higher realms to help the beings in the lower realms get out of their sufferings. It is said that those who participate receive great merit and blessings, even to those who do not contribute.
The ritual combines pre-Tang Chinese operatic text as well as ceremonial procedure inspired by Taoism and Vajrayana such as circumambulating, reciting sutras and repentance. Chinese instruments not usually used in Buddhist ceremonies are also employed.