The birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva falls on September 6 (the 30th day of the 7th lunar month) this year. At 6:00 pm, the Three Mahāsattvas Yoga Flaming Mouth Rite was performed at the Hall of Medicine Buddha of Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, marking a successful close of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Dharma Assembly in 2021.
he Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Dharma Assembly was held at Lingyin Temple from August 27 to September 6 (from the 20th day to the 30th day of the 7th lunar month). During the Dharma Assembly, the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Purvapranidhana Sutra was chanted twice every day and the Yoga Flaming Mouth Rite was performed on the last day so that hungry ghosts would be fed and sins would be eliminated. The transference of merits would help to increase blessings and extend longevity, avoid disasters and calamities, relieve from sufferings of birth and death and realize nirvana. It was prayed that the wind and rain come in their time; the country prospers and the people enjoy peace; epidemics go away soon and the whole world returns to normality.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is known for his great vows among the four principal bodhisattvas. “Ksitigarbha is patient and immovable like the great earth; his meditation is deep and profound like a secret storehouse.” Every bodhisattva would make great vows. Some vows express similar aspirations; some vows feature a bodhisattva’s own wishes, which are called original vows. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’ is also known for his great vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all hells are emptied. He is widely revered for his benevolence.
The performance of a yoga flaming mouth (yuqie yankou) rite is based on the story of Ānanda’s encounter with a hungry ghost named Burning-face Ghost King as presented in the Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on the Dhāraṇī that Rescued the Flaming-Mouth Hungry Ghost (Foshuo jiuba yankou egui tuoluoni jing) translated by Amoghavajra. According to that story, Ānanda was able to avert an early death and rebirth into the realm of hungry ghosts by relying on a special method taught to him by the Buddha to magically multiply food to satisfy a multitude of ghosts. By the merit and power of that act, Ānanda was able to extend his lifespan.
Traditionally, Lingyin Temple holds a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva dharma assembly and performs the yoga flaming mouth rite on the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the 7th lunar month every year. Such a tradition is to follow the example of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to aspire for blessings and blisses for all sentient beings and help them awaken to the bodhi mind.
