English (machine translation)
Translation of 佛說盂蘭盆經
- Language
- English
- Extent
- 11 passages, 1,047 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.685 · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…
Contents
- 1 — 11 parts
Text
1.1
Translated by the Yuezhi Tripiṭaka Master Dharmarakṣa of the Western Jin
1.2
Thus have I heard:
1.3
At one time the Buddha was in the state of Śrāvastī, in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada's Park. When Mahāmaudgalyāyana had just attained the six supernormal knowledges, wishing to deliver his parents to repay their kindness for suckling and nurturing him, he immediately used his eye of the Way to observe the world. He saw that his deceased mother had been born among the hungry ghosts, without sight of food or drink, with her skin and bones clinging together. Mournfully grieved, Maudgalyāyana filled his bowl with food and went to offer it to his mother. Receiving the bowl of food, his mother screened the bowl with her left hand and rolled the food into a ball with her right hand. But before the food could enter her mouth, it turned into blazing coals, so that she was unable to eat it. Maudgalyāyana cried out aloud, weeping and wailing in sorrow. He hastened back to tell the Buddha, explaining the matter in full detail.
1.4
The Buddha said: "The root of your mother's sins is deeply entangled; it is not something that your power alone can remedy! Although you are filial and your cries shake heaven and earth, heavenly gods, earthly spirits, evil demons, non-Buddhists, ascetics, and the gods of the Four Heavenly Kings can do nothing either! You must rely on the awesome spiritual power of the Saṅgha of the ten directions for her to attain liberation. I will now explain for you the method of rescue and relief, so that all who are in distress may be freed from grief and suffering, and their sinful obstacles may be eliminated."
1.5
The Buddha told Maudgalyāyana: "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at the time of the Saṅgha's pravāraṇā, the Saṅgha of the ten directions should, on behalf of parents of seven past lives and present parents who are in distress and hardship, prepare rice, delicacies of a hundred flavours, the five kinds of fruits, vessels for drawing and pouring water, incense, lamp oil, candles, beds, and bedding. Place all the sweet delicacies of the world into vessels and offer them to the venerable Saṅgha of the ten directions. On this day, all the assembly of noble ones—whether meditating in mountain valleys, having attained the four fruits of the Way, walking beneath trees, freely possessing the six supernormal knowledges and instructing śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, or great bodhisattvas of the ten stages provisionally manifesting as monks in the great assembly—all unite in single-mindedness to receive the food in the pātra bowls. Endowed with the pure precepts and the path of the assembly of noble ones, their virtue is vast as the sea. Whoever makes offerings to such monks of the pravāraṇā will see their present parents, parents of seven past lives, and the six kinds of kin escape the suffering of the three lower realms, attaining immediate liberation, with clothing and food naturally supplied. If someone still has living parents, their parents will enjoy blessings and joy for a hundred years; if their parents of seven past lives have already passed away, they will be born in heaven, taking birth spontaneously with sovereign ease, entering the heavenly light of flowers, and receiving boundless bliss." At that time, the Buddha commanded the monks of the ten directions to first chant aspirational prayers on behalf of the donor's family for their parents of seven past lives, dwelling in meditative concentration, and only then accept the food. When first receiving the vessels, they should place them before the Buddha's stūpa; after the Saṅgha has finished the aspirational prayers, they may partake of the food themselves.
1.6
At that time, the monk Maudgalyāyana and the assembly of great bodhisattvas in this grand gathering were all filled with great joy, and the sound of Maudgalyāyana's mournful weeping ceased completely. At that very moment, on that very day, Maudgalyāyana's mother was released from the suffering of a hungry ghost for a kalpa.
1.7
Then Maudgalyāyana said to the Buddha once more: "The mother who gave birth to your disciple has received the benefit of the power of the Three Jewels' merit and the awesome spiritual power of the Saṅgha. If in future ages any disciples of the Buddha practice filial piety, should they also present this ullambana basin to rescue and deliver their present parents and even parents of seven past lives? May they do so?"
1.8
The Buddha said: "Splendid! An excellent question! I was just about to speak of it, and now you ask again. Good son! If there are monks, nuns, kings, crown princes, royal sons, ministers, chancellors, the three dukes, the hundred officials, and the myriad common people who practice filial piety and compassion, they should all, on behalf of their parents who gave birth to them in the present life and their parents of seven past lives, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month—the Buddha's Day of Joy and the Saṅgha's Day of Pravāraṇā—place food and drink of a hundred flavours into an ullambana basin and give it as an offering to the Saṅgha of the ten directions performing pravāraṇā. They should pray and wish that their present parents live for a hundred years free from illness and all troubles of suffering, and that parents of seven past lives leave behind the suffering of hungry ghosts and attain birth among heavenly beings and humans, enjoying boundless blessings and happiness."
1.9
The Buddha told the good sons and good daughters: "Disciples of the Buddha who cultivate filial piety should, in thought after thought, constantly remember their parents, making offerings even to parents of seven past lives. Every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, always with filial piety, compassion, and remembrance for the parents who gave birth to them and even parents of seven past lives, they should prepare an ullambana basin to offer to the Buddha and the Saṅgha, so as to repay their parents' kindness for rearing and tenderly loving them. All disciples of the Buddha should uphold this practice."
1.10
At that time, the monk Maudgalyāyana and the fourfold assembly of disciples, having heard what the Buddha said, joyfully received it and put it into practice.
1.11
Ullambana Sūtra, Spoken by the Buddha