Prayer for the Full Moon of the 7th Lunar Month, Vu Lan Festival

Below is a sample prayer for the 15th day of the 7th lunar month and the Vu Lan festival at the ancestral altar, offering prayers to deities and the local earth god, for your reference.

Prayer to the ancestors on the 1st of July

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

I bow to the nine directions of heaven, the ten directions of all Buddhas, and all the Buddhas of the ten directions. I respectfully bow to the Heavenly Emperor, the Earth Goddess, and all the Venerable Deities.

I respectfully bow before the local tutelary deity, the local earth deity, the household kitchen god, and all other revered deities.

I respectfully bow before my ancestors, my deceased father and mother, and all departed spirits (if my parents are still alive, replace them with my paternal and maternal ancestors).

We, your humble devotees, are….......... residing at…..............

Today is the 1st day of the 7th month (Year of the Monkey) in the Year of the Dragon.

With the grace of Heaven and Earth, the revered deities, and the ancestors, I, your humble devotee, sincerely prepare offerings of incense, flowers, tea, and fruit, and light a stick of incense before the altar.

We respectfully invite: the local tutelary deity, the great kings, the local earth god, the household kitchen god, the Five Directions deities, the dragon vein deity, and the god of wealth.

We humbly beseech you to descend before the altar, witness our sincerity, and accept our offerings. We respectfully invite our ancestors, both paternal and maternal, to have mercy on their descendants, to manifest themselves, witness our devotion, and accept our offerings.

We, your humble devotees, respectfully invite the former and current owners of this house to come before the altar, partake in the offerings, and bless our family with good health, peace, prosperity, success in business, and family harmony.

With humble hearts and sincere devotion, we respectfully bow before the altar and humbly ask for your protection and blessings.

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Prayer to the deities and the local guardian spirit on the 1st day of the 7th lunar month.

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

I respectfully bow to the nine directions of heaven, the ten directions of all Buddhas, and all the Buddhas of the ten directions. I respectfully bow to the celestial and earthly deities, and all revered gods. I respectfully bow to the Eastern God. I respectfully bow to the local earth deity and dragon vein. I respectfully bow to the Five Earth Deities, the Five Directions, and the God of Fortune and Virtue. I respectfully bow to the ancestors, landlords, and wealth gods. I respectfully bow to all the revered deities who govern this area.

We, your humble devotees, are….......... residing at…..............

Today is the 1st day of the 7th month (Year of the Monkey) in the Year of the Dragon.

We, the homeowners, sincerely prepare incense, flowers, gold and silver, tea, and fruit, and light fragrant incense sticks to offer before the altar. We respectfully invite the Venerable Deities of the current year's Tai Sui, the Great Kings of the local City God, the Household Earth God, the Dragon Vein Deity, the Five Earth Deities, the Five Directions Deities, the Kitchen God, the God of Fortune, and all other Venerable Deities governing this area.

We humbly beseech you, O deities, to hear our plea for mercy and compassion, to descend before this altar, to witness our sincerity, to accept our offerings, and to protect and bless our entire family with peace, success in all endeavors, safety for everyone, increased wealth, fulfillment of all our wishes, and enlightenment.

With sincere hearts and humble offerings, we present this before the altar, bowing down and praying for your blessings and protection.

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

Namo Amitabha Buddha!

The sequence of rituals for the Vu Lan festival.

The Vu Lan festival rituals are performed in the following order:Offering to Buddha and deities,ancestral worshipand finallyoffering food to all living beings.

The detailed prayer text for the Vu Lan festival includes prayers to Buddha, prayers to ancestors at home, and prayers for all sentient beings.

Prayer to Buddha on the Vu Lan Festival

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times)

I bow down to the nine directions of heaven, the ten directions of all Buddhas, and all the Buddhas of the ten directions.

I respectfully bow to the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and the Venerable Maudgalyayana.

Today is the 15th day of the 7th lunar month of the Year of the Dragon (Giáp Thìn).

We, your humble devotees, are… residing at… sincerely prepare incense, flowers, offerings, and other items to present before the altar.

We respectfully invite the Venerable Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Venerable Maudgalyayana.

We respectfully invite the Venerable Deity of the Current Year's Ruling Tai Sui, the Great Kings of the Local Guardian Deity, the Local Earth God, the Household Kitchen God, and all other deities governing this area.

We humbly request that you descend and be seated, to examine and bear witness to this.

Today is the Vu Lan Festival, the day when the deceased are forgiven. We are grateful to the Triple Gem, the Buddha and the heavens for their protection, and the divine beings for their guidance. We do not know how to repay such immense kindness.

Therefore, we respectfully offer this silver offering, expressing our sincere devotion, and humbly pray for your acceptance and protection, so that we and our entire family may always be healthy, young and old safe, wholeheartedly devoted to the righteous path, prosperous in wealth and fortune, and our family may flourish.

With sincere hearts, we humbly ask for your witness!

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times).

Prayer for Ancestor Worship on Vu Lan Festival

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times).

I bow down to the nine directions of heaven, the ten directions of all Buddhas, and all the Buddhas of the ten directions.

I respectfully bow before my ancestors, both paternal and maternal, and all departed spirits.

We, your humble devotees, are…, residing at….

Today is the 15th day of the 7th lunar month of the Year of the Dragon (Giáp Thìn). As we celebrate the Vu Lan festival during the Mid-Autumn Festival, we remember our ancestors, grandparents, and parents who gave birth to us, built our family's foundation, and instilled in us virtue, allowing us to enjoy their blessings today.

We are deeply moved by the immeasurable kindness and boundless generosity of our ancestors, and therefore, we, your devout followers, have prepared offerings of incense, flowers, tea, fruits, gold, silver, and other precious items, lighting incense sticks with heartfelt devotion, respectfully paying homage to our great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and all the departed souls of our family, both paternal and maternal...

We humbly beseech you, O spirits, to have mercy on your descendants, to manifest yourselves, to witness our sincerity, to accept our offerings, and to bless our children and grandchildren with health and peace, prosperity and good fortune, success in all endeavors, a flourishing family, and guidance towards righteousness.

With humble hearts and sincere devotion, we bow before the altar and humbly ask for your blessings and protection.

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times)

Prayer for offering sacrifices to all beings on the Vu Lan festival

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times).

Namo Amitabha Buddha (3 times).

I bow down to the nine directions of heaven, the ten directions of all Buddhas, and all the Buddhas of the ten directions.

I bow before Amitabha Buddha.

I bow to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

I bow before the Kitchen God and the Guardian Spirit.

The seventh month is approaching the autumnal equinox.

The full moon day of atonement for the deceased across the sea and rivers.

The gates of hell have opened.

Homeless spirits

Great Sage Ananda's Teachings

Receiving all beings without graves or tombs in all four directions.

The base of a tree in the corner of the market at the beginning of the street.

Homeless, wandering day and night.

Year-round hunger, cold, and hardship.

No thin shirt to shield from the cold wind.

Wandering souls from north, east, and west.

Young and old, men and women, come here to unite!

Now, having heard the devotee's request,

Lai Lam accepted all the advice, both before and after.

Rice, soup, porridge, betel nuts

Gold coins and clothes in various colors, red and blue.

Salted rice, truly a lantern

Bring a little along to save for tomorrow.

May God bless the devotee with wealth and fortune.

Peace, prosperity, and harmony in the family.

Remember the Day of Atonement for the Deceased

Once again, the devout worshipper sincerely invites you.

Now that the benefits have been received...

Leading the old and the young to the underworld.

The devotee burns gold and silver offerings.

Along with the clothes that have been sorted

Respectfully addressing the Venerable Deity

Proof of merit

For the devotee

Name is:………………………………

Couple:…………………………

Boy:……………………………

Daughter:…………………………….

Residing at:………………………………..

Prayer for releasing animals on the Vu Lan festival (optional)

Please note that releasing birds, fish, shrimp, crabs, etc., is permitted only if they are on the list of species allowed for release. This act of releasing animals is a matter of faith and circumstance for each family and is not mandatory.

There are only this many living beings today.

Listen carefully to the teachings and admonitions.

You all have very worldly hearts.

Therefore, this generation is drowning in the river of delusion.

Darkness without knowing how to heal

Having committed countless crimes, they fell into ruin.

Because of evil intentions in a previous life.

Therefore, they are now suffering immense pain as a consequence.

Beard, feathers, shell, scales, horns

Smooth, rough, glossy skin, animals

Because of jealousy, greed, and anger.

Because of self-interest and harming others for personal gain, people seek pleasure.

Because of creating enmity and hatred.

Because harming animals and living beings satisfies one's desires.

Due to separation and imprisonment.

Because of the backstabbing, they suffered many hardships.

We pray for the compassionate power of Buddha.

Once again, we ask Buddhists to open their hearts with compassion.

Now, thanks to the protection of the Sangha.

Joining the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) leads to liberation from suffering.

Or be reborn in the heavenly realms.

Or immediately awaken to a peaceful realm.

Or be born as a human being.

Knowing how to distinguish between good and evil, and avoiding delusion...

All beings take refuge in the Buddha.

All beings take refuge in the Dharma.

All beings take refuge in the Sangha….

Um, hum hum hum (3 times)

Hung Cuong