Core Concepts Q&A -Dispelling Superstition, Clarifying Concepts

The seventh lunar month is commonly known in Chinese tradition as the “Ghost Month.” How does Buddhism view this month? And, are Buddhist deliverance and folk practices of universal offerings (Hungry Ghost Festival, Zhongyuan Pudu in Chinese) actually the same? This Q&A series aims to clarify some common misconceptions.

Q1: How does Buddhist deliverance differ from folk practices of universal offerings, both in concept and practice?

A: In Buddhism, deliverance means helping beings transcend suffering and attain a state of peace and joy. It extends to all sentient beings across the Six Realms, since both material deprivation and spiritual suffering are forms of suffering that can be alleviated through the power of the Dharma. Deliverance is primarily directed toward the living, thereby helping us free ourselves from afflictions.

For beings in the spirit realm, Buddhist services such as food offerings and the Flaming Mouth Ceremony use the power of the Dharma to first satisfy the hunger of those who have fallen into the three lower realms, and then guide them with the Dharma so that their minds may open up and awaken to understanding. Through the power of the Buddha, they are guided toward rebirth in the wholesome realms. Buddhist deliverance services accord with the Five Precepts: no slaughtered animals are offered as sacrifices, no negative karmic ties are formed, and the ceremony is conducted with purity, as pure causes yield pure results.

Folk practices of universal offering, by contrast, are intended in part to appease: food is laid out in the hope that hungry ghosts and spirits will be satisfied and bring peace, or even blessings, to those making the offerings. Such offerings typically place great emphasis on abundance, with animal sacrifices among the offered items. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra warns that “eating the five pungent roots raw gives rise to anger; eating them cooked gives rise to sexual desire.” For this reason, such methods of offering are more likely to arouse anger and greed in the spirits than to plant wholesome seeds.

Q2: Why do monasteries hold deliverance services in the seventh lunar month, and how do they differ from Qingming rituals?

A: The Buddhist practice of holding deliverance services in the seventh lunar month traces its roots to the Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra. The sutra recounts how the Buddha taught Maudgalyāyana to help his mother, who had fallen into the hungry ghost realm, attain deliverance. It can thus be regarded as a scripture that embodies the spirit of filial devotion. In Chinese society, the Ghost Festival observances of the seventh lunar month have become a widely shared custom. Furthermore, since Buddhism already held the concept of deliverance at its core, the seventh lunar month provides an opportunity for Buddhism to follow this seasonal custom while introducing Buddhist practices for delivering the deceased from suffering.

At Qingming Festival, Chinese families visit the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects and honor those who came before. Buddhist services held during Qingming, such as the Qingming Buddha-Name Recitation Retreat for Expressing Gratitude, extend that gratitude beyond one’s parents in this lifetime to all the parents and loved ones one has had across countless past lives. Such retreats typically include memorial tablets for the deceased, primarily as an expression of filial devotion. That said, what matters most is one’s own merit from reciting the Buddha’s name, rather than simply having a tablet inscribed without coming to participate in group practice. 

Q3: If we don’t know where our departed loved one has gone, and they may have already been reborn, is there still any point in performing deliverance for them?

A: Yes – it still helps, increasing their merit and improving their circumstances wherever they are. In Buddhism, sentient beings are divided into six realms: heavenly beings, humans, asuras, hungry ghosts, animals, and hell-dwellers. Beings are born and die within these six realms in an ongoing cycle, hence the term “Six Realms of rebirth.” When a person dies, there is only a one-in-six chance of being reborn in the ghost realm. Deliverance, in the Buddhist sense, is intended to help sentient beings transcend and thereby break free from the cycle of birth and death within the Six Realms.

Regardless of which realm a loved one has been reborn into, performing deliverance for them is an act of blessing. If they have been born in the animal realm, it can improve their living conditions and even spare them the suffering of being slaughtered; if they have been reborn as a human, it can bring them good health and a smoother life; and if they have already reached the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, it can elevate their lotus grade and hasten their attainment of Buddhahood.
     
Q4: If one has no departed loved ones to deliver, is there still a reason to attend deliverance services in the seventh lunar month?

A: The Nirvāṇa Sūtra speaks of three kinds of compassion, one of which is compassion directed toward all sentient beings equally, regarding every being in the ten directions as one’s own parent, sibling, or kin. From a Buddhist perspective, all sentient beings throughout the Dharma realm can be regarded as our relatives, having been connected to us through karmic ties over countless past lives. Attending a deliverance service therefore broadens our sense of kinship and expresses the spirit of unconditional compassion.

Attending a Dharma service is not only about helping others attain deliverance; it is also a form of Buddhist practice and an opportunity for group practice. The liturgy includes bowing to the Buddha, reciting the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, practicing repentance, and learning the Dharma through the liturgical texts. Through these practices, we gradually improve our conduct in body, speech, and mind, thereby improving our daily lives and elevating our spiritual lives. As the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra states: “The deceased receives one-seventh of the merit, while the remaining six parts accrue to the living person who performs the service.” In other words, of all the benefit gained through attending a Dharma service or reciting the sutras, six-sevenths of the merit goes to the practitioner. Therefore, the person who benefits most from attending a service is actually oneself.

Q5: Why does Buddhism hold that Dharma services can convey care and concern for the departed?

A: In Buddhism, the greatest blessing one can offer the departed is to help them hear the Dharma, resolve their afflictions and strengthen their wholesome aspirations, thereby helping them transcend suffering. Buddhism teaches that sincere devotion gives rise to a response, and the force behind that response is a mind of utmost sincerity. Among family relationships, the bonds between loved ones can most readily give rise to such heartfelt sincerity. In the distant past, Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was born several times as a devoted daughter. Each time, with complete sincerity, she performed Buddhist services for her departed mother, bowing to the Buddha, making offerings, reciting his name, and praying to the Buddha. Through the power of that sincerity, she received the guidance of Buddhas and Arhats, thereby enabling her mother to be delivered.

After a loved one has passed, no matter which realm they have been reborn into, when you attend a Dharma service and dedicate merit to them with a sincere heart, that sincerity can resonate with the departed ones, enabling them to come and hear the Dharma at the appointed time. Even if the departed never heard a single word of the Dharma during their lifetime, upon hearing it after death, they can come to understand and receive it through their own wholesome roots.


Resource: Issue 240 of Humanity Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Photo: Public Relations and Communications Office
Translation: Claire
Editing: Keith Brown, Patricia Yang