Shaolin abbot may submit Laba porridge as intangible cultural heritage   

河南少林寺连续7年广施腊八粥 释永信：欲申报非遗

释永信方丈讲，腊八节是中国传统节日，也是佛成道日，是佛教最重要的节日，佛弟子称之为“法宝节”、“感恩节”。为纪念佛祖成道，各地寺院在腊八当天，用米、豆等谷物和枣、栗、莲子等干果煮粥供佛。释永信表示，希望社会各界能重视腊八节这一中国传统节日。 [查看全文]

(ECNS) -- Shi Yongxin, Shaolin abbot, said the temple may consider applying for porridge served during Laba Festival to be added as an intangible cultural heritage, dahe.cn reported on Tuesday.

Shi disclosed the idea while giving away porridge to the temple's followers and citizens on Jan 27. The festival, also called Buddha Purnima, falls on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month and marks the day when Shakyamuni was enlightened or became the Buddha.

Shaolin Temple has a history of over one thousand years of distributing porridge for free.

Laba congee enjoys such a wide reputation that the Shaolin Temple will apply for it to become a national cultural heritage, it was added.

Abbot Shi also expressed a wish that Laba festival would become a public holiday during which the tradition of drinking a bowl of congee and praying for good health and happiness could be passed down.

At 9am, Shi and his fellow monks started to offer hot Laba congee, a type of porridge, to people waiting outside. Before 10am, 20,000 bowls had been distributed.

This is the seventh year since the Shaolin Temple resumed its tradition of offering porridge during the festival. The activity is held to benefit followers of Buddhism and to pray for the happiness of the common people, the abbot explained.