I. The Ghost Festival originated from the story of how Meilian saved his mother: "There was a monk Meilian, who had great magic power. His mother fell into the path of hungry ghosts, food into the mouth, that is, turned into flames, hunger and suffering too much. Unable to save his mother, Meilian sought the Buddha's advice, and he spoke the Bon Sutra, teaching him to make a bon on the 15th day of the 7th month in order to save his mother." It is said that at that time, after going through a lot of hardships in the underworld, Meilian met his dead mother Liu and found that she was tortured by a group of hungry ghosts. Meilian tried to give her vegetables and rice in a pot with a mantle, but the vegetables and rice were taken away by the hungry ghosts. Meilian had to ask the Buddha for help. The Buddha was moved by Meilian's filial piety and granted him the Bon Sutra. According to the instructions, Meilian used the Bon on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar to make offerings of precious fruits and veggies to his mother. The starving mother was finally fed. In honor of Meilian's filial piety, the Buddhists held a grand "Bon Festival" every year, which is now known as the "Ghost Festival".

The "Ghost Festival" was started because of the traditional virtue of filial piety. Nowadays, people in the north of China still burn paper money on this day to pay homage to their ancestors who died long ago and express their longing for their loved ones. Although the way of worship is simple, it basically preserves the simple meaning of the Ghost Festival. The call of blood, the extension of feelings, and the reminder of one's future all give the Ghost Festival a rich humanistic connotation. Even if the era is different, burned to the gift is also different, but can never piggyback on the living people of the endless endless grief and deep nostalgia for their loved ones far away.