What is the True Meaning of the Seventh Lunar Month Festival?

From Alleviating Suffering to Protecting the Environment: Your Choice Matters

Did you know that this past June was the hottest month on record?

The average global temperature over the past 13 months was 1.64°C higher than pre-industrial levels, breaching the 1.5°C limit agreed upon by 200 countries in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

As we transition from the scorching El Niño to the wet La Niña phenomenon, we might experience occasional wet shoes and socks during our commutes. However, torrential rains have caused deadly floods and landslides in nearby countries.

To mitigate extreme weather patterns, we can adopt a plant-based diet, which has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to combat climate change. Additionally, adopting a plant-based diet is a direct way to "rescue those being hung upside down," referring to livestock being suspended for slaughter.

By choosing a plant-based diet, we can save countless animals and reduce our carbon footprint, thereby lowering the frequency of natural and human-made disasters.

Buddhist Perspective

In Buddhism, the seventh lunar month is not a ghost month as in traditional Chinese culture. Instead, it is seen as a month of auspiciousness, filial piety, and the Buddha's joy. In Sanskrit, “Ullam-bana” means deliverance from suffering. According to the “Ullambana Sutra”, the Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana, wanting to repay his mother's kindness, made offerings to Sangha on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month and dedicated the merits to his parents from past lives.

The practice of “liberating the deceased from suffering”, combined with offering food to hungry ghosts, has evolved into the Ullambana Festival's “deliverance from suffering”. Therefore, contemporary practice of “deliverance from suffering” should include adopting a plant-based diet, performing good deeds, and reducing the impact caused by extreme climate change.

We sincerely invite you and your family to learn more about the true significance of the seventh lunar month:

Date: 3 August 2024 (Sat)
Venue: Jing Si Hall (9 Elias Road, S519937)
Session 1: 10am - 12:30pm
Session 2: 2pm - 4:30pm

Come join us for a different Seventh Lunar Month experience!
Free vegetarian meals will be provided and we have various programmes such as filial piety activities lined up for you.

Don’t forget to bring your bamboo banks to spread kindness and generosity to others!

Online Earth Store Sutra Recitation Session

We warmly invite you and your family and friends to join us for 3-day online recitation sessions of the "Kṣitigarbha Sutra" (Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva) with the Jing Si Abode in Hualien from the 13th to the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Date: 16, 17 ,18 August 2024 (Fri to Sun)
Time: 7:30pm - 9pm
Venue: Jing Si Hall (1st Floor Multi-Purpose Room)

Free seating, no registration needed.