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Ghost Festival
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This article is about the Chinese Ghost Festival. For the festival in Loei province, Thailand, see Pee Ta Khon.
Ghost Festival

Official name Buddhism:
Ullambana
(TC: 盂蘭盆, SC: 盂兰盆 Yúlánpén)

Taoism and Folk Belief:
Zhōngyuán Jié
(TC: 中元節, SC: 中元节)
Also called Ghost Month
Observed by Buddhists, Taoists, Chinese folk religion believers
Type Asian festival
Significance The opening of the gates of Hell, permitting all ghosts to receive food and drink
Date Fourteenth night of the 7th lunar month
2007 date August 26
Observances Ancestor worship, offering food (to monks as well as deceased), burning joss paper, chanting of scriptures
Related to Obon
The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday, which is celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 14th night of the seventh lunar month.

In the Chinese tradition, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar is called the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits come out from the lower world to visit earth. The Ghost Festival is the climax of a series of the Ghost Month celebrations. Activities at the festival include preparing ritualistic offering food, and burning hell money to please the visiting ghosts and spirits, as well as deities and ancestors. Other activities include, burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies "giving directions to the lost ghosts." A very solemn festival, the festival nevertheless represents a connection between the living and the dead, earth and heaven, as well as body and soul.

The Ghost Festival shares some similarities with the predominantly Mexican observance of El Día de los Muertos.

Contents [hide]
1 Buddhist Ghost Festival: Ullambana
2 Ullambana Origin
2.1 The Buddha's happy day
2.2 Mahāmaudgalyāyana Saves His Mother From Hell
3 A difference between the two festivals
4 Japanese Ghost Festival: O-bon
5 Vietnamese Mother's Day
6 See also



[edit] Buddhist Ghost Festival: Ullambana
The Ghost Festival has roots in the Buddhist festival Ullambana and also in Daoist culture. In the Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist festival Ullambana and traditional festivities were mixed and celebrated on one day. Thus, the Ghost Festival has special meaning for all Buddhists as one of their most important festivals.


[edit] Ullambana Origin

[edit] The Buddha's happy day
To Buddhists, the seventh lunar month is a month of joy. This is because the fifteen day of the seventh month is the Buddha's joyful day and the day of rejoice for monks.

The origins of the Buddha's joyful day can be found in the scriptures. When the Buddha was alive, his disciples meditated in the forests of India during the rainy season of summer. Three months later, on the fifteen day of the seventh month, they would emerge from the forests to celebrate the completion of their meditation and report their progress to the Buddha. Because the number of monks who attained enlightenment during that period was high, the Buddha was very pleased.

樓上師兄的資料正確。另外再加些補充-- 由於盂蘭節是由大目犍蓮尊者救母出餓鬼道的典故而來的，故再補上該資料供大家参考。資料出處一樣，分數並不緊要。
Ullambana 盂蘭節 Origin

[edit] The Buddha's happy day佛歡喜日
To Buddhists, the seventh lunar month is a month of joy. This is because the fifteen day of the seventh month is the Buddha's joyful day and the day of rejoice for monks.

The origins of the Buddha's joyful day can be found in the scriptures. When the Buddha was alive, his disciples meditated in the forests of India during the rainy season of summer. Three months later, on the fifteen day of the seventh month, they would emerge from the forests to celebrate the completion of their meditation and report their progress to the Buddha. Because the number of monks who attained enlightenment during that period was high, the Buddha was very pleased.


[edit] Mahāmaudgalyāyana大目犍蓮尊者 Saves His Mother From Hell

Food is offered to the ancestors during the annual Ghost FestivalThe Buddhist origins of the festival can be traced back to a story that originally came from India, but later took on culturally Chinese overtones. In the Ullambana Sutra, there is a well descriptive account of a well-to-do merchant who eventually gives up his trade to become a Buddhist monk. He became one of the Buddha's chief disciples. His name was Mahāmaudgalyāyana. (Ch. 目連, Mulian, Pāli Mahāmoggallāna)

After he attained the title of arhat, he thought of his father and mother, and wondered what happened to them. He used his clairvoyance to see where they were reborn and found his father in the god realm.

However, his mother had been reborn in a lower realm, known as the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. His mother took on the form of a hungry ghost---it could not eat because its throat was very thin and no food could pass through, yet it was always hungry because it had a fat belly. His mother had greedy with the money he left her. He had instructed her to kindly host any Buddhist monks that ever came her way, but instead she withheld her kindness and her money. It was for this reason she was reborn in the realm of hungry ghosts.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana eased his mother's suffering by receiving the instructions of feeding pretas from the Buddha. Buddha instructed Mahāmaudgalyāyana to place food on a clean plate, recite the food transformation mantra seven times, snap his fingers then tip the food on clean ground. By doing so, the preta's hunger was relieved and through these merits, his mother was born as a dog.

Once again, Mahāmaudgalyāyana sought the Buddha's advice to help his mother gain a human birth. The Buddha established a day after the traditional summer retreat (the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, usually mid-to-late August) on which Mahāmaudgalyāyana was to offer food to 500 bhikkhus. Through the merits created, Mahāmaudgalyāyana's mother gained a human birth.

Due to Confucian influence, the offering became directed towards ancestors rather than the Sangha and ancestor worship has replaced the simple ritual of releiving the hunger of pretas.

Lunar July 14 (July 15 in some areas), known as the Ghost Festival Taoism, Buddhism known as Yue Lan festival. Who formerly private, semi-July. Passed that day, opened the door to hell, begins a ban would put up the ghost. Is the main home; Not on the main wandering everywhere, caught in any place to be trampled to find food. In July So people have to be held, such as the practice of chanting "liberating" loose ends to release the general fear that they harm people. bless and pray for the souls of medical help or enjoy peace at home. So this day in the southern region are liberating practices.

Secularized Buddhist Ghost Festival in the ancient Buddhist festival of peace and pray it will head even legend's mother has done a lot of bad things into beings after death. Subject even know, it was very sad, regarding the use of magic to show some mothers eat meals, rice into a gray flames on the side of the mouth, Sakyamuni Buddha told him, it is necessary to pool the strength of everyone in mid-July to Baiweixiang five fruits annually, under the desired shape. dependent-10 monks, before economic mother, the main means acting head Lin Yifu, finally able to release his mother. Later, the legend of a customs form, and gradually evolving from the dependent monk turned into ghost dependent. The year to the lunar calendar, it would be the slaughtering of poultry slaughtered, lit incense burning clothes pay homage to the government by the hungry ghosts. to resolve their grievances, not a plague among men. Over time, there will be a festival of the Yue Lan festival.

Taoist view of the annual event in three Taoism (collectively known as "3"). Called on the 15th day of the "Spring" -- the ceremony is held to bless them. July 15 will be referred to as the "Middle" -- amnesty for the spirits of the crime. (192 Middle plead for the soul, but never completely disarmed sin, but reduced the number, They hope the drought-day rest) on October 15 as "crater" -- is to fault the fate legend July hell big lift door open a month, all the loose ends without all from the underworld, and Yang money to eat. So we have in place this month at "liberating" the rites and ceremonies. Past, turn around for Purdue, in July every day for him, the alcohol caused souls, affray; Later in the unified Purdue will be held on July 15. The memorial activities are generally non-civil ancestors before July 15, is not confined to a particular day. Through certain civil ceremony, then ancestor ghost returning home at night, the daily morning, afternoon, the faint, for the 3rd occurrence until the return date. Return, the dollar paper packets, said burning "coating", or perhaps, 192 (or Buddha or Road). In some places (such as Hunan), the Ghost Festival is more important than the memorial days of the festival.