The Yulanpen Sutra, also known as the Ullambana Sutra, is a Mahayana sutra concerning filial piety. (Historic story about a monk who saved his mother). Join us for our regular Saturday morning service which will include a celebration of this story of compassion.
Ullambana, surprisingly, has multiple stories about its origin. Based on the region where it is celebrated, people have passed on varying stories about the day. The word ‘Ullambana’ itself is probably derived from the Indian Language of Sanskrit and was translated into Chinese to form ‘Ullambana.’ In India, you would probably hear people say “Yulanpen Sutra,” which is in more than one way similar to the Chinese Ullambana.
The story behind the day is interesting. The story is of a boy, Sariputta, who rescues his mother who is trapped in a life-cycle continuum. Legend has it that Petavatthu, Sariputta’s mother, is trapped in the fifth life cycle as a ghost, unable to come back as a human. To help his mother, Sariputta builds huts and fills them with food for the needy to eat from as a gesture of his sacrifice. The gods accept his sacrifice and his mother is freed.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulanpen_Sutra
Photo credit: By unknown artist(Life time: 19th century) – Original publication: not published Immediate source:http://academic.reed.edu/hellscrolls/scrolls/Aseries/A10/A10c.html, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44727949
