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An Eye Dotting Ceremony at Kuan Sheng Tong Temple, Singapore

Traditionally a new statue should not be used if it hasn't gone through the Eye Dotting aka Kai Guang ceremony. Kai Guang is a traditional ceremony to bless and awaken a new statue and it signifies the existence or birth of a new statue into the world. According to the tradition if the statue is used without being awakened, it will bring no result or purely an antique.

Traditionally a taoist priest present begins the ceremony chanting of prayers to heavenly gods and summon the spirit and soul of the deity from the heaven down into the statue. Offerings are made and spells are chanted. The taoist priest dots various parts of the statue with a red mixture according to the ritual texts. The actual eye dotting ceremony itself may differ from school to school.

According to Chinese tradition red is regarded as a life giving colour as well as being associated with good fortune and prosperity. After the taoist priest conducts the dedication and dotting ceremony in which the god or goddess enters into the statue, the devotee will invites the dotted statue back to his or her home for daily offering and prayer.
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  1. JanFebruary 10, 2010 at 1:22 AM

    Absolutely fascinating. Thank you for posting this description of the eye-dotting ceremony and its significance.

    ReplyDelete

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