Obon - Ullambana

Japanese: 盂蘭盆 - うらぼん

A transliteration of the Sanskrit word ullambana. Also known simply as Bon. A Buddhist event. It is a Buddhist ritual to relieve the suffering of the deceased who have fallen into the hungry ghost realm and are suffering from being hung upside down. It is based on the legend in the Ullambana Sutra, in which the Buddhist disciple Mokuren performed a memorial service for monks to relieve the suffering of his mother who had fallen into the hungry ghost realm. In Japan, it is said that the ritual was first established in the 14th year of the reign of Empress Suiko (606), but it is said that it became fully practiced in the 3rd year of Saimei (657). It was originally introduced from China as an official event at the Imperial Court, but in the Kamakura period, the Kamakura Shogunate held it, while temples also held Segaki. It is said that the Ullambana event was combined with the folk belief in ancestral spirits and became what it is today during the Edo period. However, there are many unclear points regarding the creation of the Ullambana Sutra, the original meaning of Ullambana, and its spread to Japan and evolution, and there are many differing theories.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

サンスクリット語 ullambanaの音写。単に盆ともいう。仏教行事の一つ。餓鬼道などにおちて倒懸 (さかさまにつるされること) の苦しみを受けている亡者のために仏事を行なって，その苦しみを取除くこと。仏弟子目連が，餓鬼道におちた母の苦しみを除こうとして僧たちを供養したという『盂蘭盆経』の伝説に基づく。日本では，推古 14 (606) 年に斎を設けたのが始りとされるが，本格的には斉明3 (657) 年とされる。もとは，宮中の正式の行事として，中国から伝えられたものであるが，鎌倉時代になると，鎌倉幕府がこれを行い，一方，寺院では施餓鬼をあわせ行うようになった。こうして，盂蘭盆の行事が，民間の祖霊信仰と結合して現在のようになったのは，江戸時代とされている。しかし，『盂蘭盆経』の成立，盂蘭盆の原義，日本への伝播と変遷などに関してははっきりしない点があり，異説が多い。

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