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| My hungry ghost altar |
Tonight is the Hungry Ghost Festival. The ghosts have been wandering the land since the new moon; by now they must be very hungry, so it's a good idea to offer them food.
In China both Taoists and Buddhists perform rituals to soothe the sufferings of the dead. The Taoist name for the Hungry Ghost Festival is the Zhong Yuan Festival, and Buddhists call it the Yulanpen Festival; think of it as a summertime Halloween celebration!
Agenda:1. Prepare offerings
2. Family feast
3. Hungry ghost ceremony
1. Prepare offerings:For this festival, you need to prepare paper items, to burn, that represent the basic needs of people - especially paper money and paper clothing.
You can buy the money at an Asian food store, or print your own "hell notes", and cut out miniature paper clothes. (I used some joss paper I got at the Asian market to make the clothing shown above.)
Also, have incense and red candles on hand, and offerings of food: Uncooked rice, peanuts, fruit, tea, and rice wine.
Start with a big family dinner that’s shared with your family ghosts. Just like the Day of the Dead, it's customary to make the favorite foods of each of your dead family members.
3. Hungry Ghost Ceremony:
The dinner is shared with family ghosts, but the outside ceremony is for any poor, unfed ghosts that happen to pass by, so you want to set it up away from the house. In China it's common to have altars right at the curbside. I set mine up in the driveway- just a large clay saucer, and candles and incense stuck into the ground.
When night falls, take your paper and simple food offerings out to the altar. Give yourself some quiet time to think about the suffering ghosts, then burn the incense and paper offerings, allowing them to escape to the spirit world, and become useful to any ghosts in need.
The dinner is shared with family ghosts, but the outside ceremony is for any poor, unfed ghosts that happen to pass by, so you want to set it up away from the house. In China it's common to have altars right at the curbside. I set mine up in the driveway- just a large clay saucer, and candles and incense stuck into the ground.
When night falls, take your paper and simple food offerings out to the altar. Give yourself some quiet time to think about the suffering ghosts, then burn the incense and paper offerings, allowing them to escape to the spirit world, and become useful to any ghosts in need.
Offer a prayer that all ghosts everywhere will be fully satisfied, and free. And remember to say a prayer for your own personal "ghosts" of greed and desire!
I like this Buddhist Prayer, from the Japanese Zen ceremony of Kan Ro Mon:
Attention! Attention!
Raising the Bodhi Mind, the supreme meal is
Offered to all the hungry spirits in the ten directions
Throughout space and time,
Extending outwardly and inwardly,
Filling the smallest particle to the largest space.
All you hungry spirits in the ten directions,
Please come and gather here.
Sharing your distress, I wish to offer you this food
And hope it resolves your thirsts and hungers.
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