蘭盆獻供儀

PREFACE

In ancient times, the Dharma Master of Gushan once composed the Ullambana Ritual of Homage and Praise. In the portion paying homage to the Three Jewels and to Maudgalyāyana there were six venerated ones, and in the portion of invocation and confession of faults each consisted of only four verses; yet he still followed the customary practice of paying homage and inviting the Arhats. Later, the Vinaya Master Zhenwu further proclaimed homage to the patriarchs of the Western Lands, and so he added a section of Invocation before the section of praise, and he transformed the four verses in the text of the Dharma Master of Gushan into a hymn praising the Buddha.

I hold that the sons of Śākya who reverently practice the Ullambana ought, of course, on behalf of both the living and the departed, to make manifest their confession of faults. Moreover, when offerings are arranged according to the teaching of the sūtra, one must first of all dedicate prayers of resolve. These two matters are of great importance to the Dharma assembly, yet in former times both were forgotten and omitted.

For this reason, today, after the section of Praising the Buddha, I have, in accordance with the sūtra, set forth the method of dedicating prayers of resolve. Again, after the section of Homage and Praise, I have established a text of confession of faults. As for the other portions, all are carried out according to the ancient manner, with nothing else altered.

There is a version that adds a hymn by the Venerable Guifeng together with the verses of Exhortation and Invitation. But these are now absent; each, indeed, had its own intention.

Compiled anew by Shi Yuanzhao, śramaṇa of Yuhang.

THE RITUAL

Upon entering the place of practice, first make three prostrations, kneel down, burn incense, and scatter flowers as an offering. The presiding officiant begins the chant:

Reverently we contemplate: The Lord of Transformation, Śākya, is the one of Great Filial Piety, the Compassionate and Honored One. The merit and conduct of three incalculable eons have been brought to fulfillment; the myriad virtues of solemn adornment are likewise complete and perfect. In the cause and in the fruit alike, He honored filial obedience as foremost.

Among the worldly and among the holy alike, He took the repaying of kindness as the root. Taking refuge in a royal palace, He descended to be born; renouncing the throne of a Golden Wheel-Turning King, He went forth from the world. At the foot of the Bodhi tree He realized the truth, subduing the celestial demons to accomplish the holy fruit.

He pointed to the three-thousandfold world as His field of transformation; He expounded the eighty-thousand as His Dharma gates. He ascended to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three to expound the Dharma and liberate Māyā; He returned to the city of Kapila and bore the golden coffin to repay the kindness of Śuddhodana. Seeing that Maudgalyāyana had no means to rescue his mother, He taught the offering of the Ullambana at the time of Pravāraṇā.

Arranging the Ullambana rite, He set forth food of a hundred flavors to present as an offering to the Three Honored Ones. We humbly beseech the majestic radiance of the sages and worthies to deliver and save both the living and the departed, both ourselves and others. Now that the season of the rains retreat has come to its close, we beg to lay out these few savory dishes as an offering to all, that we may thereby repay the merit of begetting, nurturing, and rearing us.

We only pray that the holy assembly of the ten directions may grace this place of practice with their radiant presence, that they may together receive our sincere hearts, and that they may bend down their compassion to behold us.

When the chant is finished, make one prostration, then kneel down, hold the incense censer, silently bring the holy assembly to mind, and then invite them:

With one mind we reverently invite the Lord of the Ullambana Teaching, the One Who Repays the Kindness of His Body, Śākyamuni Buddha. We respectfully beg you to descend to this place of practice and receive our offerings.

Invite three times, then make one prostration. Each line below is done likewise.

With one mind we reverently invite the Ullambana, the supreme teaching, the recompense-body, the Dharma gate that uproots suffering, the Sūtra-piṭaka.

With one mind we reverently invite the assembly of bodhisattva-monks, sages and worthies of the ten directions who have attained the Way through Pravāraṇā.

With one mind we reverently invite the assembly of pratyekabuddha-monks, sages and worthies of the ten directions who have attained the Way through Pravāraṇā.

With one mind we reverently invite the assembly of śrāvaka-monks, sages and worthies of the ten directions who have attained the Way through Pravāraṇā.

With one mind we reverently invite the Venerable Maudgalyāyana, who repaid the kindness of his body, entered the Way, set the teaching in motion, and benefited beings.

When the invitation is finished, rise to your feet, praise the Three Jewels, and dedicate the prayer of resolve in unison:

Homage to Śākya, and to the true teaching of the Dharma,

To the sages and worthies of the three vehicles, and to Maudgalyāyana.

Now we, obeying your word, repay our profound debt of kindness;

We pray you bend down your compassion to hear our praise.

We, in order to repay the profound and boundless kindness of those who gave us life, set forth food of a hundred flavors, the five kinds of fruit, fragrant oil, and lamps and candles as an offering to the Three Jewels and to the great and virtuous assembly of monks of the ten directions at Pravāraṇā. We pray that our present father and mother may enjoy long life, free from all suffering and affliction; and on through to our fathers and mothers of seven generations, that they may escape the suffering and pain among the hungry ghosts and be born as gods or humans, enjoying bliss without end. At the same time we also pray that the immeasurable sentient beings throughout the entire Dharma-realm may, by the power of this perfumed cultivation, all attain benefit and joy.

Read this passage three times; one may then either proclaim the memorial text, or recite the Buddha's name—at that moment one will decide for oneself. Thereafter begin the chant of homage and praise:

With one mind we bow in homage to the Lord of the Ullambana Teaching, the One Who Repays the Kindness of His Body, Śākyamuni Buddha.

Through many eons of cultivation He accomplished the Holy Way;

Maudgalyāyana beseeched the Buddha to expound the true vehicle.

The Buddha dwelt in empty space, and the royal father paid homage;

The lord of the field heard the teaching and at once opened his nets.

Cultivating the cause and realizing the fruit, all returns to filial piety;

Delivering others and delivering oneself, He repaid kindness profound.

We pray He turn His compassionate gaze to behold sentient beings,

That the living and the departed alike may receive His grace.

Therefore, with one mind we take refuge with our lives and bow in homage.

All recite together and make three prostrations, after which they chant in unison:

With one mind we bow in homage to the Ullambana, the supreme teaching, the recompense-body, the Dharma gate that uproots suffering, the Sūtra-piṭaka.

From the golden mouth were widely expounded the immeasurable teachings;

To repay kindness, He pointed to this very condition and responded to this capacity.

To rescue from suffering, He found it most fitting at the Pravāraṇā of the monks;

Bending down His compassion, He expounded the Dharma of the Ullambana.

Ānanda proclaimed it, and the words were fully complete;

Dharmarakṣa translated it, and the Way shone forth the brighter.

Kings and officials, rich and poor, all put it into practice;

The teaching, made clear, surpasses the sun and the moon.

With one mind we bow in homage to the assembly of bodhisattva-monks, sages and worthies of the ten directions who have attained the Way through Pravāraṇā.

Cultivating both compassion and wisdom—these are the great beings;

Seeking above and transforming below, they pass through many eons.

To rescue others, they ever rely on the ship of the six perfections;

In benefiting others, they all reach the shore of the threefold emptiness.

Their inner realization leads on to the lands of all the Buddhas;

Following conditions, they may appear in the form of bhikṣus.

Today they have already appeared at this place of practice;

We pray that the living and the departed alike may part from suffering.

With one mind we reverently invite the assembly of pratyekabuddha-monks, sages and worthies of the ten directions who have attained the Way through Pravāraṇā.

Sharp and keen of wit, they relied not upon a teacher's instruction;

Contemplating dependent arising in detail, they awakened to non-arising.

Expounding the Dharma and transmitting the lamp, they are styled "the Walkers";

Cultivating the mind without companions, they are the "Rhinoceros-Horned."

Awakening suddenly to true emptiness, they gaze upon falling flowers;

Their afflictions wholly cut off, they hear the touch of the ring.

Today they have already appeared at this place of practice;

We pray that the living and the departed alike may part from suffering.

With one mind we reverently invite the assembly of śrāvaka-monks, sages and worthies of the ten directions who have attained the Way through Pravāraṇā.

Beside the trees upon the mountains, they sit at peace and ease;

Contemplating in detail the Four Truths, they attain the Remainder.

Birth and death are clamorous—and so the notion of a true self collapses;

Nirvāṇa is silent and still—and this their minds have realized.

The six supernatural powers, sovereign and free, surpass the realm of Māra;

The eight liberations, calm and unhurried, are styled "the Fields of Merit."

Today they have already appeared at this place of practice;

We pray that the living and the departed alike may part from suffering.

With one mind we bow in homage to the Venerable Maudgalyāyana, who repaid the kindness of his body, entered the Way, set the teaching in motion, and benefited beings.

Foremost in supernatural powers, he attained the stage of No-More-Learning;

It was to repay the kindness of his body that he first went forth.

By his own strength he could hardly remove the calamity of his mother;

Weeping and lamenting, he then obeyed the word of the Tathāgata.

He gave rise to wondrous words to aid the generations to come;

He praised the path of filial piety to benefit sentient beings.

Today he has already appeared at this place of practice;

We pray that the living and the departed alike may part from suffering.

When the praise is finished, kneel down, call to mind one's father and mother, living and departed, and with earnest and utmost sincerity confess one's faults:

With utmost mind we confess our faults: Our father and mother gave us birth—this is the near condition of many eons. Of ourselves we turned against the true and constant, and so drifted ever onward in birth and death. With topsy-turvy notions we conformed to ignorance, and grasped at conditions in pursuit of the realms of desire.

Letting loose the six sense-faculties, we committed the ten evil deeds—greed, hatred, and one-sided views; killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. With double-tongued and harsh speech we practiced deceit; with flattery and lies we deluded others. Moreover we begrudged our wealth, were greedily attached to beautiful forms, indulged drunkenly in wine, craved after sounds, reviled monks and nuns, and made light of the Buddha-Dharma; we ate the flesh and drank the blood of sentient beings, slaughtering immeasurable spirit-bearing creatures; we gave no thought to the calamities of ten thousand eons, but looked only at the fine and pleasant things of the moment.

And so either in the present we meet with calamity, or in a future life we suffer drowning and sinking. Ashamed, we have already severed the bonds of affection and gone forth; by reason it is fitting that we cultivate ourselves and repay virtue. By good fortune we have met the day of the Buddha's rejoicing, the time of the monks' Pravāraṇā.

Reverently obeying the Dharma gate of the Tamer of Beings, we beg to present in offering the Ullambana bowl. Only because the bond of the condition of birth is so very heavy, and the feeling of loving remembrance so very deep, therefore we straightway speak forth our faults and errors, and on behalf of others make manifest our confession. By the protective grace of the majestic divine power of the Three Jewels, and by the subtle perfuming of the merit and conduct of the assembly of monks, may the roots of our transgressions all at once be removed and destroyed.

May the departed have their spirit-consciousness born in the heavens, forever escaping the evil paths; may the living enjoy long life in the human world, ever free from sickness and affliction, their roots of goodness growing ever firmer, their right faith growing ever deeper, all escaping the cycle of rebirth, and at the end of life being born into the Land of Peace and Nurture. May the compassion that is without condition cover all things, so that wherever there is a stirring there is at once a responding; we beg you to take pity, and to bend down your hearts to protect and uphold us in mindfulness. (Read three times.)

When the confession of faults is finished, with utmost mind take refuge with your life and bow in homage.

After one person has chanted, make one prostration, then chant:

Homage to the Buddhas of the ten directions.

Homage to the Dharma of the ten directions.

Homage to the Saṅgha of the ten directions.

Homage to the Lord of the Ullambana Teaching, Śākyamuni Buddha.

Homage to the Ullambana, the supreme teaching, the Sūtra-piṭaka.

Homage to the assembly of bodhisattva-monks of the ten directions at Pravāraṇā.

Homage to the assembly of pratyekabuddha-monks of the ten directions at Pravāraṇā.

Homage to the assembly of śrāvaka-monks of the ten directions at Pravāraṇā.

Homage to the Venerable Maudgalyāyana, who repaid the kindness of his body and entered the Way.

Chant in this manner three times; next recite the Ullambana Sūtra, or other sūtras, and then, with sincere heart, withdraw.

At the end of the summer in the jiazi year, the fourteenth year of the Shaoxing era (1144), the bhikṣu Zongju set this down in writing, and then exhorted and converted those with whom he had a karmic connection to carve the blocks and circulate it, each one of them, for the sake of their father and mother of this present life, and for the sake of the bodily conditions of many eons, that they might confess and remove the roots of their transgressions and adorn the lands of the Buddhas.

Notes:

[1] Field of transformation: The realm in which the Tathāgata teaches and transforms beings.

[2] The Walkers: Pratyekabuddhas who cultivate practice in the same place together with a multitude of other people, but who have no teacher to instruct them, and who, apart from the teaching, realize awakening by themselves.

[3] The Rhinoceros-Horned: Pratyekabuddhas who cultivate practice and realize awakening alone in solitude.

[4] The Remainder: The Nirvāṇa With Remainder.

[5] The eight liberations: The eight gates of liberation.

[6] The condition of birth: The karmic bond of the worldly realm.

[7] Subtle perfuming: The good mind silently perfuming and permeating the substance of suchness of original enlightenment, causing the mind of bodhi to arise.

[8] The compassion that is without condition:

[9] Bodily condition: The condition of nearness and intimacy. It refers to the close relationship between Amitābha Buddha and the practitioner who recites the Buddha's name, being one of the three conditions. Each day, if the practitioner's mouth constantly recites the Buddha's name, the Buddha at once hears it; if the body constantly pays reverent homage to the Buddha, the Buddha at once sees it; if the mind constantly thinks upon the Buddha, the Buddha at once knows it; if the thought constantly remembers the Buddha, the Buddha too constantly remembers the practitioner. In this way the three karmas of the Buddha and the three karmas of the practitioner do not forsake one another; this tightly knit relationship is called the bodily condition.