Celebration of Ullambana - Point Bonita, Japanese Town, and Golden Gate San Francisco

Welcome to Celebration of Ullambana - Point Bonita, Japanese Town, and Golden Gate San Francisco

Ullambana is the day for helping those beings who are suffering so that they can obtain liberation.

The Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana, one of the great disciples of the Buddha, was foremost in spiritual powers. When he obtained the six spiritual penetrations, he searched for his departed mother. He discovered that she had fallen into the hells. Although the Venerable Maudgalyayana had great spiritual powers, he could not save his mother. Thereupon he knelt before his teacher, the Buddha, and beseeched the World Honored One to help.

The Buddha explained that his mother was suffering in the hells because of her deep offenses and so the Venerable Maudgalyayana must rely on the united strength of the Sangha of the ten directions in order to save his mother.

The Buddha said, “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you should make an offering of the finest vegetarian foods and drinks and offer it to the Buddha and the Sangha. By making this offering, the Way-virtue of the high Sanghans of the ten directions will then be able to save your mother.”

The Venerable Mahamaudgalyayana did as the Buddha had instructed. Due to the strength of the greatly virtuous ones of the ten directions, his mother was reborn in the heavens. Since then, the Ullambana festival has become an annual Buddhist celebration and a day upon which anyone can rescue his or her parents of seven lives past.

The Venerable Master Hsuan Hua taught:

"No teaching is apart from Filiality. Apart from filiality, there is no teaching. When the limitless lessons under the sky are summarized, it is just this one lesson. This lesson encompasses limitless learning. Study this lesson to perfection and other lessons will also be completed." (Source: Buddhist Text Translation Society)

Visitors will visit the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas  (English:  City of Ten Thousand Buddhas ; Chinese: 萬佛聖城) is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded in 1976, by Venerable Master Tuyen Hoa , an important figure of Western Buddhism. Located in the rural California community of Talmage, 110 miles (180 km) north of San Francisco, it was one of the first Zen temples in the United States, and one of the largest Buddhist communities in the world, largest church in the Western Hemisphere. The temple is noted for its strict adherence to vinaya, a traditional Buddhist principle in the direction of asceticism.

After visiting the pagoda in the spirit of Vu Lan's filial piety, we will move to visit the Point Bonita lighthouse and the Golden Gate. At these two stops, we will get to see the scenic views where we can take some souvenir photos for our journey. 

Point Bonita is a short, scenic walk along a dramatic, rocky coast to a promontory with a tiny lighthouse. It’s a popular destination; although not nearly as busy as the nearby Conzelman Road, during the few hours each week when it’s is actually open there’s a continuous stream of people on the trail

The journey continues with us visiting the Japanense Town of San Francisco. At JapanTown, you can enjoy the distinguish Japanese cuisine from various restaurants such as the famous Ramen dish or the Matcha drink. You can also have a chance to shop Japanese goods that are usually hard to find but are vary here at different stores, and especially the Japan Center Malls.