Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva

The Kshitigarbha Sutra tells that in a distant age, Kshitigarbha was once a Brahmin woman whose mother had slandered the Three Jewels and fallen into hell after death. The daughter sold off her property, made lavish offerings, and vowed before the Buddha: if her mother could be freed from the torments of hell, she would save all beings, and would not become a Buddha until hell itself was empty. By the power of that vow she rescued not only her mother but set herself on the path of delivering the underworld. In another lifetime, as a girl named Bright Eyes, she again made offerings and vows for a mother fallen into hell. Both stories begin with saving one's mother — filial love bearing up the heaviest vow in all of Buddhism.

Legend adds that in the Tang dynasty a Korean prince of Silla, Kim Gyo-gak, crossed the sea to practice austerities on Mount Jiuhua in China. After his death his body remained incorrupt, his face lifelike, and people took him for a manifestation of Kshitigarbha; Jiuhua became his sacred seat, ranked alongside Putuo, Wutai, and Emei as one of the four great Buddhist mountains. In the Ming and Qing, the Kshitigarbha faith crossed to Taiwan with the migrants and met the island's own deep care for the dead — and here he became a bodhisattva that every household knows.

Worship Kshitigarbha with vegetarian offerings — fresh flowers, fruit, clear tea, and cakes — while meat, alcohol, and tobacco are all taboo. The main practice is chanting the Kshitigarbha Sutra or reciting his name, 'Namo Kshitigarbha Bodhisattva.' What sets his worship apart is that so much of it is done on behalf of the dead: when an elder passes, inviting monks to chant the Kshitigarbha Sutra and dedicate the merit is the most common rite in a Taiwanese Buddhist funeral, and the salvation ceremonies held at Kshitigarbha halls and temples through the seventh lunar month are offered for wandering spirits and generations of ancestors alike. There is a place for the living too: you can light a lamp of light to pray for peace and wisdom, and some temples fold the 'settling Tai Sui' ritual into his worship. When you want to do something for a departed loved one, a Kshitigarbha temple is the place to go.

Kshitigarbha's birthday on the 30th day of the 7th lunar month (the last day of Ghost Month) is the main celebration. This timing is significant — as the "King of the Underworld," his birthday marks the closing of the ghost gates. Temples hold elaborate ceremonies to guide wandering spirits back to the underworld. Xinzhuang Dizang An's Ghost Month activities, including the famous "Night Patrol" by the Guan Jiang Shou troupe, are among the most dramatic religious events in northern Taiwan. Buddhist temples nationwide hold "Yulanpen" (Obon) ceremonies, combining Buddhist teachings with Taiwanese folk traditions of honoring ancestors.