It is now the 7th month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar; whereby it is also known as the month of ghosts.
Taoists believe that this month is the time when the gates of hell are opened and all the spirits/ghosts are allowed to roam freely on the Earth among the living.
It is also believed to be the birthday of the King/God of Hell on the 15th day of the month and it is in conjunction with this celebration that the spirits were given this 'passport' to wander freely for an entire month.
Another famous legend linked to the origin of this festival was the story about Mu Nian (or Bok Lian in Hokkien); a story told to me by my mother and grandmother (it was passed down by my great great grandmother).
This was not just some grandmother's story as I have done a bit of research and found that it really exists; and there are even different versions of it.
I am sharing the version which I have from my grandmother/mother.
Mu Nian was a filial son and he lives with his mother and uncle. They were vegetarians but his mother broke off from being a vegetarian after his father's death and fell to the temptation of his uncle who brought home feasts of meat and wine.
When his mother died, he dreamt of her constantly and it was said that her cries from Hell could be heard by Mu Nian. She was suffering; she was being punished for her gluttony and she was crying for help. She was fed with food which turned to hot coal and burnt her tongue each day and she was surrounded by fire.
Her soul could not rest in peace and she was in so much pain that she screamed for her beloved son to come to her rescue.
Mu Nian, being the filial son, was upset and could not bear to see his mother in so much suffering that he prayed and begged that he be allowed to see her and he tried to break through hell to see his mother.
He then begged the deities to spare his mother from her suffering and he started to chant prayers to reach to his mother and to appease her soul.
His prayers were so strong that it penetrated through the gates of Hell and could be heard by his mother.
This was how the festival of Ghosts came about when the ruler of Hell decided to allow the spirits to visit their loved ones.
It is also how the notion of prayers and burning incense/paper money to the deceased during this month.
During this month, believers would offer prayers and perform rituals to absolve the sufferings of their loved ones and all the other lost souls.
That is why you can often see people crouching down by the roadside, setting down food like cakes and fruits, and lighting candles and joss sticks, and burning paper money.
It is a common thing you see during this month; and most do it immediately on the first day itself too.
Due to the nature of this month, it is also particularly a month feared by most Chinese folks due to the presence of spirits everywhere and at all times of the day.
There are a lot of rules to follow during this month; and extra caution need to be taken during this month to avoid any mishap.
This festival is celebrated among the Chinese communities across the globe, but the presence is stronger in the regions of Asia whereby there is a mass accummulation of the Chinese here.
The festival is observed in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and of course, China.
There will also be street performances during this month in various places; whereby you will see mock stages being set up along the street everywhere.
These stages will have opera performances, and muppets and there will also be a huge tent at the other end which will house the paper statue made in the image of the King of Hell (some say the Guardian of Ghosts); Di Zang or in Hokkien, my grandma used to refer to him as Tai Su Ya.
If you observe closely, you will find a small statue of Buddha or Kwan Yin perched on top of his head as according to my grandma, he was the transfiguration of the deity herself.
On the 15th day of this month, it is the Ghost Festival; known as Yu Lan or also Zhong Yuan.
On this day, the Chinese believe it is the day where the ghosts are at their most powerful and children are warned not to run around on their own.
Most will be making their offerings and praying to the King of Hell for peace at home and also for the peace of the wandering souls.
Opera performances and Ko-tai (a Malaysian Hokkien term used to describe the singers performing on stage) are there to provide entertainment to the spirits.
It is also a form of showing respect to them and to appease them so that they will not harm the living.
In some places like Hong Kong, they even put paper lanterns or boats on the river/sea which carries their prayers and believed to guide the ghosts.
As quoted from this source (http://www1.china.org.cn/english/olympic/211929.htm),
When the festival sets in, a sacrificial altar and a chair is built for the Buddhist priest either at street entrances or in front of villages. In front of the chair sets the statue of the King of Hell Di Zang. Under it are plates of flour-made rice and peaches. On the sacrificial alter are three spirit tablets and three funeral banners. After noon, pigs, sheep, chicken, geese and cakes, fruits of all kinds donated by households are displayed on the altar. On every sacrifice the Buddhist priest will put a triangular paper banner of three colors with special characters. After the rite gets started in solumn music, the priest will strike the bell to call back the souls, other monks singing chimes of incantations. Then he will throw the rice and peaches into the air in all directions to distribute them to the souls.
It is very important to observe these rituals correctly and to be careful with what you say or do this particular month to avoid anything bad from happening.
It is also best not to stay out too late at night as the elders usually say that it is a form of respect or courtesy to leave the streets to the ghosts to party all night.
There will be significantly lesser weddings during this month and some women even avoid giving birth at this time as well.
House moving/house warming or any outdoor activity is usually not encouraged, as this could invite the spirits or offend them.
New business ventures or changing jobs, attending funerals are also on the lower scale this month.
Some even blame any misfortune or bad luck on the aura of this month.
Sometimes, you may even notice that there seemed to be more funerals/accidents compared to other months. A myth or a fact, you choose, I chose not to doubt.
This is a month which is deemed the month whereby fear resides in most of the living due to the presence of spirits all around; be it the good or the malevolent who may be back for revenge; especially towards those who have wronged them during their lifetime.
It is a time whereby every spirit is released for this one month, so be careful, and just take extra precaution whether you believe it or not.
Beware, it is a month where all hell breaks loose...
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 09, 2010
Solemn news
So, two days after my bizarre dream in my previous post (on death, accident and my deceased grandmother), I received very solemn news from my family over the phone.
My GrandAunt passed away on Friday morning.
This Grandaunt was the younger sister of my paternal grandfather who resided in Singapore.
She and her children (uncle and three aunts) all reside in that liberal and clean neighboring country of ours.
She was the only one we knew from grandpa's side and the only one possibly left to link us to our ancestry parentage.
To be frank, my cousins and me may not be really that familiar to her nor were we close to her.
The first time we visited her in Singapore was to attend her eldest son; our uncle's (my dad's cousin brother) wedding.
We were so young that time; I remembered I was only 8 I think, when I was there in Singapore.
Now my grandaunt was a really healthy old lady, and she always have on that smile which showed her nice white teeth flashed at us kids when she meets us.
She has come to Malaysia a few times too; and she always tried to talk to us kids whenever we sit on the couch to say hi.
Only thing is, what amused us (I am referring only to my cousins and me; our generation) is how we always could never understand her after the first few syllables in the sentence.
She has a very distinct and accented way of speaking that dialect of the family and though my cousins and I speak the same language, hers was definitely much more in the college or postgraduate level.
I was deeply shocked to hear about her demise, although it had been so long since we met her.
We rarely kept in touch even, and I guess that was really to blame on our part.
I guess we were not great in keeping in touch, and for that reason, I felt rotten.
I am not sure whether we attend the funeral in Singapore or not, but the adults have made the arrangements; so they will be representing the rest of us to attend the wake and funeral and pay the last respects to our late grandaunt (for daddy and uncle, she's their Aunt).
I guess what I can only do is to pray for her (even though she's a Taoist/Buddhist) and also to mourn/grieve by wearing dull color clothes for at least a week since I can't be there in person.
It made me feel like this is one thing I can do for a great ancestor who had lived and these are the last respects deserving of an ancestor.
Oh, did I mention she must be almost a 100 now? Or at least close to a 100; I know she's definitely over 90.
Rest in peace, Grandaunt...
My GrandAunt passed away on Friday morning.
This Grandaunt was the younger sister of my paternal grandfather who resided in Singapore.
She and her children (uncle and three aunts) all reside in that liberal and clean neighboring country of ours.
She was the only one we knew from grandpa's side and the only one possibly left to link us to our ancestry parentage.
To be frank, my cousins and me may not be really that familiar to her nor were we close to her.
The first time we visited her in Singapore was to attend her eldest son; our uncle's (my dad's cousin brother) wedding.
We were so young that time; I remembered I was only 8 I think, when I was there in Singapore.
Now my grandaunt was a really healthy old lady, and she always have on that smile which showed her nice white teeth flashed at us kids when she meets us.
She has come to Malaysia a few times too; and she always tried to talk to us kids whenever we sit on the couch to say hi.
Only thing is, what amused us (I am referring only to my cousins and me; our generation) is how we always could never understand her after the first few syllables in the sentence.
She has a very distinct and accented way of speaking that dialect of the family and though my cousins and I speak the same language, hers was definitely much more in the college or postgraduate level.
I was deeply shocked to hear about her demise, although it had been so long since we met her.
We rarely kept in touch even, and I guess that was really to blame on our part.
I guess we were not great in keeping in touch, and for that reason, I felt rotten.
I am not sure whether we attend the funeral in Singapore or not, but the adults have made the arrangements; so they will be representing the rest of us to attend the wake and funeral and pay the last respects to our late grandaunt (for daddy and uncle, she's their Aunt).
I guess what I can only do is to pray for her (even though she's a Taoist/Buddhist) and also to mourn/grieve by wearing dull color clothes for at least a week since I can't be there in person.
It made me feel like this is one thing I can do for a great ancestor who had lived and these are the last respects deserving of an ancestor.
Oh, did I mention she must be almost a 100 now? Or at least close to a 100; I know she's definitely over 90.
Rest in peace, Grandaunt...
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Another dream of the deceased and death
I had yet another dream last Tuesday night; on my 2nd or 3rd night in this new place I have currently moved to.
It was some kind of bizarre dream and I must say one of the worst/scariest dream (or it should be categorized as nightmare) I have ever had.
It was also one that I would have never anticipated.
There were two parts to the dream, and both were not good.
I did not remember or have any proper recollection of the first part of the dream but I remembered seeing someone (or rather, a fuzzy and fast forwarded silhouette) who was dear to me, and whom I have not seen for so long.
The first part of the dream; it was pretty dark and I only remembered seeing or hearing my deceased paternal grandmother.
She seemed pretty young in the dream; she looked younger in appearance to me.
She was kinda busy or preoccupied with something and I don't really remember anything else about the dream except her presence.
Some may say that I should not be freaked out dreaming of my dear old grandmother who loved me, but the weird part is, I have not dreamt of her, not even once since her death more than 10 years ago.
When she passed on in 2002, I was not even informed, nor was I there at her funeral to see her off for the last time.
I even found it tough to believe it when my parents told me that time when they came to pick me up after my first year.
They didn't tell me because I was sitting for my finals at that time, and it broke my heart not to see her or send her off/bid farewell to someone who loved me so much.
That was the main reason I guess I never did dream of her for so many years.
Grandpa, I did dream of him a few times since he died but not grandma.
Sometimes I wonder whether she was disappointed that I didn't say goodbye to her which was why she didn't appear in my dream.
Anyway, moving on to the 2nd part of the dream, which kinda started after I woke up from the short dream for a short moment.
I was kind of driving along a road which was a corner bend (it looked suspiciously like that bend near Queensbay Mall).
Then I heard some mutterings that there was an accident; a really bad one and shortly after I heard that, I saw blood.
Lots of it, like thick puddles of blood on the floor.
Then I saw a man; slightly dark in complexion with slightly curly hair.
He was lying down; obviously dead as I swerved my car around the body.
I heard mutterings that there were a lot of bodies around there as it was a really bad accident.
I even heard that the people/victims in the accident were Chinese nationals; and they were expats and that they all perished in the accident.
Then I saw a lot of beds; not those trolleys where you push the corpses on but rather double beds neatly tucked in at the corners (like those you get in the hotels) everywhere.
There were a lot of them everywhere on the road or some white background dimension.
They were all covered with white cloths with beige and nude colored linen and though it may sound crazy now, but it seemed like in the dream, it was understood that the corpses laid there.
Then I woke up.
I find myself feeling all weird and uncomfortable when I woke up, but I guess everyone who has had a dream on death would feel the same way.
I took some time to calm myself down and after that, I tried to figure out what my dream meant.
I tried to dissect them part by part and to decipher what they meant.
Let me see, I am going to isolate the objects which appeared in my dream as usual before combining them into the scenario.
Part 1:
Deceased grandmother - security, love, trust, faith, that's what grandparent(s) usually mean when they appear in dreams. it could be a forewarning of something, of people around me. The fact that she had been dead for so long also meant of a longtime situation or relationship with another living person which resembled the same quality and which I had to deal with.
Part 2:
Driving (me)
Blood - There may be trouble with an enemy if I were to go into business or starting something new. It could also be related to relatives/families/friends and that it is not good to go into any confrontation.
There could also be relation to emotions, bleeding emotions.
Blood is also a symbol of love, life, passion and disappointments.
I saw someone else bleeding and that means an emotional cry for help.
Dead - This could be a forewarning that there is bad/negative influence or that one could be with the wrong crowd.
This may be a resolution of feelings with those who have passed on. There could also be possibility of material loss.
Beds - Since these were not my beds, this could mean that there is a change of luck in my business affairs. A small increase in good luck actually.
The beds were made, so this was a symbol of security. Bed could also symbolize the discovery of sexuality and my most intimate feelings.
Death - It could mean death in itself; or sometimes there could be some good news (opposite of death)
THE INTERPRETATION:
Putting them together, somehow the two seemed like they were really related through all the elements.
I guess there was a forewarning about my own family or relative; there could be some bad influence or arguments.
I am entangled emotionally; and I feel bothered by everything that will happen around me. I could feel emotional and there is a lack of security in not just my own emotional/family affairs and maybe business.
Make that short, I am about to be bothered by something which happens and could revolve around either family or work or both.
I dreamt of my deceased grandmother; and she came to warn me.
She was a source of warning, as grandparent(s) symbolize love, passion, life and disappointments.
There was something that is related to family, and I could really be missing my grandmother and that I need to resolve my feelings of guilt or disappointment (either in me or in her) that I wasn't there to bid her farewell.
Furthermore, since it had been such time since she had passed on, it was also a symbol of a current situation or relationship which needs to be resolved. The quality of the relationship or situation resembles that of this long death and that I need to learn how to resolve it; either to let it just die or end it.
I saw blood, and an accident, which meant that I had some fears and anxiety about something. I am in an emotional turmoil where I feel like asking for help but yet I did not.
This could be related to the part where I dreamt I was driving; which symbolized my journey and path in my life; how I am going through or navigating my life.
Since I was the one I saw driving in my own dream, and yet I don't remember that I saw where I was supposed to be going or where was I headed to.
Guess it means I may be fearful of where I see myself going ahead in life and to confirm what I want to do in the future.
Bad as it seems, it may be that I am not sure of my own direction/goals.
Perhaps I also do not want to see what is ahead for me or I am afraid to confront certain issues. I may be feeling apprehensive about the future.
Was my view is blocked or obstructed while you are driving, then it symbolizes your lacking awareness of something in your life, yeah I guess that's it, since I saw blood and a dead body, right?
I could be overlooking certain aspects in life.
Alternatively, the dream indicates dangers or problems that I am not aware of yet.
I was driving on a curvy road, and I guess it indicates that I was having difficulties in achieving your goals and I just find it difficult accepting the changes associated with it.
There is some certain degree of truth to the whole dream thing; well, i guess that's why some say that dreams are our subconscious minds speaking.
However, I still think the whole thing is bizarre, seeing all these different elements but I do know I am really messed up at the moment with all my emotions and matters bothering me, I guess I need to really chill out soon
It was some kind of bizarre dream and I must say one of the worst/scariest dream (or it should be categorized as nightmare) I have ever had.
It was also one that I would have never anticipated.
There were two parts to the dream, and both were not good.
I did not remember or have any proper recollection of the first part of the dream but I remembered seeing someone (or rather, a fuzzy and fast forwarded silhouette) who was dear to me, and whom I have not seen for so long.
The first part of the dream; it was pretty dark and I only remembered seeing or hearing my deceased paternal grandmother.
She seemed pretty young in the dream; she looked younger in appearance to me.
She was kinda busy or preoccupied with something and I don't really remember anything else about the dream except her presence.
Some may say that I should not be freaked out dreaming of my dear old grandmother who loved me, but the weird part is, I have not dreamt of her, not even once since her death more than 10 years ago.
When she passed on in 2002, I was not even informed, nor was I there at her funeral to see her off for the last time.
I even found it tough to believe it when my parents told me that time when they came to pick me up after my first year.
They didn't tell me because I was sitting for my finals at that time, and it broke my heart not to see her or send her off/bid farewell to someone who loved me so much.
That was the main reason I guess I never did dream of her for so many years.
Grandpa, I did dream of him a few times since he died but not grandma.
Sometimes I wonder whether she was disappointed that I didn't say goodbye to her which was why she didn't appear in my dream.
Anyway, moving on to the 2nd part of the dream, which kinda started after I woke up from the short dream for a short moment.
I was kind of driving along a road which was a corner bend (it looked suspiciously like that bend near Queensbay Mall).
Then I heard some mutterings that there was an accident; a really bad one and shortly after I heard that, I saw blood.
Lots of it, like thick puddles of blood on the floor.
Then I saw a man; slightly dark in complexion with slightly curly hair.
He was lying down; obviously dead as I swerved my car around the body.
I heard mutterings that there were a lot of bodies around there as it was a really bad accident.
I even heard that the people/victims in the accident were Chinese nationals; and they were expats and that they all perished in the accident.
Then I saw a lot of beds; not those trolleys where you push the corpses on but rather double beds neatly tucked in at the corners (like those you get in the hotels) everywhere.
There were a lot of them everywhere on the road or some white background dimension.
They were all covered with white cloths with beige and nude colored linen and though it may sound crazy now, but it seemed like in the dream, it was understood that the corpses laid there.
Then I woke up.
I find myself feeling all weird and uncomfortable when I woke up, but I guess everyone who has had a dream on death would feel the same way.
I took some time to calm myself down and after that, I tried to figure out what my dream meant.
I tried to dissect them part by part and to decipher what they meant.
Let me see, I am going to isolate the objects which appeared in my dream as usual before combining them into the scenario.
Part 1:
Deceased grandmother - security, love, trust, faith, that's what grandparent(s) usually mean when they appear in dreams. it could be a forewarning of something, of people around me. The fact that she had been dead for so long also meant of a longtime situation or relationship with another living person which resembled the same quality and which I had to deal with.
Part 2:
Driving (me)
Blood - There may be trouble with an enemy if I were to go into business or starting something new. It could also be related to relatives/families/friends and that it is not good to go into any confrontation.
There could also be relation to emotions, bleeding emotions.
Blood is also a symbol of love, life, passion and disappointments.
I saw someone else bleeding and that means an emotional cry for help.
Dead - This could be a forewarning that there is bad/negative influence or that one could be with the wrong crowd.
This may be a resolution of feelings with those who have passed on. There could also be possibility of material loss.
Beds - Since these were not my beds, this could mean that there is a change of luck in my business affairs. A small increase in good luck actually.
The beds were made, so this was a symbol of security. Bed could also symbolize the discovery of sexuality and my most intimate feelings.
Death - It could mean death in itself; or sometimes there could be some good news (opposite of death)
THE INTERPRETATION:
Putting them together, somehow the two seemed like they were really related through all the elements.
I guess there was a forewarning about my own family or relative; there could be some bad influence or arguments.
I am entangled emotionally; and I feel bothered by everything that will happen around me. I could feel emotional and there is a lack of security in not just my own emotional/family affairs and maybe business.
Make that short, I am about to be bothered by something which happens and could revolve around either family or work or both.
I dreamt of my deceased grandmother; and she came to warn me.
She was a source of warning, as grandparent(s) symbolize love, passion, life and disappointments.
There was something that is related to family, and I could really be missing my grandmother and that I need to resolve my feelings of guilt or disappointment (either in me or in her) that I wasn't there to bid her farewell.
Furthermore, since it had been such time since she had passed on, it was also a symbol of a current situation or relationship which needs to be resolved. The quality of the relationship or situation resembles that of this long death and that I need to learn how to resolve it; either to let it just die or end it.
I saw blood, and an accident, which meant that I had some fears and anxiety about something. I am in an emotional turmoil where I feel like asking for help but yet I did not.
This could be related to the part where I dreamt I was driving; which symbolized my journey and path in my life; how I am going through or navigating my life.
Since I was the one I saw driving in my own dream, and yet I don't remember that I saw where I was supposed to be going or where was I headed to.
Guess it means I may be fearful of where I see myself going ahead in life and to confirm what I want to do in the future.
Bad as it seems, it may be that I am not sure of my own direction/goals.
Perhaps I also do not want to see what is ahead for me or I am afraid to confront certain issues. I may be feeling apprehensive about the future.
Was my view is blocked or obstructed while you are driving, then it symbolizes your lacking awareness of something in your life, yeah I guess that's it, since I saw blood and a dead body, right?
I could be overlooking certain aspects in life.
Alternatively, the dream indicates dangers or problems that I am not aware of yet.
I was driving on a curvy road, and I guess it indicates that I was having difficulties in achieving your goals and I just find it difficult accepting the changes associated with it.
There is some certain degree of truth to the whole dream thing; well, i guess that's why some say that dreams are our subconscious minds speaking.
However, I still think the whole thing is bizarre, seeing all these different elements but I do know I am really messed up at the moment with all my emotions and matters bothering me, I guess I need to really chill out soon
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