釋氏要覽 3.310

3.310

此釋子。申孝報恩。救苦之要。以目連救母為始也。梵語盂蘭。此云救倒懸也。盆則此方器也。此經目華梵雙舉也。若梵語從聲。其盂字不須從皿必執笔者誤爾。若于闐等可知也○義淨云。盂蘭者。西域之語。此云救倒懸。即飢虛危苦。謂之倒懸也。盆乃東夏之音。此則救苦之器。所以仰大眾之恩光。救倒懸之窘急。此從義以制名也○古師云。盆或是鉢。但譯時隨俗稱盆。盆之與鉢。皆器故也。經云。是佛弟子修孝順者。應念念中常憶父母。乃至七世父母。年年七月十五日。為作盂蘭盆。施佛及僧。以報父母長育慈愛之恩○晉沙門惠達。姓劉。名薩何。年二十一忽暴死。以心熱故。家人未即葬之。經七日乃蘇。說。冥間見一人。長二丈許。相好嚴麗。身黃金色。使者報之。此觀（世音）大士也。達禮畢。菩薩為說法。又云。凡為亡人設福。或在寺。或家中。於七月十五日。沙門受臘之日。此時彌勝也。若割器以供養。摽題云。某甲為亡人某甲○經又云。七月十五日。僧自恣日。當為七世父母及現在父母厄難中者（此文又通。保安現在父母）。具飯百味五果汲灌盆器香油挺燭床敷臥具。盡世甘美。以著盆中（盆會之中）供養十方大德眾僧。又云初受食時。先安洒佛塔中。眾僧呪願竟。便自受食（若供養佛食。回供僧者。即此日得。他日不通。今却於寺中。設供亡人。蓋誤之也）。

This is the principal [rite] by which the sons of Śākya express filial piety, repay kindness, and deliver [beings] from suffering, beginning with Maudgalyāyana rescuing his mother. In Sanskrit, ullambana means in this [language] "rescuing [those] hanging upside down." Pen ("basin") is a vessel of this land. The title of this sūtra thus mentions both Chinese and Sanskrit together. If the Sanskrit is transcribed according to sound, the character yu does not need to have the "vessel" radical (皿); those who insist on writing it so are simply mistaken. One can know this from the languages of Khotan and elsewhere. Yijing states: "Ullambana is a Western expression, which here means 'rescuing [those] hanging upside down'; that is, hunger, emptiness, danger, and suffering are called 'hanging upside down.' Pen is the speech of the Eastern Xia [China], referring to a vessel for rescuing from suffering. Hence one relies on the light of the assembly's kindness to rescue from the distress of hanging upside down; this derives its name from the meaning." Ancient masters said: "Pen was perhaps a pātra (alms bowl), but when translated it was called pen in accordance with common usage; both pen and pātra are vessels." The sūtra says: "Those disciples of the Buddha who practice filial obedience should, from thought-moment to thought-moment, constantly remember their parents, up to parents of seven lifetimes. Year after year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, they should make an ullambana [offering] for them, bestowing it upon the Buddhas and the Saṃgha, in order to repay the kindness of their parents' compassionate nurturing." In the Jin dynasty, the śramaṇa Huida, whose secular surname was Liu and personal name was Saha, suddenly died a violent death at the age of twenty-one. Because his chest was still warm, his family did not bury him immediately. After seven days he revived and said that in the netherworld he saw a person about twenty feet tall, adornment and marks majestic and beautiful, with a body of golden colour. An emissary told him: "This is the Great Being Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara)." When Huida finished bowing, the Bodhisattva preached the Dharma for him and also said: "Whenever one cultivates merit for the deceased, whether in a monastery or at home, doing so on the fifteenth day of the seventh month—the day the śramaṇas receive their monastic seniority—is far superior. If one dedicates vessels to make offerings, label them: 'So-and-so [makes this] for the deceased so-and-so.'" The sūtra also states: "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the day of the monks' pravāraṇā (mutual confession), one should, for parents of seven lifetimes and for living parents in distress and hardship (this passage also applies to protecting and keeping safe living parents), prepare food of a hundred flavours, the five fruits, wash-basins, fragrant oil, candles, couches, and bedding—all the sweet delicacies of the world—and place them in the basin (in the assembly of the basin) to offer to the assembly of monks of great virtue in the ten directions." It also says: "When first receiving the food, place it and sprinkle it in the Buddha's stūpa. After the assembly of monks has chanted aspirations, they may receive the food themselves." (If food offered to the Buddha is redirected to offer to the Saṃgha, it is permissible on this day, but not on other days. Nowadays people instead set up offerings for the deceased in monasteries; this is probably an error.)