Ullambana Sutra: Chinese text

Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was at Jetavana, Anathapindika’s park, in Shravasti.

When Maudgalyayana attained the six extraordinary powers, he wished to rescue his parents and repay their care. Surveying the world with the vision gained through practice, he saw his deceased mother reborn among hungry ghosts, unable to obtain food or drink, reduced to skin and bones.

Grieving, he filled a bowl with rice and brought it to her. Receiving it, she covered the bowl with her left hand and took food with her right. Before it reached her mouth, however, it became burning coals, and she could not eat.

Maudgalyayana lamented loudly and wept. He hurried back to the Buddha and described everything that had happened.

The Buddha said, ‘The roots of your mother’s offences are deep; one person’s strength cannot overcome them. Though your filial cry might move heaven and earth, deities and other powers alone cannot save her. Through the strength of the monastic community gathered from every direction, she can leave suffering. I will now explain the means of rescue.’ This is a story of salvation depicted in the sutra.

The Buddha told him, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the monks conclude their retreat and invite mutual correction, prepare in bowls the finest things you can: various rice dishes, fruit, water vessels, fragrant oil, lamps, mats, and more. Offer them to the assembled virtuous monks for parents of the previous seven lifetimes and parents of this life who are in difficulty.’

‘On this day, those meditating in mountains, those who have attained fruits of practice, those practicing walking meditation under trees, those guiding others through wisdom and extraordinary powers, and bodhisattvas appearing as monks receive the meal with one heart. The virtue of those endowed with pure precepts is like the vast ocean.’

The sutra teaches, ‘The parents and relatives of those who make this offering will leave painful realms and receive food and clothing. Living parents will enjoy enduring happiness; parents of the previous seven lifetimes will be born freely in heaven, arising in flowers of light.’ This is not a guarantee of actual lifespan or salvation.

The Buddha then instructed the monks first to pray for the donor’s household and settle their hearts for the parents of the previous seven lifetimes, and only afterward receive the food. It says to place the food first before the Buddha in a stupa or temple, receiving it after the prayers are complete.

Maudgalyayana and the bodhisattvas rejoiced greatly. His sorrow dissolved and his weeping ceased. That day, the text says, his mother was released from her long suffering as a hungry ghost.

He asked the Buddha again, ‘My mother has been rescued through the Three Treasures—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and the strength of the many monks. Should future disciples likewise offer Ullambana to rescue parents of this life and the previous seven lifetimes?’

The Buddha replied, ‘An excellent question. You have now asked exactly what I was about to teach.’

‘Monks, nuns, kings, ministers, officials, and ordinary people—everyone practicing compassion and filial care—should prepare various foods in Ullambana bowls for their present parents and parents of the previous seven lifetimes, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the Buddha rejoices and the monks invite mutual correction, and give them to the assembled community.’

‘Pray that living parents may live long and healthily, without suffering; pray also that parents of the previous seven lifetimes may leave suffering and receive boundless happiness in the human or heavenly realms.’

‘Disciples practicing filial care should repeatedly remember their parents and parents of the previous seven lifetimes. Every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, remember them compassionately, prepare Ullambana, and give to the Buddha and community to repay the care in which you were raised.’

‘Disciples, preserve this teaching carefully.’ Maudgalyayana and the monks, nuns, and male and female lay disciples joyfully received and practiced it.