The 23rd day of the 12th month in the Chinese calendar marks the birthday of the Bodhisattva Who Supervises the Vegetarian Diet (Jianzhai Pusa), also known as the Bodhisattva King of the Kinnaras. At 18:15, the Lingyin Sangha gathered at Shifang Yuan (the vegetarian restaurant at Lingyin Temple), chanting sutras and worshiping the Bodhisattva Who Supervises the Vegetarian Diet in order to receive merits and good fortune in the upcoming year. Such a Buddhist ceremony was also meant to pray for a quick end to diseases and wars, national prosperity and world peace as well as a vigorous development of Buddhism and the perpetual turning of the Dharma Wheel.
In Buddhism, the Bodhisattva Who Supervises the Vegetarian Diet, also called the Bodhisattva King of the Kinnaras, is a guardian protector watching over the vegetarian food and the health and well-being of the entire monastic body. The Bodhisattva Who Supervises the Vegetarian Diet is one of the most important celestial beings and guardian protectors in Buddhism, with a function almost analogous to that of the Kitchen God’s. In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, also known as the Little New Year or the Kitchen God Festival, is the same date when the Kitchen God is sent back to heaven. It is also observed as the Birthday of the Bodhisattva Who Supervises the Vegetarian Diet. In Chinese temples, it has been a tradition to make offerings to the Bodhisattva Who Supervises the Vegetarian Diet on this day, hoping that he would turn into the Kitchen God safeguarding every household and bring auspiciousness to people.
