Ullambana, popularly known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, is celebrated by Buddhists and Taoists in China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, hongkong and other countries.

Following the Chinese Mahayana tradition, it falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calender. The festival evolved from a Mahayana sutra called "Ullambana Sutra", supposed to have been delivered by the Buddha with reference to the suffering mother of the second chief disciple, Maha Moggallana (Mu Lian).
~~ Buddhist Origin Of Ullambana

The relevance of Ullambana to Buddhists was revealed in the Ullambana Sutra . The Arahant Maha Moggallana, having know that his mother was being born among the hungry ghosts and had been reduced to mere skin and bones due to lack of food and drink resulted by previous karma, seek help from the compassionate Buddha.

According to the sutra, not only to alleviate the suffering of Maha Moggallana's mother, If one thus makes offerings to these Provarana Sangha, one's present father and mother, parents of seven generations, as well as the six kinds of close relatives, will escape from the three paths of sufferings. And at that time attain release. Their clothing and food will spontaneously appear. If the parents are still alive, they will have wealth and blessings for a hundred years. Parents of seven generations will be born in the heavens. Transformationally born, they will independently enter the celestial flower light, and experience limitless bliss.

Buddha was said to have advised Maha Moggallana to offer to the Sangha " an offering of clean basins full of hundreds of flavors and the five fruits, and other offerings of incense, oil, lamps, candles, beds, and bedding, all the best of the world, to the greatly virtuous assembled Sangha of the ten directions. "

This is to be performed on the fifteenth day of the seventh month which is the day of termination of the Rainy Retreat.
Later, many of the practices found in the Chinese cultural heritage influenced Ullambana, making it a more and more complex kind of festival to the extent of losing its original Buddhist identity.


To read more about THE ULLAMBANA SUTRA , had provided a link
herein :
The Ullambana Sutra


ULLAMBANA SUTRA

孟兰节

佛说孟兰盆经








.