Jangwa puja can be done for both the late ones and living.
“The tantric practice of Jangwa is a skillful tantric practice of purification used when somebody has passed away. Even when a person is in the intermediate state on the way to the lower realms, the practice of Jangwa can change the direction of the person’s reincarnation. Due to the power of mantra, the power of concentration, and the power of Buddha’s words of truth the Jangwa practice can cause the person to reincarnate in a pure land or in a deva or human realm.
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The Origin of Ullambana Offerings
According to the “Ullambana Sutra”, Maudgalyayana, one of the Buddha’s chief disciples, thought of his parents and wondered what had happened to them. By the power of his clairvoyance, he found his father in the heavenly realm. To his dismay, his mother was found in a lower realm known as the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. She could not eat because her throat was very thin and no food could pass through, yet she was perpetually hungry because of her huge stomach. She was reborn in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts because of her miserliness. Maudgalyayana had instructed her to make generous offerings to the Sangha members that she encountered. Instead, she withheld her kindness and her money.
To help his mother, the Buddha instructed Maudgalyayana to make Ullambana offerings of food and other necessities to the Sangha on the last day of the rainy-season retreat (15th day of the seventh month), also known as Buddha Joyful Day. The merit gained from this act eventually liberated his mother from her misery. Buddha expounded that making Ullambana offerings is beneficial to our parents of seven lifetimes.
Parents who are living will gain merit and live life at ease, with good health and long life. Parents who are departed will be liberated from the lower realms and get reborn in the fortunate realms. The practice of making offerings to Sanghas (monks and nuns) on the 15th day of the 7th month, has become a tradition to pray for the wellbeing of our loved ones as well as our ancestors
