Simply put, the Enlightenment Ceremony is an assembly which guides all sentient beings to the light of the Dharma and ultimately to the bliss of enlightenment – breaking free from the cycle of death and rebirth.
The Enlightenment Ceremony allows all participants, living or departed, seen or unseen, to listen to the Dharma and obtain the blessings of the Three Jewels. In doing so, the living may be able to “avert misfortune and attain longevity” while the departed at the same time may be “rid of suffering and find rebirth in the pure land”.
The main purpose of the Enlightenment Ceremony is to help all beings (living or departed) resolve their karma. By listening to the Dharma and taking refuge in Buddha, we can thus receive the precepts and cultivate the Right View, enabling one to refrain from negative deeds and their consequences. Only then will enlightenment be within reach.
The benefit of the ceremony is thus twofold; aside from helping those in the lower realms, it helps cultivate loving compassion among the living and to remind them to stay close to the Dharma.