Finding Meaning in the Month of The Hungry Ghosts -- By Ven. (Dr) Omalpe Sobhita Thero (Spiritual Advisor of Bodhiraja Buddhist Society)

The 7th lunar month celebrates the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts--Gui Jie. The Chinese believe that during this period, the gates of hell are flung open and all the ghosts are released for a month long vacation. To pacify them, people make all kinds of offerings - food (in abundance), Chinese opera, puppet shows, pop concerts and other spectacles. The highlight of the festival falls on the 15th day of the month. Buddhist monks and Taoist priests chant liturgies, perform rituals, offer incense, paper money and food to the ghosts. The ceremony climaxes with the throwing of buns, sweets and money. It is all one huge celebration!

But is this all there is to the hungry ghosts festival?

In the Mahayana tradition, the 15th day of the 7th month marks the Ullambana Festival. (Ullambana is a Sanskrit word meaning "rescuing those who are hanging upside-down" This refers to the extreme suffering of the ghosts in the hells who are tormented hanging upside down.) The Ullambana is performed especially for releasing those undergoing the painful suffering of being hungry ghosts and enabling them to be reborn in the heavens. In Chinese, the Festival is known as Yu Lan Pen. Yu Lan means to hang upside down and Pen is a container filled with food offerings. Buddhist monks and nuns chant the Yu Lan Pen sutra to rescue others from hell. In Japan, it is called "Segaki" - "feeding the hungry ghosts"?and is one of the most important festivals of the year.

The Ullambana Festival has its origins in Buddhist literature. One day, Moggallana, one of Buddha's foremost disciples who is endowed with strong psychic powers, saw his mother suffering in the realm of hungry ghosts. Using his miraculous power, the filial Moggallana provided a bowl of rice for his mother. However, when the rice reached his mother's hands, it turned into charcoal and could not be eaten. Upon this, Moggallana could not help but cried sadly. Though he could tell what caused the ghosts to receive their retribution, he could not explain his mother's suffering. So he sought the Buddha's advice. Buddha said compassionately, "Moggallana, in her previous life, your mother had slandered the Buddha and the Sangha. Moreover, she did not believe in retribution and had been greedy and hot-tempered. Hence she is receiving such a retribution. The reason why you do not know your mother's kamma is that your miraculous power has been hindered by the love between mother and son! You cannot save your mother on your own because her bad kamma is very serious. The only way is to rely on the miraculous powers of the holy monks to help free her from the suffering in the realm of hungry ghosts. The 15th of the seventh lunar month every year is the last day of summer retreat for all monks and many of them will have attained enlightenment by then. If one makes elaborate offerings to all holy monks on this day, he can rely on their united efforts to release his parents and relatives from the woeful states. If his parents are alive, they will live a longer and happier life.The delighted Moggallana carried out Buddha's instructions and made offerings to all monks on the last day of summer retreat. True enough, his mother was immediately freed from her suffering. He was very grateful to Buddha and praised the beneficence of the Triple Gem. He also urged people to make offerings to Buddha and Sangha on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month to repay the kindness of their parents.

The tradition of the Ullambana Festival lives on. On the 15th day, we celebrate the Day of the Buddha's Rejoicing, and the Sangha's pravarana. It is believed that the merit and virtue derived from making offerings to the Triple Jewel on this day is several times greater than on ordinary days. By making offerings and transferring merits to our parents on such a day, we can help rescue our parents from the hells and secure for them rebirth in the heavens. It is also a time to exercise our compassion as we transfer merits and extend loving kindness to all sentient beings.

According to the popular Chinese legend, after giving aid to his mother, Moggallana made a vow to once again enter hell. He vowed to do his own training there for the sake of those suffering in that realm. "If I do not do so, who else will?" he said. He became a Bodhisattva, an "enlightened being" dedicated to helping others before enjoying final enlightenment himself, offering Dhamma to all those in the netherworlds. Such great compassion is the penultimate in Buddhism and surely worthy of a celebration.