My Diary

During my last visit to the home town of mainland China, I have an opportunity to meet and to conduct a funeral ceremony for a deceased who the family members are born after the 1980s. The bereaved family members are staying in a modern apartment and the ceremony is held at the downstair with approximately a car space like pathway. The bereaved family members believe that ancestor worship is a religious practice. The act is a way to respect and to provide for a deceased welfare in the afterlife, which is envisioned as being similar to the earthly life. Rituals are performed to transmute and absolve the sufferings of a deceased. Taoist priests are required to perform a repent prayer so as to offer a deceased the quest for spiritual enlightenment. However, the bereaved family members did not agree that to engage a group of musicians to make lavish noise while transporting a deceased body to the crematorium so as to chase away evil or negative influence. At most, they call it a sh

Lunar 7th Month Festival to any Chinese descendant used to be an annual event for ancestors’ worship. But, my new neighbour who was shifted last month seem to be busy than usual. They were originally migrated from mainland China and being told by their acquaintance that to offer joss papers every day for wandering spirits during that month. Its good to follow the tradition for 7th month prayers. However, it is also fundamentally for people to know the meaning and purpose rather than to follow blindly. In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Zhong Yuan Festival 中元節 and the whole of seventh month is also commonly known as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and wandering spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, revisit a cosmopolitan world from the lower realm. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activit

Ancestor worship is based on the belief that the bereaved family members of a deceased have a continued existence and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Early forms of ancestor worship were deeply rooted and extensively developed by the Late Neolithic Period in China. With the teaching of Confucianism and Taoism, religious traditions such as ancestor worship are becoming part and parcel of the daily activity of our Chinese descendant. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being in the netherworld and sometimes to ask for special favour or assistance. The social function of ancestor worship is to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. Rituals of ancestor worship commonly consist of offerings to a deceased and to provide for its welfare in the afterlife, which is envisioned as being similar to the earthly life. Ancestor worship begins at a deceased kin's f

Held at Dewan Kompleks Masyarakat Penyayang in Penang, the first of its kind was organised by Lean Wah Thong Chinese Temple in conjunction with 115th Anniversary temple celebration during the feast festival of Tai Shang Lao Jun, the founder of Taoism. A total of six countries taoist priests and residents from Penang attended the forum. The title of the forum “和谐社会，道在人心”according to a speaker from Malaysia, Professor Yan exlained that every human being has an ego. If we could balance our ego with the Great Dao, the people may maintain peace and harmony without mundane knowledge and desires. Master Cheng from Malaysia asked the audiences to shake hand with each other. He has observed that many people smiles and shown their friendliness to each other during the hand shake. This is a positive gesture that coincide with the taoist belief “万物负阴而抱阳”. During the hand shake, our inner palm which represent the 'yang' or positive energy closet to each other. On the other hand,

Ancestor worship is a religious practice based on the belief that bereaved family members have their continued existence. The act is a way to respect and to provide for the deceased welfare in the afterlife, which is envisioned as being similar to the earthly life. Being an important aspect of the Chinese tradition and practise, the social function of ancestor worship is therefore to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty and continuity of the family lineage. Ancestor worship is a family affair, it is held at home, ancestral temple and consists of offering joss stick, serving as communication and greetings to the deceased, prayers and offering items before tablet. Rituals are performed to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Taoist ceremony for passed on formed part of ancestor worship which bereaved family members of the deceased would engage the service of taoist priest for prayers and acts of penance for the dead so as to offer the deceased a q

In ancient China, poverty problem was a major issue in the country. Due to the lack of medical knowhow, it was not easy to bring up kids who susceptible to major diseases and illnesses. In view of their lives being threatened, many parents approach taoist priests for antidote so that to get rid of so called 'dirty' elements. They believed that every child's health condition was affected by thirty-six gate （三十六闗） and seventy-two force （七十二煞） . As a result, a ritual of crossing the seven-star bridge would be performed. With the advances in medical technologies today, such rituals have become less and less popular. However, some major temples and sintua still follow the practice. The participants are not only children, but adults and even the elderly are joining in the queue for a common purpose, ie , pursue for good blessings. Normally, the seven-star bridge is made of wooden or steel with walkway that has a total of seven steps. On the bridge, you could see five diffe