ULLAMBANA. ULLAMBANA is a Sanskrit word (Ullambana), and means to rescue the upside down (), that is, to rescue those who are hanging upside down. If we humans are hanging upside down, we will suffer a lot, so now we need to rescue those who are in that situation. Who do we need to rescue? Rescue our parents and ancestors from past lives, to help them escape this upside down hanging! We all do not know whether our parents and ancestors in previous lives have merit or sin. If they have merit, they can be reborn in the Pure Land, be born in heaven, or reincarnate back to the human world as Presidents or Emperors. However, what if they have sinned? Then they will either fall into hell, be transformed into hungry ghosts, or be transformed into animals! The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the anniversary of Maha Maudgalyayana's deliverance of his mother. During his lifetime, his mother did not believe in the Three Jewels. She killed countless fish, turtles, shrimps, and crabs; and she was also stingy and refused to give alms. Because of these sins, she was condemned to the hell of hungry ghosts. Venerable Maudgalyayana quickly brought a bowl of rice to offer to his mother. She immediately cupped her left hand to cover the bowl, and with her right hand she hastily scooped up the rice and put it in her mouth; but as soon as the rice reached her mouth, it immediately turned into burning coals, impossible to swallow. Venerable Maudgalyayana then begged the Buddha for help. The Buddha taught him to prepare vegetarian food to offer to the Sangha of the ten directions (the Self-Ordination is the last day of the Rains Retreat, a ritual of repentance before the assembly of the Sangha). Because of their great virtues and supernatural powers, they can help the donor's parents in this life and his parents and relatives from seven previous lives escape the three evil paths. If you feel that your temper is too hot, that the “fire of ignorance” is too strong, then you must know that it is because your parents and ancestors in past lives have not yet been freed from suffering and have not yet attained happiness, so all day long they help you get angry, inciting you to commit sins, so that you can reunite with them sooner. So, if you feel like that, then you must take advantage of this day to create merit to liberate them, and to help those who are in difficult situations also be freed from worries and suffering, and eliminate their sins. If we can make offerings to the Triple Gem on this day, the merit created will be a hundred million times greater than on normal days. In the past, it was very rare in the West to have a Dharma hall to organize this Vu Lan Dharma Assembly. Each of us should be a filial child for the sake of our parents and ancestors of past lives!.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN ZEN BUDDHIST MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.5/8/2024.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.