James Baquet

    Last time, we looked at Buddhist holidays celebrating three momentous occasions in the life of the historic Buddha: his birth, his attainment of enlightenment, and his death. Here are some other holidays observed in various Buddhist traditions.

    One of the best known is the Festival of Hungry Ghosts. It has its roots in Ullambana, an ancient observance in remembrance of the ancestors. Even before it became associated with this, the 15th day of the seventh month was called “The Buddha’s Joyful Day,” perhaps because it marked the end of the rainy season retreat, the day when monks were again free to wander.

    Tradition says that on that day, the Buddha instructed his disciple Maudgalyayana (Chinese Mulian) on obtaining release for his deceased mother. This discourse is called the “Ullambana Sutra,” and the story gave rise to the Chinese folk tale, “Mulian Rescues His Mother.”

    Ullambana evolved into the elaborate “Ghost Festival” observances now seen in the seventh lunar month. In South Asian countries, it is a time for lay people to make donations to monks, especially giving new robes. Any “merit” they earn is then dedicated to the benefit of the hungry ghosts, or preta.

    There are many other festivals associated with events in the Buddha’s life, including the Ploughing Festival and the Elephant Festival.

    The Ploughing Festival celebrates the beginning of the planting season in spring. Still conducted in Thailand and Cambodia, it involves the king driving a pair of sacred oxen pulling a plough. In the stories of the Buddha, it was while the young prince watched the oxen struggling as his father performed this ceremony that he had his first inkling of the suffering of life.

    The Elephant Festival (not to be confused with another festival in Jaipur, India) is something like a “Teacher’s Day.” The Buddha once explained that a wild elephant is trained by yoking it with one already tame.

    So a new Buddhist should associate with a more experienced one. This is recognized in some places on the third Saturday in November.

    Vocabulary:

    Which word above means:

    1. benefit derived from performing good actions

    2. cows used for heavy labor

    3. those who are not monks or nuns

    4. dead

    5. of great importance

    6. connecting; tying together

    7. withdrawal from the world for contemplation

    8. formal speech

    9. hint; clue; vague idea

    10. device used for “cutting” the earth to plant seeds