Behind Hungry Ghost Festival Story

Chinese legend has it that a long time ago, there lived a young man, Mu Lian and his widowed mother. His mother was a wicked woman. She often turned away beggars who came to her door asking for food. She liked to jeer at the working poor and their dirty clothes; in essence, the only person she cared about was herself.

Mu Lian on the other hand was a kind soul. He was a gentle person and always willing to help anybody who was in need. One day he decided to become a monk and this did not please his mother. She scowled at him for being such a useless son; she wanted him to go out and work to earn more money for her. Wealth and materialistic things meant more to her than anything else.

When she saw that she could not dissuade her son, a plan began to hatch in her mind. She decided to play a trick on the monks just to get back at them for taking away her son. Now it was the custom to offer food to the monks (this custom still exists to this very day), but only vegetarian food. Mu Lian’s mother thought that it was nonsensical that these monks did not eat meat, so one day she offered food to some monks and slipped in some non-vegetarian items.

According to one version of the story, the wicked woman was punished immediately and was sent to hell. Mu Lian wanted to save his mother’s soul because he knew her soul was suffering.
He set out and ventured deep into the bowels of hell. Soon he came upon his mother and he saw that she was sitting a bed of very sharp pointy stakes and was holding on to a basin of blood.
Mu Lian tried feeding her some food but the food would either turn into fire or blood. It was hopeless: he couldn’t do anything for her so he left. He returned home and started to pray.

It is said that Buddha heard Mu Lian’s prayers and was touched by Mu Lian’s compassion. Thus Buddha decreed that once a year, the gates of hell be opened so that the lost souls will be able to roam the earth and be fed. This is why every year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, the Chinese celebrate the festival of the hungry ghost. This is one of five major festivals in the Chinese culture.

Food and drink will be offered at night outside the gates of houses. This is so that the ghosts do not enter their houses and cause trouble. A traditional food made for this festival is steamed sweet bread. Lanterns are lit to help guide the ghosts to the feasts set out for them. Special paper money is also burned as offerings to these ghosts so that they can take it back to hell and spend it there. To make sure that these souls stay out of trouble, entertainment is set up round the clock, mainly Chinese operas performed on outdoor stages.

阿弥陀佛是什么意思？

他问：为什么佛教徒一见面，就合掌 阿弥陀佛．这是什么意思？

这个问问得很好！ 阿弥陀佛是祝福的意思．这一句话是古印度的梵语．古印度话，它的意思，用我们现在的话来说：光寿无量．祝福里面的含义就很深，深在什么地方呢？深在警觉，提醒你，我们人在世界一生，我们要求的是光明，无量光，心地光明磊落，大公无私，对一切人，一切事，一切物．

这个意思重要，每听到一句话,我们就要警觉自己,为什么呢?自己可以说在无量觉来,那么也有许多人,不相信有前世,不相信有来生,我们就算这一生,从你出生那一天起,长到你这么大,你的念头都是自私自利,自私自利是黑暗的,不是光明的.我们放下自私自利,起心动念能为社会着想.为人民着想,为众生着想,为一切人,为一切事,为一切物.全心全力作出贡献服务,这个心地就是光明正大. 阿弥陀佛这一句话里头含着这个深刻的意思,圆满的意思.我们自己才能够得到真正的幸福美满,当然这里头包含健康长寿.

从阿弥陀佛这一句话,字面上的意思来看, 阿弥陀佛是无量的意思.佛就是光寿的意思.无量包括一切的无量在其中,你所想到的,样样无量,所以,这是很圆满,很完备,祝福的一句话,这是我们一见面,开口第一句话．阿弥陀佛．这一句话与虚空法界一切众生都相应．一切众生所希求的，所以与一切众生心相应．这里面决定没有迷信．世间所有一切好话这一句都总结了，全都归纳了，所以是世间所有一切好话都在这一句当中，这一句就圆满了．我们懂得这个意思，称念阿弥陀佛，这个意思就更圆满了．

有的说“南无阿弥陀佛”，是说这个佛单是西方有的，我们南方是没有的意思。有的说阿弥陀佛，是人人堂上的阿母，是寺院里的大佛，合拢来便是阿母大佛的意思；把声音稍微读别，又接着把字写错了，遂成了个阿弥陀佛。

慈悲恻隐是阿弥陀佛，所以念阿弥陀佛；救苦救难是阿弥陀佛，所以念阿弥陀佛；因果报应是阿弥陀佛，所以念阿弥陀佛；赐福施恩是阿弥陀佛，所以念阿弥陀佛；佛教的符号是阿弥陀佛，为表示是佛教所以念阿弥陀佛。
“南无阿弥陀佛”是一句天竺话，“南无”就是“恭敬皈依信仰服从”的道理，“阿弥陀”就是没有边际的智光与没有限量的福寿这两种道理，“佛”就是圣人、神人、天人、全人、至人、有道德的人、觉悟了的人、智慧才能最伟大的人等种种道理，合起来就是“敬从那无边无量智光福寿的圣人”的道理了。念这阿弥陀佛的缘故，因为这个阿弥陀佛不是我们这个世界里的，我们这个世界唤做“忍苦∧世界。
节摘：太虚大师《中国人口头上心头上的阿弥陀佛》