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The Day of
Buddhas’ Delight
There was a tradition in ancient Buddhism that the monastics gather and cultivate together during the rain season every day. This was called the summer retreat. Since the eleventh full moon of the Buddhist calendar, Theravada Buddhists celebrate the Kathina festival at around October of the western calendar. Due to the difference in climate between China and India, Chinese Buddhists changed summer retreat from April 15th to July 15th. After three months of rigorous cultivation, the monastics report to the Buddha their progress. Buddha would rejoice from their reports, so July 15th is called the Day of Buddhas’ Delight or the Day of the Sangha’s Pravarana. Buddhists use ullambana to offer to the Three Jewels—Buddha, Dharma and Sangha—who rescue the suffering living beings of the six paths of reincarnation. The merit and virtue of which is dedicated to one’s parents from past lives in order to repay their kindness and praise the goodness of filial piety. Ullambana According to the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra, the Sanskrit word उल्लम्बन is combined from “ullam” meaning “hang upside-down” and “bana” meaning a basin of rescue. Together, Ullambana means a tool to rescue the suffering of being hung upside-down. It can be interpreted as rescuing the living beings suffering in hell by offering the Buddha and Sangha delicacies and fruits placed in a basin. |
As early as during Buddha’s time, there were Ullambana events. According to the Sutra of the Great Bowl Pure Land, in order to eradicate the bad karma of their parents of seven lives, India’s King Bimbisara, Elder Sudatta and Lady Mallika and others followed the Ullambana Sutra and had five hundred golden banas made to offer to the Buddha and Sangha.
Ullam is a Sanskrit term translated to “to rescue from being hung upside-down.” The sufferings in the three evil realms are beyond description in words, so people just use being hung upside-down as an analogy. The basin refers to all kinds of clean containers used to hold food. During Ullambana, offering the Sangha from the ten directions a variety of pure delicacies in various kinds of containers can save one’s parents of past lives from great suffering like being hung upside-down. Being hung upside-down is the rescued, basin is the rescuing. The combination is Ullambana, meaning rescuing from being hung upside-down.”
As recorded in the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra, the Buddha’s great disciple Maudgalyayana after gaining spiritual powers wanted to save his parents from their bad karma so as to repay their kindness. He searched with his heavenly eye power and found his mother fallen into the realm of hungry ghosts, starved to skin and bone, unable to take any food or drink. Maudgalyayana immediately filled a basin with rice and send it to his mother using his powers. To his surprise, as an effect of her evil karma, the food turned into ashes even before reaching her mouth. Venerable Maudgalyayana asked Buddha for a way to save his mother from such suffering.
Buddha told Maudgalyayana that due to his mother’s heavy karma Maudgalyayana alone was not enough to save her. On the 15th of July on the lunar calendar when all the monastics finished their summer retreat, he must offer to Sangha of the ten directions with a hundred kinds of delicacies. With the strengths of all the Sangha and the merit and virtue from such offering, he could then save his parents of the current life and seven lives past, and relatives from the suffering of the three evil paths.
Venerable Maudgalyayana followed Buddha’s instructions and was successful rescuing his mother from suffering as a hungry ghost. He then asked Buddha if Buddha’s disciples of the future wishing to practice filial piety could follow the Ullambana offering to help their parents of current and up to seven lifetimes past. Buddha answered, “Those who wish to practice compassionate filial conduct for the sake of the parents who bore them, as well as for the sake of fathers and mothers of seven lives past, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Day of the Buddhas’ Delight, the Day of the Sangha’s Pravarana, they should vow to cause the length of life of the present father and mother to reach a hundred years without illness, without sufferings, afflictions, or worries, and also vow to cause seven generations of fathers and mothers to leave the sufferings of the hungry ghosts, to be born among men and gods, and to have blessings and bliss without limit.”
Historical records show that Emperor Liang of Wu was the first to hold the Ullambana Assembly according to the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra. By the virtue of the emperor’s full support, people across all walks of life followed suit. By the Tang Dynasty, Ullamana was not only highly valued in the community, and the scale of the assemblies became greater than ever.
Ullam is a Sanskrit term translated to “to rescue from being hung upside-down.” The sufferings in the three evil realms are beyond description in words, so people just use being hung upside-down as an analogy. The basin refers to all kinds of clean containers used to hold food. During Ullambana, offering the Sangha from the ten directions a variety of pure delicacies in various kinds of containers can save one’s parents of past lives from great suffering like being hung upside-down. Being hung upside-down is the rescued, basin is the rescuing. The combination is Ullambana, meaning rescuing from being hung upside-down.”
As recorded in the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra, the Buddha’s great disciple Maudgalyayana after gaining spiritual powers wanted to save his parents from their bad karma so as to repay their kindness. He searched with his heavenly eye power and found his mother fallen into the realm of hungry ghosts, starved to skin and bone, unable to take any food or drink. Maudgalyayana immediately filled a basin with rice and send it to his mother using his powers. To his surprise, as an effect of her evil karma, the food turned into ashes even before reaching her mouth. Venerable Maudgalyayana asked Buddha for a way to save his mother from such suffering.
Buddha told Maudgalyayana that due to his mother’s heavy karma Maudgalyayana alone was not enough to save her. On the 15th of July on the lunar calendar when all the monastics finished their summer retreat, he must offer to Sangha of the ten directions with a hundred kinds of delicacies. With the strengths of all the Sangha and the merit and virtue from such offering, he could then save his parents of the current life and seven lives past, and relatives from the suffering of the three evil paths.
Venerable Maudgalyayana followed Buddha’s instructions and was successful rescuing his mother from suffering as a hungry ghost. He then asked Buddha if Buddha’s disciples of the future wishing to practice filial piety could follow the Ullambana offering to help their parents of current and up to seven lifetimes past. Buddha answered, “Those who wish to practice compassionate filial conduct for the sake of the parents who bore them, as well as for the sake of fathers and mothers of seven lives past, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Day of the Buddhas’ Delight, the Day of the Sangha’s Pravarana, they should vow to cause the length of life of the present father and mother to reach a hundred years without illness, without sufferings, afflictions, or worries, and also vow to cause seven generations of fathers and mothers to leave the sufferings of the hungry ghosts, to be born among men and gods, and to have blessings and bliss without limit.”
Historical records show that Emperor Liang of Wu was the first to hold the Ullambana Assembly according to the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra. By the virtue of the emperor’s full support, people across all walks of life followed suit. By the Tang Dynasty, Ullamana was not only highly valued in the community, and the scale of the assemblies became greater than ever.
