Chapter 170: The Obon Festival
How could I endure such a blow later? I think that my mother took away my husband, and now, my daughter and I are fighting for a husband. What other faces shall I see? Since then, I have run away from home again. I hate the world, I hate humans, I do a joke, I want to play with the world, I play with humans, I just pass my sinful life. ’
'Venerable! As long as I have money, I can do anything, needless to say, His Holiness already knows why I came here to challenge your vows, fortunately His Holiness has great powers, but how can I repent to His Holiness? ’
After listening to Lotus Color's frank narration, Mu Qianlian did not despise her thoughts at all, but saw that Lotus Color's heart was very true, kind, and beautiful at this moment. In a kind tone, he walked up to Lotus and said, 'Lotus Blossom! Your life experience is indeed a terrible karma, but if you follow the Buddha's teachings, there will be an end to such karma. Come with me to the Buddha now! ’
Lian Huase was very happy, so she was able to be saved, and she was able to be blessed by misfortune, all because of the great supernatural powers of the Venerable Moggallian, and the skill and convenience of life.
His Holiness Moggallen, in the Sangha of the Buddha, is the most active figure, and he can do what others can't; He can go where no one else can't.
One day, when the Buddha was speaking in the lecture hall of the Bamboo Forest Monastery in Wangsha City, Moggallan sat in the meditation room and did not listen to the lecture, but the sound of the Buddha's Dharma was like thunder in his ears. He was amazed that he could hear the voice of the Buddha far away from him. In order to test how far the Buddha's Dharma sound could be heard, he used his divine foot to come to a Buddha country outside the billions of Buddha lands, and this Buddha country was the land of the world's free king.
Moggallan often traveled to other Buddha lands, and he was like an experienced traveler, and when he went, he always saw it as if he was in his own land, his hometown.
Now, when he arrived in the Buddha country beyond billions of Buddha lands, he saw that Wang Rulai, who was in the land of Buddhas, was also speaking the Dharma, and he was very happy, so he lightly moved forward to find a seat and listened to what Wang Rulai said.
But what is incredible is that in addition to listening to the words of Wang Rulai, the sound of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings in the world of Suva still rings in his ears.
At this moment, the sound of the Dharma of the King of the World Freedom stopped and a Bodhisattva bowed to the King of the World and then pointed to the Gandharan and said, 'Nyorai! While you were talking, a big worm crawled out of nowhere, and he looked strange and pitiful, so let's get rid of him! ’
Wang Rulai hurriedly stopped him and said, "Don't say that! He is the first disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha in the world of Suva, and he is the first disciple of Moggallan Li! ’
'Why is he so short?' All the bodhisattvas asked this question. It turned out that in the land of Wang Rulai, all the bodhisattvas and sentient beings in the world were hundreds of times taller than the people in the world of Suva, no wonder they wanted to say this when they saw Moggallian.
King Rulai explained: 'Do not despise this Venerable One, he has great powers, great virtues, and he can travel freely and freely. As for the short body, this is the karmic feeling of the different beings in each land. ’
After the world was said to Wang Ru, he said to Mu Gallan kindly, 'Venerable! You can manifest your deification from other lands among my disciples and bodhisattvas, and remove all people's doubts about you! ’
Moggallan immediately took advantage of the Buddha's divine power, and now all kinds of supernatural powers changed, and all the bodhisattvas saw it and became respectful.
After Moggallian realized his supernatural powers, he returned to his original position, and the king of the world asked him, "Venerable! Did you come to our land to hear the sound of Shakyamuni's teachings? ’
'Yes! The disciple really has such intentions. Moggallen replied respectfully.
'Venerable! You can't think of it that the power of the Buddhas of all directions is not something that ordinary people can fully understand, and the voice of the Buddhas of all directions is all over the void. The realm of the roots of all living beings is far and near, and the discriminating mind cannot listen to the voice of the Buddha. ’
When Wang Rulai came to tell Mu Gallian, Mu Ganlian was very ashamed to hear it, and although he was active in the Buddha's Sangha later, he never dared to test the Buddha's voice again.
Not only did he travel to various countries, but he also used his supernatural powers to go to hell to observe the retribution of good and evil for sentient beings.
One day, Moggallan was walking on the bank of the Ganges, time was like a river, constantly rushing forward, it was the twilight of the vast dusk, Moggallan thought that it was inconvenient to travel at night, so he sat quietly on the bank of the Ganges.
The evening breeze blew gently, and the sky shimmered with stars.
After a while, many hungry ghosts gathered on the side of the Ganges to get water to quench their hunger and thirst, but another vicious water keeper came with an iron rod in his hand, so that the demons did not dare to approach the water's edge. When he sat upright, he called the hungry ghosts, and all the demons asked him about the causes of their sins.
The first ghost asked, 'Venerable! We were born as human beings, and now we have fallen into the body of hungry ghosts in the path of hungry ghosts, often suffering from hunger and thirst, I heard that the water of the Ganges River tastes cool, but when we come to get food, the water is boiling hot, as long as we drink a sip, all the internal organs will be scorched, and there are water guardians, who chase and expel them with iron rods. ’
Observing the cause and effect of the three worlds with supernatural powers, Moggallan immediately told the hungry ghost and said, 'Your profession in your previous life was that of a fortune teller, and when you were dealing with good fortune and evil, you spoke more falsely than the truth, and you talked about your reputation as you like, and you claimed to understand it, but you were really deceiving, and you did not hesitate to confuse sentient beings in order to gain benefits, so you have such karmic retribution. ’
The second ghost asked, 'Venerable! I was often devoured by some fierce dogs, and when the meat was exhausted, the wind blew the bones and came back to life. I don't know what caused me to suffer so much? ’
Because you killed chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep in your previous life, and sacrificed to the gods and worshiped the heavens, you received this retribution. ’
'Venerable! The third ghost asked, 'My belly is as big as an urn, but my throat is as thin as a needle. ’
'Thou hast been a ruler in thy previous life, thou hast been arrogant and strong, thou hast indulged in pleasures, thou hast deceived others, and thou hast possessed the gains of others' blood and sweat, and now thou hast suffered this retribution. ’
The fourth ghost stepped forward and asked, 'Venerable! My body is covered with a tongue, and blood gushes up from under me, making my head like a bucket. Every time a blood vessel is about to burst, life is like a gossamer, I don't know what the cause is, and I suffer from this retribution? ’
'In your previous life, you liked to talk about right and wrong, talk about people's strengths and weaknesses, and speak out words, and you didn't want to benefit sentient beings. ’
Many hungry ghosts asked one by one about the karma they had committed in the past and the cause of retribution in this life, and Moggallan answered them one by one, and Moggallian's supernatural powers were such a person who went up and down from heaven and earth freely!
He suddenly remembered his dead mother, and he used his supernatural powers to see that his deceased mother also fell into the path of hungry ghosts and suffered, his throat was as small as a needle, and his skin and bones were connected together.
He immediately filled the food in a bowl and fed his mother with the power of supernatural powers, but before his mother could eat the food, the food turned into coals in her hands, and she could not eat or drink.
He can know the karma of the ghosts, but he doesn't know what kind of karma his mother is suffering from. With a heavy heart, he hurried to the Buddha for advice.
His Holiness Moggallen said, 'Buddha! Today, my disciple saw my mother in this life with divine power, who fell into the path of hungry ghosts and suffered, and took food to turn into fire, I don't know what the cause was? The disciple's supernatural powers can observe the causes and causes of the sins of all the ghosts, so why is he not aware of the biological mother? Ask the Buddha for mercy and enlightenment! ’
With a light of compassion on his face, the Buddha replied, 'Muggallan! Your mother suffered this retribution because when she was alive, she slandered the Buddha and the Sangha, did not believe in the Dharma of cause and effect, was greedy for evil, and made fun of sentient beings. Because of the deep love between mother and son, your supernatural powers are covered by family affection, so you don't know your mother's sinful karma! ’
'Buddha! What is the magic method that can free the disciple's mother from the suffering of hungry ghosts? Moggallan pleaded with the Buddha.
'Moggallen! Your mother's sins are deep-rooted, and it is not your own strength that can save them, and although your filial piety touches the heavens and the earth, the gods of heaven and earth are helpless against those who slander the Three Jewels and fall. Now you can only rely on the power of the monks of the ten directions to save your mother from the suffering of hungry ghosts. ’
'On the 15th day of the seventh month of each year, it is the day of liberation and self-indulgence of the monks of the ten directions, and on this day, the children should set up a hundred delicious meals and fresh fruits for the parents of the seventh generation and those whose parents are now in danger, and place them in a basin to support the monks of the ten directions. ’
'Because on the 15th day of the seventh month, the sangha is self-congregated, either meditating by the mountains and waters, or attaining the four arhat fruits, or practicing under the trees, or the six paths of self-enlightenment. There are even more Bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions, all of whom are fed with one mind, all of whom have pure precepts, and their virtues are like ** sea, incredible, if they can support such self-indulgent monks, their parents in this world, and their relatives and dependents will be able to get rid of the suffering of the three tu, and they should be liberated in time, and their food and clothing are natural, if their parents are still alive, they will be happy for a hundred years, and everything will be auspicious and smooth. This is the real magic method of super-recommendation pulling! ’
After hearing what the Buddha said, Moggallan happily practiced it, and after the monks made offerings to the holy monks on a daily basis, his mother was freed from the suffering of hungry ghosts.
When Moggallan knew that his mother had escaped from the path of hungry ghosts, he was grateful to the Buddha. He also praised the merits of the Three Jewels, and advised the world to practice the Bon method and offer it to the Buddha and the Sangha to repay the kindness of their parents.
The Obon Festival was advised to be held, which was originally the painstaking work of the people who benefited from the Meggallan people, but now every July 15th, Obon is falsely regarded as a day to worship gods and ghosts, which is really a disappointment to the compassion of the Buddha and Moggallan.
His Holiness Moggallan is not only the first in supernatural powers, but also famous for his great compassion!