On the evening of August 11 (July 14 of the lunar calendar), at Phuc Khanh Pagoda (Dong Da, Hanoi), despite the heavy rain, thousands of people came to attend the Vu Lan Festival to show their gratitude to their parents 2022.

Season of filial piety and gratitude

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai, a participant, shared that every full moon day of the seventh lunar month, her family comes here to attend the festival. "Vu Lan Festival has a great meaning of showing gratitude to their parents, and at the same time teaches people to remember their roots, to be grateful and to show gratitude. I came here to pray for everyone in the family to have good health and always be safe," said Ms. Mai.

Like Ms. Mai, Ms. Le Ngoc Lan (35 years old, in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi) shared that since she was a child, her parents taught her the filial piety of being a child and grandchild. That is why every time Vu Lan Festival comes, she is filled with nostalgia for the teachings of her grandparents and parents.

“My family has also prepared the ancestral altar. I went to the temple to pray for peace for my family, smooth work and good health for everyone in the family,” Lan said.

Every year, no matter how busy he is, when the 15th of the 7th lunar month approaches, Mr. Tran Viet Khanh (My Dinh, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi) arranges his work to prepare a small altar to burn incense and remember his deceased parents.

Just like Mr. Khanh, Mrs. Mai or Ms. Ngoc, on this occasion, millions of Vietnamese people also express their filial piety and gratitude towards their parents and ancestors as a humane and beautiful tradition.

According to Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, the Vu Lan ceremony originated from the scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism. Venerable Maudgalyayana, one of the Buddha's great disciples, had a mother who committed many evil deeds during her lifetime, so when she died, she was reborn in a bad place. As a son, Venerable Maudgalyayana was very heartbroken.

He hurriedly went to Buddha Shakyamuni to find a way to save his mother. The Buddha taught him that because his mother's sins were so deep, even if he had miraculous powers, even if his filial piety reached all nine heavens and all realms, he still could not save his mother. To save his mother's life, he had to rely on the supernatural powers of monks from all directions.

"The Buddha taught that the 15th day of the 7th lunar month is a suitable day to invite monks. Hearing the teachings, the Venerable prepared the ceremony, invited monks and was successful in saving his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts," Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem recounted.

The Vietnamese people have a tradition of filial piety, therefore, as soon as Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam, these two core spirits met and were compatible. With the cultural tradition of filial piety, remembering the source of the nation's water and the spiritual belief of ancestor worship of the Vietnamese people, the Buddhist Vu Lan festival has blended with the philosophy and custom of worshiping the 15th day of the 7th lunar month (forgiving the sins of the deceased) to form the Vu Lan festival of filial piety. “Our ancestors always taught us: There is no greater blessing than filial piety, no greater sin than disrespecting one's parents. Meanwhile, Buddhism also teaches: Parents at home are Buddhas in this world. If parents are at home and do not take care of them, then what is the use of going to the temple? The Vietnamese way of worshipping ancestors met Buddhism at this point and the Vietnamese people took the 15th of the 7th lunar month as an opportunity to pray to Buddha for the ancestors to be liberated and for parents and grandparents to be safe. That is why there is a saying: "Worshiping all year is not equal to the 15th of the 7th lunar month", explained the Head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Hanoi.

Besides this common meaning, according to Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, during the Vu Lan ceremony, people also need to remember 4 other great graces. That is the grace of the Three Jewels, the grace of the country protecting them, the grace of teachers teaching them, and the grace of everyone in society.

Agreeing with the above point of view, Venerable Thich Minh Quang - Deputy Chief of the Central Office of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha Vietnamese Catholics also affirmed: First of all, on this occasion, each person needs to practice and deepen the vow of filial piety to parents, grandparents, and ancestors. In addition, for the country's gratitude, let's show gratitude to the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed. Gratitude to teachers and friends is the respect for those who teach and impart knowledge and morality to us in life. Gratitude to society is gratitude to everyone, every class in society, typically during the time of fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, there were many doctors and frontline soldiers working hard day and night...

How to practice the spirit of Vu Lan correctly?

Considered one of the biggest festivals of Buddhism, Vu Lan is held from July 1st to July 15th of the lunar calendar every year. On this occasion, Vietnamese people often go to the temple to pray for peace for their parents, or prepare a tray of food to offer to their grandparents and ancestors. In some places, families also release animals, release flower lanterns, sky lanterns, etc. as a way to send their wishes for peace to their parents.

According to Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, at monasteries, the Great Ceremony is often held with activities such as chanting sutras and repentance for Vu Lan, the sutra of filial piety to parents, the Muc Lien repentance sutra, the Amitabha sutra, etc.; a prayer ceremony for the souls of heroic martyrs and ancestors in the family; a Dharma talk on the meaning of Vu Lan; the "Rose pinned to the lapel" ritual to express gratitude for the merit of giving birth to parents; Candle lighting ceremony in gratitude and flower lantern passing to commemorate the heroic martyrs and ancestors; art program about father's merit and mother's virtue...

Among the above activities, the Rose Pinning Ceremony is the most honoring ceremony. In that ceremony, Buddhists with 3 baskets of roses (red, white and yellow) will pin flowers on the shirts of each person attending the ceremony. If anyone still has a mother, they will pin a pink flower on their shirt with the meaning of being proud of still having a mother. The children will try to make their mother always happy...

And those who no longer have a mother will pin a white flower on their shirt with the meaning of never-ending remembrance of their mother's birth and upbringing. In particular, the yellow rose is pinned on the chest of the monks when attending the Vu Lan ceremony by Buddhists, symbolizing continuity and celebrating a joyful day.

“The most important thing is to convey to everyone the common spirit of the holiday, which is humanity and filial piety,” the Venerable emphasized.

The head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Hanoi said: During the Vu Lan Festival, everyone should do the most holy things. Children must look back to see how they have respected and cared for their parents. Conversely, parents must also see if they have fulfilled their duties. In addition, everyone must share love with everyone.

If they cannot go to the temple to celebrate the festival, each family can prepare their own offerings at home. The offerings do not need to be high or full to be respectful. "The elders have a saying: The bowl of water must be clear, the plate of flowers must be fragrant, the incense must be fragrant. In particular, Buddhism does not teach burning votive paper to worship ancestors."

According to Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, Vu Lan is only the central month, but filial piety must be practiced throughout this life: Brothers and sisters are in harmony, children and grandchildren must care for their parents and grandparents.

“Vu Lan is not only a Buddhist ritual but also a traditional ethical event, becoming a beautiful cultural feature, deeply ingrained in the minds of millions of Vietnamese people for thousands of years,” emphasized Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem.