Rev. Danny Fisher

The Whittier Daily News reports on Ullambana observances at Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, CA.  (Both Hsi Lai Temple and my employer University of the West were founded by Grand Master Hsing Yun of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order of Taiwan.)

Taiwan’s Government Information Office describes Ullambana thus:

Ullambana is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word meaning “deliverance from suffering,” and specifically refers to the salvation of anguished souls in Hell. This concept originates from the story of “Mulien Saving His Mother from Hades.”

In this Buddhist legend, the protagonist Mulien learns that his mother’s ghost is being tortured in Hades by starvation and hanging and thus embarks on a grueling journey to the underworld bringing food to ease her hunger. When he finally succeeds in finding his mother, Mulien offers the food to her but it erupts into flames before she is able to swallow. Despairing, he begs Sakymuni to show him a way to bring salvation to his mother, and is answered by the Buddha, who tells him, “The past sins of your mother are too great for you alone to save her. You must thus find ten monks and pray together on the 15th day of the seventh moon.” Heeding Sakymuni’s instructions, Mulien begins a ritual Buddhist fast and chants the sutras until finally he succeeds in releasing his mother from hell. This legend has been passed down through the ages and is today is celebrated on Chung Yuan by Buddhists around the world, holding ceremonies of charity so that the outcast and famished ghosts may cross over to salvation. Thus, the 15th day of the seventh moon has become an occasion for teaching the virtues of filial piety.

[Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz.  "Thanh Phu, of Los Angeles, visits the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights Saturday, August 22, 2009 during a week of prayer services for the deceased and ancestors at the temple for 'The Seventh Month.'"]