chant sutras and make donations to the san ̇gha, pro-
ducing a store of merit that is ritually transferred to
the deceased.
Care of the unknown or nonkin dead typically oc-
curs on an individual basis, such as when a pilgrim dies
on the road, but there is also a famous institutional ex-
ample in the Chinese GHOSTFESTIVAL. Here Chinese
notions of ravenous ghosts and Indian concepts of
preta fused into the hungry ghost image—beings in the
preta realm that are obsessed with hunger as they try
to fill a large belly with a tiny mouth; the hungry ghost
can never get enough to feel satisfied. Based on the in-
digenous Yulanpen jing,a ritual tradition began in the
medieval period for a yearly festival to transfer merit
to all beings in the preta realm by making donations
to the san ̇gha. This festival is still practiced through-
out East Asia, and is particularly vibrant in Japan.
See also:Abortion; Ancestors; Buddha, Life of the; Cos-
mology; Ghosts and Spirits; Hells; Mahaparinirvana-
sutra; Merit and Merit-Making; Rebirth; Relics and
Relics Cults
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