LA Chinatown Hungry Ghost Festival

Burning "hell money"!?!

A burnt offering to benefit the deceased

"Hell money" (Chinese 冥鈔, Pinyin míngchāo) is a modernized form of joss paper printed to resemble legal tender bank notes. The notes are not an official form of recognized currency or legal tender [except among greedy ghosts] as their sole intended purpose is to be offered as burnt offerings to the deceased as a solution to resolve their assumed monetary problems in the afterlife. This ritual has been practiced by modern Chinese and across East Asia since the late 19th century, and some Wicca-based pagan traditions in recent years have adopted this practice [1]. Early 20th century examples bore resemblance to minor commercial currency of the type issued by businesses across China until the mid-1940s [2]. The identification of this type of joss paper as "hell bank notes" or "hell money" is largely a Western construct, since these items are simply regarded as yet another form of joss paper (冥幣, 陰司紙, 紙錢, or 金紙) in East Asian cultures and have no special name or status. More: Hell money

FREE: The Los Angeles Hungry Ghost Festival: Sunday, Sept. 7, 4:00 pm

They're hungry. Will there be food?

This is the second annual festival. Through performance, ritual altars, and community celebration, we honor our departed ancestors and appease hungry ghosts. Building on last year’s success, this year’s festival features lion dance and Zodiac play by The East Wind Foundation for Youth, live music by Micah Huang and Annie Zhou, dance performances by The Sunset Light Dance Team, and martial arts demonstrations by Misako. Activities for youth include cultural crafts tables, face paint station, bouncy house, and a scavenger hunt. The festival is FREE and open to the public. More

• Sunday, Sept. 7th, 2025, 4:00-7:00 pm
• Alpine Recreation Center, Chinatown
• LA Chinatown Hungry Ghost Festival

The REAL Hungry Ghost Festival is on September 5 or 6, 2025. Here's why

Gods of Death across mythology and folklore | Watch

Are hungry ghosts evil demons? No, those are hellions. Ghosts are the departed.

The dearly departed are still here.

(The Blue Cats by Goody Feed) Many people often confuse the Hungry Ghost Festival with the start of the seventh month in the lunisolar calendar, but they’re not the same.

The seventh month, beginning on August 23, 2025, is known as Ghost Month. During this period, it is believed that the Gates of Hell and Heaven open, allowing restless spirits to enter the human world.

However, not all of these spirits are “hungry ghosts” (petas or pretas). The term usually refers to those who passed away tragically or without proper funerary rituals, while many others are thought to simply visit their loved ones.

Hungry Ghosts of Buddhism: How to Become One | Japanese Buddhist Lore

Hungry Ghost Festival: A Guide to exploring cultural riches

Addiction is entrance to Realm of Hungry Ghosts

Tradition holds that offerings are made to appease these spirits, but most people only make offerings on the first day of Ghost Month and then forget.

• The hungry ghost inside us | Dr. Gabor Mate | What really causes addiction
• Petavatthu: Ancient Hungry Ghost Stories
• Gods of Death across mythology and folklore

As the days pass, the neglected spirits are said to grow hungrier and angrier. By the 15th day, their hunger supposedly reaches its peak, which is why this day is considered the Hungry Ghost Festival.

This explains why offerings on the 15th day are so important. The Hungry Ghost Festival, then, is not the entire month but just that one crucial day.

For 2025, this falls on September 6, the 15th day of Ghost Month. Some groups, particularly Chinese Cantonese-speaking communities, choose to make offerings on the 14th instead.

Are WE in the Hungry Ghost Realm?

Due to karma, we are all reborn

Are ghosts real? Why fear ghosts? The Spirit World in Buddhism

This is partly because the number four sounds like “death” in Cantonese and Mandarin, making the 14th symbolically significant. Another explanation comes from old timekeeping systems where the hours from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am spanned two days, meaning some regarded the 14th as the proper day.

Business enquiries: business.thebluecats.com.sg. The Blue Cats' Instagram: singaporethebluecats

How can I transfer merit to benefit the dead?

The possibility of merit transfer became widely known by the story Mulian Rescues His Mother

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There are many Buddhist hells.

Transferring a gift of merit (Sanskrit pariṇāmanā, Pali pattidāna or pattānumodanā) is a standard part of Theravada Buddhist spiritual discipline.

The Buddhist practitioner's merit, resulting from wholesome deeds, is transferred to deceased relatives (the grateful dead), to deities (devas), or to ALL sentient beings.

Such a "transfer" is done ritually and mentally, and it is believed that the recipient (the ghost, the deceased person) can often receive this merit, if that recipient rejoices in the meritorious acts of the person doing the transferring.

In Buddhism, merit transfer (sending beneficial karma) is seen as a much better alternative to mourning.

Pouring overflowing water in ceremony

Scholars have discussed how the doctrine of transfer of merit can be reconciled with the individual nature of karma in Buddhism.

[How can it work? Everyone's karma is one's own. The giver generates skillful karma by giving with the intention to give, which gives the recipient the chance to share in that good karma by rejoicing (pattanumo) over such kindness, compassion, and giving (dana).] More: Transfer of merit

• I met a real ghost at Hungry Ghost Festival Singapore
• The Hungry Ghost Festival, Malaysia (OlivetaroDay)
• Dr. Gabor Mate, MD | What really causes addiction?
• Explore 65 - Explore Singapore: How much do Singaporeans know? What are the observances (superstitions) around Ghost Month?
• The Realm of Hungry Ghosts with Dr. Tara Brach
• VIDEO: Is this the oldest known burial site that doesn’t belong to humans but to Homo naledi?
• Confucianism regards the social customs of China
• LA Chinatown Hungry Ghost Festival; The Blue Cats by Goody Feed, 9/26/25; Olive Taroday (photos); Dodo Explorers; ReligionForBreakfast; July T (Chinatown and Beyond) via Soul Rebel Radio KPFK Public Radio, 9/22/25 (7:00 pm); CC Liu, Crystal Q., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Led Zeppelin (JBLZE) to tour USA '25

THE MILLENNIUM DOME Led Zeppelin 2012 (Jason on drums) perform "Kashmir" live at Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert at London's O2 Arena (from Celebration Day film) (175,627,988 views).

JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING to celebrate 50th anniversary of 'Physical Graffiti' on 2025 US tour

Jason got all the members back together?

On the heels of a successful tour that wrapped last December, JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING (aka JBLZE) is back with another round of U.S. dates.

The latest tour will be a first for JBLZE as it will focus on the 50th anniversary of the LED ZEPPELIN classic album Physical Graffiti. The latest 21-city trek across the U.S. is billed as "An Evening with JBLZE celebrating 50 years of Physical Graffiti."

Son of original drummer John Bonham, Jason

JBLZE has never done a tour centered around a specific LED ZEPPELIN album before as Jason live celebrates all things about his father, drumming legend John Bonham.

The show will feature all the selections from Physical Graffiti performed alongside numerous other LED ZEPPELIN classics.

Physical Graffiti, the Led Zeppelin album featuring "Kashmir"

The tour kicks off on May 3rd in Wallingford, Connecticut, and runs across the country until it wraps on May 31st in Los Angeles, California.

We let the kid do it if he wants to tour

Along the way, the tour will make stops in

• Wheeling, West Virginia (May 07),
• Nashville, Tennessee (May 15),
• Phoenix, Arizona (May 23), and
• San Diego, California (May 28)

to name only a few markets. Public ticket sales begin Friday (February 28). More information on all tickets and performances can be found at jasonbonham.net.

Jason says, "This is my favorite LED ZEPPELIN album of all time. Being able to celebrate it the way we are planning on this tour is something I am extremely excited about. I can't wait for people to come out and see these shows and celebrate this extraordinary record with us. My goal is to play at least 50 shows to commemorate 50 years…And don't worry there will be plenty of other songs that you also love played that night."

Uncle Bobby, Robert Plant, on Jason's struggle

TOUR DATES:

• May 03 - Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre
• May 04 - Stamford, CT - Stamford Palace Theatre
• May 06 - Syracuse, NY - Landmark Theatre
• May 07- Wheeling, WV - Capitol Theatre
• May 09 - North Kansas City, MO - VooDoo at Harrah's Kansas City
• May 10 - Tulsa, OK - The Cove Margaritaville at River Spirit Casino
• May 11 - Waukee, IA - Vibrant Music Hall
• May 13 - Milwaukee, WI - The Riverside Theater
• May 15 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
• May 16 - Robinsonville, MS - Bluesville at Horseshoe Tunica
• May 17 - St. Louis, MO - The Factory at the District
• May 19 - Austin, TX - The Paramount Theatre
• May 20 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center
• May 21 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre
• May 23 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
• May 24 - Indio, CA - Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
• May 25 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery
• May 28 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay
• May 29 - Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Amphitheatre
• May 30 - Henderson, NV - Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa & Casino - Backyard Amphitheater
• May 31 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre

This JBLZE is going down like a Lead Blimp

In a December 2024 interview, Terrie Carr of rock station WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, Dover and Morristown, New Jersey, Jason Bonham spoke about what it was like to perform in front of full houses with his LED ZEPPELIN EVENING show across North America the previous fall. He said:

"I always find it's a pinch-yourself moment because I look at it as I started this purely as a therapeutic way to get the LED out of me.

"After playing with the real McCoy, the real deal [the original lineup], in [December] 2007 [at London's O2 Arena], I remember when it stopped, it was a huge, 'Now what?'… because I just spent six weeks with the [surviving members of LED ZEPPELIN] every day [in preparation for the London show].

"Every day we were together, hanging out, telling stories. They would tell me things that I didn't know [about my dad]. Now I'm a grown-up — they would tell me all these different things. So suddenly you feel part of it. And my mom said, 'Are you gonna be okay when it stops?' I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got this.' Because you've been given the keys to the kingdom, and you sat in the throne of the greatest rock and roll band in the world.

"So when it stopped, it was hard, I must say. And then when the idea came, 'Why don't you do a band, a tribute thing," I'm like, 'Are you kidding me? I've just played with [the original guys]. I don't wanna tarnish that.' So it became more therapeutic. And I realized it's about the fans. The reason why we're still doing it, after I got over my stories... 'It's about me and my dad' — it's not. It's about our love for Dad, me and everyone, because we all have stories of what he meant to us.

"I lost my dad; you lost your drummer. So that's the only reason — the love and the passion that we do it and still do it -- because there's a lot of other things that I like to do."

Jason Bonham spent nearly a decade touring as JBLZE before changing the band's name to JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EVENING. He later explained that the switch was prompted by a request from the LED ZEPPELIN camp, who wanted to use the "experience" name for a project involving the archive of ZEP live recordings.

JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE was formed in 2009 to pay tribute to Jason's father, the band's original drummer, who died in 1980 at the age of 32. "It was meant to be part of my way of expressing my love for music and expressing myself with a tip of the hat to my father," Jason told Mixdown in a 2017 interview.

"Soon after doing the 28 shows that we did with an orchestra, everyone said, 'You're not going to stop now, are you? You haven't been here; you haven't played there…' And so I said, 'As long as you guys want me to do it, I'll do it.' It's really fan-based. More

• Blabbermouth.net, Feb. 25, 2025; Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Jesus is the 'Black Nazarene' in Philippines

MSN, 1/9/24; Pfc. Sandoval, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

The Black Nazarene is remembered in Asia and paraded through Manila, Philippines.

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Of course I was Black from Africa

The Black Nazarene (Spanish El Nazareno Negro, Filipino Poóng Itím na Nazareno [1]) is a life-size statue of a dark-skinned Black Jesus Christ carrying the True Cross.

It is usually enshrined in the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila [2], but it comes out a few times a year, one of them being Jan. 9th.

• VIDEO: Filipino Catholics mob Black Nazarene procession

The image was reputedly carved by an unknown Mexican artist in the 16th century then brought to the Philippines in 1606 [2, 3].

Black? Why, just because I'm from Africa?

It depicts Jesus en route to his crucifixion (an Imperial Roman punishment reserved exclusively for political prisoners who claimed to be messiahs or dared to challenge Roman rule.

Pious believers claim that physically touching the image can bring miracles and cure diseases [2, 3, 4].

The original image or its replica is given a religious procession three times a year:

• January 9 — the official Feast of the Black Nazarene commemorating the translation of the image from Intramuros. More

• VIDEO: Filipino Catholics join Black Nazarene procession
• New Messiah is another Jew: Menachem Mendel Schneerson
• Biden draws sharp reaction for saying he's 'quietly working' to get Israel out of Gaza (msn.com)

Buddhist Halloween: Japan's Bon Festival

CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Sheldon S., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Let's go up to that house, and if they don't give us candy, we'll throw toilet paper at it and run.

Osurasma, or praying a soul out of purgatory, by J. M. W. Silver - Bon fire (festival) (Wiki)

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Obon (お盆) or just Bon (盆) is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's deceased ancestors.

This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday, during which people return to ancestral places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves. Why? This is when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars.

• Remembering the dead, household altars? It sounds like the Mexican "Day of the Dead"!

It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon Odori.

The festival of Obon lasts for three days; however, its starting date varies within different regions of Japan.

When the superior lunar calendar was changed to the inferior Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan responded differently, which resulted in three different times of Obon.

Is bonfire a Bon fire or a European "bone fire"?

Three dates for Bon

We better go Zen like Kamakura Daibutsu

Shichigatsu Bon ("Bon in July") is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around July 15th in eastern Japan (Kantō region such as Tokyo, Yokohama, and the Tōhoku region), coinciding with Chūgen.

Hachigatsu Bon ("Bon in August"), based on the lunar calendar, is celebrated around August 15th and is the most commonly celebrated time.

Kyū Bon ("Old Bon") is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, so it differs every year, which appears between August 8 and September 7.

Exceptions occurred in 2008 and 2019, when the solar and lunar calendar matched, so Hachigatsu Bon and Kyū Bon were celebrated on the same day.

Kyū Bon is celebrated in areas such as the northern part of the Kantō region, Chūgoku region, Shikoku, and Okinawa Prefecture.

These three festival days are not listed as public holidays, but it is customary for people to be given leave from work [1].

History of bon matsuri

Moggallana was the Buddha's Black chief disciple

The Japanese Bon Festival originated from the Ghost Festival of China, which is itself a combination of the Buddhist Yúlánpén (Chinese 盂蘭盆) Festival and the Taoist Zhongyuan (中元) Festival.

The Buddhist tradition originates from the story of Maha Maudgalyayana (Mokuren in Japanese, Maha Moggallana in Pali), a chief disciple of the Buddha declared "foremost in psychic powers" among the male monastic disciples, who used his supernatural powers to look for his deceased mother only to discover she had fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and was suffering [2].

Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could get his mother released from this painful realm.

O, Buddha, how can I free my mother?

The Buddha instructed him to make charitable offerings of support to the many Buddhist monastics who had just completed their summer retreat on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

Mokuren did this and, thus, effected his mother's release. He also began to see the true nature of her past selflessness and the sacrifices she had made for him during her lifetime.

The chief disciple, happy because of his mother's release from suffering and grateful for her many kindnesses, danced with joy.

From this dance of joy comes the Bon Odori or "Bon Dance," a time during which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. See also: Ullambana Sutra.

As Obon occurs in the heat of the summer, participants traditionally wear yukata, a light cotton kimono. Many Obon celebrations include a huge carnival with rides, games, and summer festival foods [3]. More

This fire reminds me, we should totally go to Japan. I need to pray my dad out of hell.

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He rescued his mother from the Realm of Hungry Ghosts

Mother, here you are! - Help me, son, help me!

The account of Maudgalyāyana looking for his mother after her death is widespread.

Apart from being used to illustrate the principles of karma and rebirth [69, 70], in China the story developed a new emphasis.

There Maudgalyāyana is known as "Mulian," and his story is taught in a mixture of spiritual instruction and entertainment to remind people of their duties to deceased relatives [71, 72], particularly to parents.

Its earliest version is the Sanskrit Ullambana Sutra [73]. But the story is more popular in China, Japan, and Korea through edifying folktales, such as the Chinese bianwen (e.g., "The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother from the Dark Regions") [74, 75]. More (Wiki)

How Mulian rescued his mother from hell

Crystal Quintero, CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Mulian (Maha Moggallana) rescues his mother from her afterlife (wiki)

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To rescue mom from Realm of Hungry Ghosts

The Buddha's black disciple

This story is widespread. The Buddha's Black chief disciple Maudgalyāyana (Maha Moggallana) looked for his mother after her death.

In addition to being used to illustrate the principles of karma and rebirth [69, 70], in China the story developed a new emphasis:

In China Maudgalyāyana is known as "Mulian," and his story is taught in a mixture of religious instruction and entertainment to remind people of their duties to their deceased relatives [71, 72].

The earliest version of the story is the Sanskrit Ullambana Sutra [73]. The story is popular in China, Japan, and Korea, where it is told in the form of edifying folktales such as the Chinese bianwen (e.g., "The Transformation Text on Mu-lien Saving His Mother from the Dark Regions") [74, 75].

In most versions of the story, Maudgalyāyana uses his psychic powers to look for his deceased parents to see in where they were reborn.

Although he finds his father in a heaven (deva world), he cannot locate his mother and asks the Buddha for help.

What if we're reborn as shapeshifting ghosts?

The Buddha brings him to his mother, who is located in a hellish realm [usually it is the preta-loka or Realm of Hungry Ghosts], but Maudgalyāyana cannot help her.

The Buddha advises him to make merits on his mother's behalf, which helps her to be reborn in a better place [75, 76, 77].

In the version of the story in Laos, he travels to the world of Yama, the kind king of the dead and ruler of the underworld, only to find the world abandoned.

Yama tells Maudgalyāyana that he allows the denizens of the hell to go out of the gates of hell to be free for one day, that is, on the full moon day of the ninth lunar month.

On this day, the hellions can receive merit transferred and be liberated from hell, if such merit is transferred to them [78].

Son, is that FOOD for me?! Aww, it burned up.

In some other Chinese accounts, Maudgalyāyana finds his mother, reborn as a hungry ghost. When Maudgalyāyana tries to offer her food through an ancestral shrine, the food bursts into flames each time.

Maudgalyāyana therefore asks the Buddha for advice. He recommends him to make merit to the Noble Sangha (the community of enlightened disciples, which is the unsurpassable field of merit) and transfer that merit to his mother.

• While this may sound odd, fantastical, and preposterous -- opposed to the theory of karma (action, deed, intentional act) -- it is actually possible for others to "receive" the merit (meritorious deed, the wholesome action of body, speech, or mind) we perform. How? When we offer the merit, if the other person knows it and receives it and is grateful, then that good mental acts of theirs is what benefits them to the measure of what is offered. Karma is a strange thing and very complex, in fact, so complex that knowing HOW it is going to work itself out by its many results-and-fruits (vipaka and phala) is one of the Four Imponderables.

The transfer not only helps his mother to be reborn in heaven but can also be used to help seven generations of parents and ancestors [79, 80].

• Sadly, as regards this Buddhist transfer of merit, it is not a universal cure for those reborn in the downfall (niraya, the subhuman planes of existence). This is how we know that the mother of Maudgalyāyana (Maha Moggallana) had not fallen into a "hell" (naraka) but rather the less painful Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a kind of Hades/Sheol [an underworld or dimension of shadows right next to us but veiled so we do not see it] or place the ancient Greeks and Jews thought all beings were reborn after death regardless of their karma. The Buddha explained that there are not many places beings would be in a position to "receive" any merit one attempts to "transfer" to all of them. But one should still try. Why? Beings who have fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts can receive merit. And even if the person one is sending the merit to is not in that world but in some worse place, that merit can still be received by one's relatives. Now the Buddha said two very interesting things. One, he defined "relative" or "ancestor" as going back seven generations. All of those beings are our relative eligible to receive merit we transfer. Two, there is no one who does not have a relative(s) in this realm because of the number of people encompassed by going back seven generations. They will benefit even if our target cannot, and we will certainly benefit by the doing of merit, more so for wanting to transfer it, whether or not a particular person receives it.

The offering was believed to be most effective when collectively done, which led to the arising of the ghost festival [81]. (See § Heritage).

Several scholars have pointed out the similarities between the accounts of Maudgalyāyana helping his mother and the account of Phra Malai, an influential legend in Thailand and Laos [82, 83].

Indeed, in some traditional accounts Phra Malai is compared to Maudgalyāyana [83].

On a similar note, Maudgalyāyana's account is also thought to have influenced the Central Asian Epic of King Gesar, Maudgalyāyana being a model for the king [84]. More

Mahayana Repentance Service (8/20-27)

Hsi Lai Temple (Hacienda Heights); Ananda, CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ksitigarba saves hell beings

You know that big Buddhist temple on the side of the hills that separate Orange County from Los Angeles County? It's Hsi Lai on the LA side, facing the San Gabriel Mountains, overlooking LA's second valley. What do they do there?

It's a Taiwanese Mahayana complex built on the model of genuine Chinese temples following a more devotional, slightly Zen, style of Chinese Buddhist tradition, ancestor worship, good luck rituals, nuns training, repentance, chanting, and weeklong sleepovers of more intense meditation practice.

It's the second largest in the Western hemisphere

There are classes, which at first will not seem very friendly to Westerners, catering to a largely Asian population from both counties. But a persistence pays off, and there's a Buddhist college (University of the West) they run in nearby Rosemead. So they do provide English-speaking programs from time to time.

In any case, there's always a small and interesting museum, a giant vegan/vegetarian cafeteria to visit, a tea house, and a gift shop. Visit any weekend. Coming soon:

Filial piety Emperor Liang Repentance Dharma Service

Buddhist repentance? This special program runs for one week, from August 20–27, 2023. It will be held in the Main Hall at 3456 Glenmark Drive, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (MAP).

• Light-Offering Dharma Service: Wednesday, Aug. 30, 10:00 am– 12:00 pm, Main Hall
• EVENTS CALENDAR (Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple)