I don't know much about Obon, but I would like to express my gratitude for the many references. net

According to the record of the "Buddha Says the Bon Sutra", "Obon" is the Sanskrit Ulan Po. The basin refers to the container of offerings, so the meaning of "bowl" is to save the suffering objects of the upside-down hanging, and the derived meaning is: fill the basin with all kinds of fruits and make offerings to the Buddha and monks to save the suffering beings who have gone to hell.

One of the ten disciples of Sakyamuni, Mulian (also known as Mujianlian), has a deep practice, is known for his supernatural powers, according to legend, Mulian's mother did a lot of bad things, and became a hungry ghost after death, Mulian was very sad after seeing through supernatural powers, so he used his magic power to take some food to his mother to eat, but as soon as the food reached his mother's mouth, it turned into ashes, and Mulian cried loudly to Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Buddha said: "Your mother is deeply sinful, you alone can not be saved, you have to rely on the power of the monks of the ten directions, you have to set up a grand Bon offering on the 15th day of the seventh month, when the monks settle down in the summer and practice to complete, and offer all the monks of the ten directions with a hundred flavors of food, and rely on their spiritual power to save your mother." ”

Mu Lian did what the Buddha instructed, and his mother really got out of the way of hungry ghosts.

The Buddha also said: "In the future, when all the disciples of the Buddha practice benevolence and filial piety, they can take the day of self-indulgence on the 15th day of the seventh month, that is, the day of the Buddha's liking (in the Buddhist system every year during the summer and 90 days, the monks gather together to live in peace, adhere to the precepts, and purify their actions, and on the last day, the monks practice the Dharma, that is, ask the monks to cite their own mistakes, and show their repentance among the masses to obtain purity, and self-relieve, which is called self-indulgence. And the Buddhas of the Ten Directions rejoice in their diligent practice of living in peace and perfection, so it is also called the Buddha's Joy Day, Joy Day), prepare a hundred flavors of food, set up a wide range of Bon offerings, and make offerings to the monks, which can not only add blessings and longevity to the living parents, but also can leave the sea of suffering for the deceased parents, get happiness, and repay the parent's nurturing grace. ”

Since then, in the Chinese-speaking Buddhist region, according to the "Buddha Says the Bon Sutra", the Buddhist ceremony of the ancestors of the past dynasties is held on July 15 every year, which is called the Bon Puja, Bon Zhai, and Bon offerings.

The Bon puja has complex rituals, and the Yirun "Baizhang Qing Gui Zhengyi Ji" volume, because it advocates the repayment of parents' kindness, which is in line with the Confucian tradition of filial piety to parents, and is widely praised and valued by the king, and widely spread in China. According to the records of the Buddha's reign, Emperor Wu of Liang began to set up an altar to hold the Bon puja.

Since then, the subjects of successive emperors have mostly followed the Buddhist system and held Bon festivals to repay the kindness of their parents and ancestors.

According to Buddhism, on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, Buddhists hold a "Obon puja" to worship the Buddha and monks to overcome the six sufferings and to repay their parents for their long-term kindness.

The Taoist magistrate Qingxu the Great forgave sins, and was born on July 15, called the Zhongyuan Festival. On the 15th day of the seventh month, the Emperor Qingxu of the Zhongyuan Dynasty purified the lonely souls and wild ghosts, and the guilty could also pray to him for forgiveness. "Cultivation Records" cloud, "On the day of the Middle Yuan Dynasty, the local officials descended to determine the good and evil in the world, and the Taoist priests recited the scriptures at night, and the prisoners of hunger were also liberated. ”

Obon was introduced to Japan through the introduction of Buddhism. At that time, China was in the Tang Dynasty, which was the era of close exchanges between China and Japan, and due to the prosperity of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to Japan, and at the same time, the Tang envoys witnessed the prosperity of the Obon Festival in the Tang Dynasty at that time, and eventually introduced the Obon Festival to Japan.

It was only with the permission of the emperor that Obon took root in Japan, so at that time it was a festival that only the ruling class could participate in.

For these reasons, Obon was not known to the world in Japan at first.

As time passed, entering the Kamakura period of Japan, due to the change of power, the samurai eventually also had power. During this period, due to the transfer of power, the nobility gradually turned to the samurai. Due to the change of class, the activities of Obon also changed, from the original exclusive use of the aristocracy to the celebration of aristocrats and samurai. At this time, there was also a phenomenon of nobles supporting their ancestors at home, and because of this, the Obon festival gradually replaced the temple offerings with family basins.

In the Muromachi period, due to social turmoil and wars, it was difficult for Obon to continue in temples due to social turmoil and wars, and because of this, more and more people were entrusting their spiritual beliefs to Buddhism, and temples were no longer able to take care of other things due to the war, so the Bon festival was stranded in temples.

So more and more people are holding it themselves at home. As a result, people gradually began to understand Obon, and eventually Obon got rid of the monopoly of the ruling class, and gradually spread out in Japan, basically forming a scale.

In the Edo period, due to the stability of the social environment, the Obon festival went smoothly. Obon is infused with Japan's unique culture, and ancestor worship and sacrifice of the dead are the main content of its celebration.

Although the celebration varies from country to country, ancestor worship and sacrifice are inseparable, and in Japan, it is believed that after death, a person can become a god and benefit his people, so Obon is regarded as a celebratory ritual. At the same time, it also promoted the exhibition of Obon and provided an opportunity for the wide spread of Obon in the future.

Japan is known to be a multi-faith country. Therefore, the characteristics of folk festivals are mostly influenced by religious factors. For religion in Japan, most of them refer to Shintoism and Buddhism, which are traditionally believed in by the Japanese people. From these two religions, there is a difference between "life" and "death". Buddhism in Japan is characterized by ancestor worship and offerings to the dead.

Before the introduction of Buddhism, the main activity of the indigenous religions in Japan was to send the dead to the next life. Among them, ancestor worship is a huge pillar of Buddhism in Japan, and because of this, Obon is a very big festival in Japan.

Ancestor worship and offerings to the dead have been a tradition of Japanese people since the Jomon period, and Obon continues to this day.

This is where the ancestors lived, and during the Obon festival, the ancestors all came back from the mountains, but it is not clear whether the ancestors were in the mountains or in Elysium. When the ancestors come back, the whole family welcomes them, which means that the Japanese people now return to their hometowns every Obon festival and the whole family gathers together to welcome the return of the ancestors.

In addition to ancestor worship, traditional Obon festivals in Japan include ancestor worship and ancestor worship activities, such as celebrating a good harvest and honoring parents. They believe that ancestral spirits will not bring suffering to future generations, but will bring happiness, and it is precisely because of this that it is the reason why Japanese people worship their ancestors, and Obon has an important place in Japan.

For Obon, the center of its customs is gradually changing, from the original offering of food to monks to the worship of ancestors to pray for the blessing of family members, and now family reunions, which shows that the festival is integrated into the folk culture, in which the influence of religion has also been deeply rooted.

The Japanese attach great importance to Obon, which has become an important festival after New Year's Day, similar to the Qingming Festival in China. Shrines are set up in every house, and fires are lit to welcome and send souls, making it a unique event in Japan to honor ancestors. Kyoto's "Omonja" is the pinnacle of this event.

According to the volume of "Baizhang Jungle Qing Rules and Righteousness" written by Qing Yirun, and explain the purpose of the pot offering, show his heart, and from time to time accompany the Buddha to kneel and worship. Finally, a dedication is recited, and the ceremony of the upper orchid basin is concluded.

The last ritual is the feeding of the monks. After the offering is completed, the people gather together the offerings given by Tanyue (believers), and distribute them equally regardless of whether they are visitors or monks of the temple. After receiving the allotment, they recite a prayer in groups, and then each of them takes a bowl and returns to their homes. The entire Obon ceremony ends.

This set of Obon ceremonies is quite complicated, so there are not many people who actually practice it. However, the folk ritual of offering a set of pots with the main purpose of recommending the dead ghosts is more popular.

In the early morning of July 15, a group of six monks appeared in a suona ensemble, with the "teacher" holding the bell at the head of the procession, followed by five monks holding a big drum, a wooden fish, a bell, a hafnium, and a small tambourine. Their procedure was to clean the altar first and then open it.

First, it is necessary to "perform purification", that is, to recite the "Great Compassion Mantra", "Ten Little Mantras", "Heart Sutra", etc., facing the Buddhist altar, and then recite the text written on good paper to pray for the guidance of the Buddha and Bodhisattva's compassion in the lower realm; secondly, perform the "soul-drawing" ceremony, recite the sparse text written on yellow paper, attract ghosts into the altar, and after reading the sparse text, recite the "Heart Sutra", "Mantra of Passing Away", and "Three Mantras"; finally, the sponsor of the Obon festival will use a red pen on the "list text" of the festival to indicate the completion of the altar.

The ritual after the altar is opened, and most of them are carried out in accordance with the ritual of the "Confession of Mercy". The prayer is divided into three phases, which are long and interspersed with offerings and fasting activities.

The punctuation ceremony is held in the evening, and the main thing is to cast the flame mouth. After the flame mouth is over, the river lantern is released, the Dharma boat is burned, and the mourning house is burned, and the festival ends successfully in the flickering firelight.

River lanterns illuminate the dim minds of the ghosts in the water, and the Dharma boat crosses them all to the joyful world, while the mourning house provides the mansions and villas necessary for the world of the dead. All the purposes of Obon are fully embodied in this moment.

Indispensable to Obon is the Bon Odori. It was originally intended to express the joy of people leaving hell, but it has become a folk dance with local characteristics. On summer nights, the whole village dances in a large circle to the sound of drums, and this is a landscape that can be seen all over Japan during this period.

Legend has it that during Obon, the souls of those who have died perform the last dance with their loved ones.

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