Dharma for Bestowing Food and Water to Hungry Ghosts

Translated by the Tripitaka Master Amoghavajra, Greatly Extensive Wisdom, Śramaṇa of Daxingshan Temple, Spec

First offer food to sentient beings; the procedure must follow the proper method. All the various offerings placed around must be pure and good. Whether a single portion, a small amount, or a single vessel, all should be placed in a clean bronze vessel according to the method. If there is no bronze vessel, white porcelain is also acceptable. If there is no porcelain vessel, a lacquered vessel may be used. The food and drink must be mixed with clear water. Stand facing east; sitting is also permissible for performing the rite.

To bestow food and drink upon all hungry ghosts, one must first generate a vast mind, universally inviting the hungry ghosts. First recite this verse with utmost sincerity once, then perform the method of summoning and inviting. The benefits and karmic rewards thus obtained are immeasurable.

With palms joined at the heart, recite this verse, using the mudrā to summon and invite. The Throat-Opening Mudrā: With the right hand, bring the thumb and middle finger together, their surfaces touching; the remaining three fingers are slightly separated and gently curved—this is called the Universal Gathering Mudrā. The mantra says:

Namo Buddhāya, Namo Dharmāya, Namo Saṅghāya.

Namo Bhagavate Tathāgatāyārhate Samyaksaṃbuddhāya.

Namo Sarva Tathāgatāḥ, Namo Sarva Buddha Bodhisattvebhyaḥ.

Namo Ārya Avalokiteśvarāya Bodhisattvāya Mahāsattvāya Mahākāruṇikāya.

Tadyathā: Oṃ, Cale Cule Cundi Svāhā.

Making this mudra and reciting this mantra seven times, extensively extending compassionate heart, vow to cause all hungry ghosts in the dust-motes of lands throughout the dharmadhātu to gather like clouds.

Again, recite the Mantra for Opening the Gates of Hell and the Throat:

Oṃ, bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, tīreka caturdhārikā tathāgatāya.

When reciting this mantra, hold the food vessel with the left hand and form the summoning mudrā with the right hand. Only change this: with each recitation of the mantra, snap the fingers once—that is, by pressing the thumb and middle finger together and snapping to produce a sound. The remaining three fingers are slightly spread and curved. This is called the mudrā that shatters the gates of hell and opens the throat. Then the Tathāgata spoke the dhāraṇī of bestowing food with immeasurable majestic power, sovereign radiance, and surpassing wondrous strength:

Namo Sarva Tathāgatā Vālokite Om Tri-Sara Tri-Sara Hūṃ

Recite this mantra seven times, and all hungry ghosts will each obtain food equivalent to forty-nine measures of the Magadha country's standard vessel. Having eaten, they will all be reborn in heaven or in a pure land. This enables the practitioner to eliminate karmic obstacles, increase lifespan, and gain immeasurable and boundless blessings in the present life, not to mention in future lives. Then form the mudra and recite this true word to bless the food. With the right hand, rub the middle fingernail with the thumb two or three times, and hold the three fingers upright. Then, snap the fingers by pressing the thumb against the index finger and releasing it to make a sound. Recite the mantra once and snap the fingers once. This is the method.

Recite the Mantra of Bestowing the Nectar of Dharma Flavor, and form the Fearlessness-Giving Mudrā. This is done by raising the right arm upright and extending the five fingers straight upward. The mantra is:

Namo surūpāya tathāgatāya tadyathā oṃ suru suru prabhasuru prabhasuru svāhā

With the left hand forming the Fearlessness Mudra, recite this mantra of bestowing sweet dew seven times. This will cause food, drink, and water to transform into immeasurable milk and sweet dew, open the throats of all hungry ghosts, and enable the offerings to greatly increase and be equally shared for all to partake.

Next, perform the visualization of the single-syllable heart-water wheel of Vairocana, along with its mantra and mudra. First, envision this syllable *vaṃ* in the palm of the right hand, resembling the color of milk, transforming into an ocean of the eight excellent qualities, from which flows forth all sweet dew and clarified butter. Then extend the hand over the food vessel and recite the mantra. Chant this syllable *vaṃ* seven times, then spread the five fingers and lower them over the food vessel, visualizing milk and so forth flowing from the syllable like the sun, moon, and milky ocean, so that all hungry ghosts are fully satisfied without any lack. This is called the Mudra of Universal Offering to All Hungry Ghosts. The mantra is:

Homage to the all-perfect, fully awakened Buddha Vairocana.

Contemplate and recite this mantra twenty-one times, then inscribe it upon a clean ground where no people tread, or beside a pond or beneath a tree. Only it must not be inscribed beneath a peach tree, a willow tree, or a pomegranate tree. After the inscription is complete, with utmost sincerity, invoke the names of the Five Tathāgatas three times. The merit is immeasurable.

namo bhagavate prajñāpāramitāyā tathāgatāyā

Homage to the Jeweled Victory Tathāgata, who removes the karma of miserliness and perfects merit and virtue.

In the past, the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha, the Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, the Sugata, the Lokavid, the Anuttaraḥ, the Puruṣadamyasārathiḥ, the Śāstā Devamanuṣyāṇāṃ, the Buddha, the Bhagavān,

I pay homage to the Tathagata of Sublime Form, who shatters ugliness and perfects auspicious marks.

In the past, the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha,

In the past, I heard this from the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Perfectly Enlightened One.

I bow to the Vast and Majored Body Tathagata, whose throat is wide and open, receiving wondrous flavors.

In the past, the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha,

I take refuge in the Buddha Who Dispels All Fears, so that all terror may be vanquished, and the path of the hungry ghosts be left behind.

If a practitioner can recite the names of these five Buddhas in this way, through the Buddha's majestic light and blessings, it can cause all hungry ghosts and others to have their immeasurable sins eradicated and immeasurable merit generated. They will attain a splendid and vast appearance, gain fearlessness, and the food they receive will transform into sweet dew, becoming exquisite nourishment. They will swiftly leave their suffering bodies and be reborn in the pure lands of the heavens.

After offering food, the practitioner should then recite the Bodhisattva Samaya Precepts Dharani for all the spirits and other beings. Recite it three times each. The mantra is as follows(Mudra: Place palms together):

Om, Samaya, Satva.

After reciting it three times, all spirits and deities become able to hear the profound secret teachings, fully receive the Samaya precepts, and gain immeasurable blessings.

Having offered to all the hungry ghosts until they are fully satisfied, it is necessary to use the method of the dhāraṇī to send them off, so that they may return to their original places. The mantra for sending off and liberation is as follows:

Oṃ Vajra-mukṣa.

To perform the sending-off mantra, first form the mantra seal. Make a fist with your right hand, place the thumb against the index finger, turn the palm upward, and snap the fingers to make a sound. This is called the sending-off seal.

Each time you finish offering food, recite the mantra seven times and snap your fingers. This enables all spirits and deities who have received this food to depart. If you do not perform the sending-off, they will not leave.

If you do not fully possess these methods, then even if you make offerings to hungry ghosts, they will not receive them completely. Some may receive a little, while others receive nothing at all. You will have wasted your effort, which is truly pitiable.

If a practitioner who has awakened the mind of enlightenment can practice in this way and fully offer this Dharma feast to all hungry ghosts, then all hungry ghosts will be satisfied and lack nothing. The one who upholds this Dharma should know this well.

If, using the mantra for consecrating food, one takes a vessel of pure food and pours it into clean flowing water, all Brahmin sages will receive this food. After eating, they will speak in unison to bless this person, who will then gain longevity in this very life. Such a person will be endowed with the majestic virtue of Brahma and will walk the path of Brahma.

If one recites this mantra twenty-one times over all offerings to the Buddha—whether water, incense, flowers, or food—and then presents them, it will be exactly the same as making all manner of offerings to all the Buddhas throughout the ten directions.

Essential Mantra for Feeding Hungry Ghosts and All Spirits

There is also the Sutra of the Dhāraṇī for Saving the Hungry Ghosts, translated by Śikṣānanda of the Tang Dynasty.

Twenty days into the middle spring of the fourth year of the Jōkyō era, the first proofreading was completed. Jingyan(forty-nine years old)

On the seventeenth day of the second month of the sixteenth year of Genroku, this was re-collated based on the original manuscript of the Venerable Master Jingyan.

In the spring of the Bingxu year of the third year of the Hoei era, I obtained this secret ritual. On the twenty-second day of the tenth month in the winter of the Wuzi year, the first revision was completed. Xingji.