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Maudigalyayana Research Paper

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Once, there was a man named Maudgalyayana, or known as Mục Kiền Liên to Vietnamese people. He acted virtuously to the point where he was the Buddha’s closest disciples (Nguyen 1). However, his mother was the opposite, refusing to give beggars food and committing other horrific actions. During her lifetime, her actions built up a bad karma. So, when she died, she was promptly sent to hell. Her punishment for starving other people was to be denied of any food or water (“Maudgalyayana Rescuing His Mother”). Of course, Maudgalyayana didn’t know what was of his mother when she died, so he attempted to find her. Nowhere was she in the heavens, so he asked the Buddha for aid (Nguyen). The Buddha pointed him in the direction of hell, so Maudgalyayana immediately transported himself there. Little did he know the horrors that awaited him. …show more content…

According to shaolin.org, Maudgalyayana’s belly was swollen, just like a melon, but her limbs resembled branches. Maudgalyayana felt so bad that he summoned a bowl of rice, hoping to temporarily alleviate his mother’s pain. However, the curse of his mother was too powerful, and the bowl of rice lit on fire. Maudgalyayana went back to the main world, where he begged for the Buddha to help out his mother. The Buddha revealed that no one person can remove the sins of such a malicious person, so Maudgalyayana would have to utilize the prayers of many (“Maudgalyayana Rescuing His Mother”). On the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, he fed many monks, and they prayed in return. As a result, Maudgalyayana’s mother was freed from her punishment. In modern life, people take the time to thank their mothers in the form of the festival on the 15th of the 7th lunar month, known as: Lễ Vu

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