Origin of ULLAMBANA ceremony.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.

According to the Vu Lan sutra, in the past, Muc Kien Lien successfully cultivated many miracles. His mother, Thanh De, has passed away, he remembers and wants to know what his mother is like now, so he can look around heaven and earth with his eyes. Seeing his mother, because he caused many evil karma, had to be born as a hungry ghost, suffering from hunger and suffering, he brought rice down to the demon realm to offer his mother. However, due to long-term hunger, his mother, when eating, used one hand to cover her rice bowl to fight to prevent other spirits from coming to fight, so when the food was brought to the mouth the food turned into red fire.

Muc Lien returned to find the Buddha to ask how to save his mother, Buddha taught: "No matter how generous the god is, it is not enough to save your mother. Only one way thanks to the synergies of the monks from all over the ten directions can hope for a solution. The full moon day of the seventh month is a suitable day to mobilize the monks, please prepare the worship ceremony on that day ".

Following the Buddha's words, Muc Lien's mother was freed. Buddha also taught that sentient beings who want to honor their parents in the same way (Vu Lan Bon Dharma). Since then, Vu Lan's day was born.

The record of the date of amnesty for the dead:

The legend of the ritual of worshiping the soul is as follows: According to the "Buddha Theory of Salvation Diem Khau Ngai Da Da La Ni Kinh", the dedication of the soul is related to the story between Mr. Ananda, often referred to as A Nan , with a fire demon (diem speech) also called fire face demon (diem). One evening, Ananda was sitting in the retreat when she saw a dry and thin primate with a small but long neck, and a fire-emitting mouth. Devil said that three days later A Nan will die and will reincarnate into the fiery realm of the fiery fire like it. Ananda was so scared, so she asked the devil to show the way to avoid suffering. The hungry devil said: "Tomorrow you have to give us all of us a pot of food, and because I donate to the Three Jewels, you will gain increased life, and I will also be born in the upper realms."

Ananda brought a story to the Buddha. The Buddha then gave a mantra called "Saving the Bagat Diem Kha Da Da Da La Ni", reciting it in the ceremony to be blessed. Chinese Buddhists call this ritual called the Liberation of the Oral, that is, to give alms and pray for the fire-hungry demons, but folklore understands it broadly and the camp goes to worship the soul, that is to give alms to the The spirit of the spirit pretends to have no place to support because no one is a relative on earth to worship. Because the custom of worshiping her soul stems from this legend, so today people still say that offering her soul is Phong Diem speech. Sometimes we even say Diem in short. Diem mouth, from the original meaning is (demon) fire, now means to worship her soul. This contributes to confirm the origin of the necromancy ceremony that we have presented above. To release the speech which originally means "release the fiery devil", it was later widely understood once again as "forgiving the sins of all the dead". Therefore, today there is a saying: "July on the full moon of the dead".

But the ceremony to worship the soul is different from the Vu Lan ceremony even though it is celebrated on the same Full Moon Day. One side is to pray for the supernatural for parents for many generations, the other is to give food to those who have not yet been transcended, those souls that have no place to rely on, no worshipers.

Vu Lan Bon

Vu Lan Bon is the most effective method of filial piety. But first, let's understand what Vu Lan Bon means. Vu Lan Bon is transcribed in Sanskrit. The Chinese translates as: "reverse hypocrisy", literally means untying the person hanging upside down; figuratively, to save those who suffer so badly that they are hanging upside down.

His Holiness the Reverend Muc Lien Lien, after practicing 6 miracles miracles, deeply remembers the merits of his parents, he sought to repay. Using religious eyes to see in the world, he realized that his mother was born as a hungry ghost, thin thin body, skin and bones, thin body, big belly, big head, small neck like a thread, hunger all year long eat and drink. Very compassionate, He immediately brought a bowl of rice that was eating to his mother. He miraculously functions, bringing the rice bowl to his mother. The mother desires, so when she has rice, her greed arises, she is afraid of the robbery robbery, covers the rice bowl with her left hand, her face picks up food. Because the wicked greed in her previous life burned, so when the rice was brought to her mouth, it turned into fire, she could not eat.

Mr. Muc Kien Lien saw that, crying deeply sadly. He immediately returned to the white Buddha, recounted as above and prayed to the Buddha to teach the method of saving his mother.

After hearing that Muc Lien Lien requested the method of filial piety, the Buddha taught that:

"Behold, the mother of his mother, through greed and cruelty, has created heavy sin through many lives, now born in evil. As a primate, as a primate, he could not save him alone, although his filial piety was great, he could not change his situation, like a small boat, unable to carry a large rock So you must rely on the majesty of the Sangha in the ten directions, great virtue like the sea, to save your mother to be freed. sinful thing.

This Muc Lien Lien! The full moon day of July is the Tu Tu day of the monks in the ten directions, after three months of solitary retreat, the novice practice book. That day was also the day of joy for the Buddhas, because seeing monks, after three months of solitary retreat, had made great progress on the path of study, the karma was purified, the three unobtrusive things learned increased, virtue more and to the fullness. So he should celebrate Vu Lan Bon on that day to honor his mother.

You should buy all kinds of pearls with hundreds of smells, five things left, with the same scent of candle oil, bed, blanket, blanket, clothes, washcloth, hand towel; in short, all four precious offerings in life. Then he had to personally go and receive the Venerable monks in the ten directions, or meditators in the mountains, attained the four Saints, or had a meditator under the tree, allowed to pass six enlightenment spells at Thanh Văn, Duyen Giac, the Saints Sangha, or the Bodhisattvas appear to be a bhikkhu, etc. He must sincerely pay homage to the Monk to make offerings and request the monks to pray for his mother's spirit to be free from suffering. Thanks to the merit of faith and devotion, his mother's spirit was saved. Like a rock, even though it weighs a hundred pounds, there are many people carrying it, so it can be moved anywhere ".

Muc Lien Lien obeyed the Buddha's teachings, on the full moon day of the seventh month, he celebrated Yulanpen Festival, purchased all the materials, received the monks in the ten directions sincerely to pay homage to the monks, so his mother was freed from his life. demon, born on the good realm.

After seeing his mother free from suffering, Muc Kien Lien was very happy, immediately coming to the Buddha to accept that:

Bach World Religion! Thanks to the merit of the Three Jewels and the majesty of the monks, my mother is freed from the life of the hungry ghosts. So in the next life, in the Buddhist line, if someone wants to celebrate this Vu Lan Bon ceremony, to save the present parents as well as the parents of many previous lives, is it okay to know?

Buddha taught that:

"Very precious! Hey Muc Lien Lien! In the future, if there are monks and nuns, the king, the prince, the prime ministers, the three gongs to the four people, because filial piety wants to repay." Thanks to the present or past parents, every full moon day in July is the day of "Buddha rejoicing", celebrating this Vu Lan ceremony, to make offerings to the Sangha. Thanks to the merit of the monks, the present parents can To increase the happiness of longevity, from calamities, suffering, suffering, and parents seven generations ago, from suffering hungry ghosts, being born in the realm of heaven and earth, enjoying the same happiness and happiness ".

Then he Muc Lien Lien and the four disciples happily obeyed. And from then on, every year until the full moon day of July, every row of filial piety and filial piety, there is a Vu Lan ceremony to repay parents' merit of being born and nurturing.



Of course, filial piety is not only aimed at a Vu Lan festival. Not every year just organizing a Vu Lan festival, is that you have considered yourself a filial son because you have done full filial piety.

As mentioned above, the parents' merit is as wide as the sky, making children forever thanking parents has not yet fit. But while reporting filial piety, it is necessary to have a wise and correct view to be truly beneficial and effective.

Reporting filial piety has many ways, but not outside two aspects: material and spiritual.

1. Reporting filial piety: Buddhists have to obey, instead of doing the hard work, take care of food and drink, clothes, bed sheets, resting place, not to let needy parents, worry. However, Buddhists must be wise in their filial piety, they should not overly indulge their parents' wishes but create negative karma, such as killing, harming things, causing crimes to make their parents happy in matter. Doing so is not filial piety, but filial piety, for causing further sin for parents and for themselves.

Besides, reporting material filial filial piety, no matter how sufficient it is, simply working for parents to be happily satisfied in a present life. The material fun is temporary fake pleasure, joy in the cycle of birth and death. So material filial filial piety is not enough.

2. Reporting filial piety. Buddhists must go up another level, to worry about spiritual filial piety. Spiritual filial piety is how to make the parents' spirit gentle, noble and gradually go to liberation. Buddhists must advise their parents to believe in good faith and take refuge in the Three Jewels, give alms to liberation, recite the Buddha's name, do good deeds, keep precepts and cultivate liberation. In this way, not only are parents in the present peaceful, peaceful, and in the next life, they are also blessed with many blessings, and born in the light and light realm.END=NAM MO SHAKYAUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.25/8/2020.