盂兰盆会 (Yúlánpénhuì): Yulanpen Festival, Buddhist Gho…

盂兰 transliterates Sanskrit ullambana ('hanging upside-down', metaphor for the suffering of hungry ghosts); 盆 ('basin') is the offering bowl. The festival merged with Daoist 中元节 (Zhōngyuán Jié) and the folk Ghost Month tradition; in Japan it survives as Obon (お盆).

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目连救母 Mùlián jiù mǔ

Mulian Rescues His Mother

The legendary origin: the Buddha's disciple Maudgalyāyana (目连) finds his deceased mother suffering as a hungry ghost. The Buddha tells him to make offerings to the sangha on the 15th day of the 7th month — establishing the Yulanpen rite, which became the East Asian Ghost Festival.