English
English version: This is the merit accumulated by the practitioner, entirely dedicated to all sentient beings in the Dharma realm, so that they may be reborn together in the Western Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha (Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light), see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, enter the stage of non-retrogression, and ultimately attain unsurpassed enlightenment. Annotations on Food Offering The 'Bamboo Window Notes' states that the teaching of 'Flame Mouth Food Offering' was initiated by Ananda (Ananda, one of the ten great disciples of the Buddha), belonging to the Yoga school. Yoga flourished in the Tang Dynasty through the two masters Vajrabodhi (Vajrabodhi, a patriarch of Esoteric Buddhism) and Amoghavajra (Amoghavajra, a patriarch of Esoteric Buddhism). They were able to command ghosts and spirits, move mountains and seas, and their power was inconceivable. After several generations, no one was able to inherit their abilities, leaving only the practice of food offering. The hand forms mudras (mudras, symbolic hand gestures), the mouth recites mantras (mantras, sacred utterances), and the mind performs visualization; the harmony of body, speech, and mind is called Yoga. This is not an easy task. Now, the mudras and mantras may not be proficient, let alone the visualization? Thus, there is no correspondence. Without correspondence, not only can one not benefit sentient beings, but one may even harm oneself. Yesterday, a monk in the mountains, whose illness was already severe, was performing food offering that evening. He said to the person taking care of him that ghosts were taking him to eat. He refused to go, but the ghosts came again, saying, 'The Dharma master is not sincere; we have made a trip in vain and must retaliate.' So they grabbed his arm and walked together. A group of ghosts, holding grappling hooks and lassos, said they wanted to drag this Dharma master down to hell. He was very frightened and cried out for help, and the ghosts scattered for a while. After a few days, the monk died. Probably before his death, he had already joined the ranks of the ghosts. If it hadn't been for the scream, the Dharma master on the platform would have been in danger. Not only that, but a monk who was not sincere was carried by ghosts to the riverbank to be drowned. A monk lost the key to his clothes chest and was thinking about the key; the ghosts saw iron pieces on the food and could not eat it. A monk did not collect his felt clothes after drying them, and it rained; he was thinking about these clothes, and the ghosts saw animal hair on the food and could not eat it. Each received obvious retribution. Another person went to the underworld and saw hundreds of monks in a dark room, emaciated and pale, looking worried and miserable. When asked, they learned that they were all Dharma masters who performed food offering. Food offering is not an easy task; it is indeed so! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------