Hungry Ghost Month

• Punggol meegoreng

  8 Aug 11, 15:02

  To : Leogirldreamer

  I had mentioned that you are a BAD PERSON. You challenge people to offend others ! And then "offer" warning. You are trying to DO SALES here by frightening people.

  GO AHEAD and tell the whoever about me using the Punggol Mee Goreng name. Whoever out there using the Punggol (??????) ?????? ?????, are all FAKE ! They cannot even produce any Punggol Mee Goreng at all. Just cook up some noodles and call it Punggol Mee Goreng. They do not even know the key ingredient.

  I am going to MOCK at these people. All they can do is to hide their face !

• Aik TC

  8 Aug 11, 15:06

   

  Can we go back to the subject matter of this thread?

• Weychin

  8 Aug 11, 15:37

  The hungry ghost festival is period whereby the chinese, where there are different elements of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucian, practice generosity and transfer of goodwill and merits. For those who take the ghost month seriously, it is a good time for them to practice! The euphemism used in hokkien is "good brothers", who in the context of confucian values of ancestral reverence, died and are not taken care of by their family, is the equivalent of the vagrant and destitude. These include any one who died and not placed with their ancestral tablet. One view is to placate the wandering spirit so that they don't create havoc, another is to see these sentient beings as sufferring, worthy of our compassion. So we must encourage those that believe in the seventh month to transfer goodwill and merit to these being.
• Weychin

  8 Aug 11, 15:42

  The hungry ghost festival is believed to have started during the Tang Dynasty. Probably it is influence by the Ullambana. There various similar practices in other societies too!
• Ianytha.....

  8 Aug 11, 16:31

  Originally posted by Punggol meegoreng:

  To : Leogirldreamer

  I had mentioned that you are a BAD PERSON. You challenge people to offend others ! And then "offer" warning. You are trying to DO SALES here by frightening people.

  GO AHEAD and tell the whoever about me using the Punggol Mee Goreng name. Whoever out there using the Punggol (??????) ?????? ?????, are all FAKE ! They cannot even produce any Punggol Mee Goreng at all. Just cook up some noodles and call it Punggol Mee Goreng. They do not even know the key ingredient.

  I am going to MOCK at these people. All they can do is to hide their face !

  It is no good to give that kind of challenge.

  There are tactful and kind people in this forum, do not be discouraged.

  Leogirldreamer does not even care to reply my mail on buddhism.   May be she is just dreaming like what her nick says.  

• Leogirldreamer

  8 Aug 11, 19:13

  so you are the one who send me the question? i have already replied on this weeks ago. Stop personal attack on this forum. It's meaningless and both of you are here with BAD intention. http://sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/435396
• Punggol meegoreng

  8 Aug 11, 20:13

  To : Weychin

  I think you got the meaning of 7th month mostly right.

  But I think the translation Hungry Ghost is wrong. Hungry Ghost is too Western.

  Any translation of Zhong Yuan Jie into English ?

• I No Stupid

  8 Aug 11, 22:29

  Originally posted by Weychin:

  The hungry ghost festival is believed to have started during the Tang Dynasty. Probably it is influence by the Ullambana. There various similar practices in other societies too!

  The Hungry Ghost month and its festival is very Chinese in origin though it would have some element of influence from other beliefs.  However, in essence, it stems from the belief that the spirit of the departed ones are released from Hell and given one month's leave!

   

  Chinese, being concerned about the stomach, will spare no effort to make offerings for their departed ones and to feed them believing that there is no BBQ feast in hell.  Also, for their 'vacation' (temporarily vacating hell), the ghosts are not only hungry for food but also hungry for pleasure.  Since people love peace (with exception), it is better to appease the ghosts and not offend them in anyway like urinating on the offerings.

   

  Fear and ignorance characterised human existence and griped our behaviours.  For as long as this belief in ‘beings’ existing in different realms remained whether propagated by religious doctrine or some other, the wayang show will go on, now in Orchard Rd, and next in Marina Bay.

   

• Rooney9

  8 Aug 11, 22:40

  if hell beings are released from hells every 7th month, then do u think these hell beings will willlingly go back once the 7th month is over every year?

  so do people in jailed for lifetime, allow to go home for reunion dinner every year?

• sinweiy

  9 Aug 11, 09:36

  Originally posted by Punggol meegoreng:

  To : Weychin

  I think you got the meaning of 7th month mostly right.

  But I think the translation Hungry Ghost is wrong. Hungry Ghost is too Western.

  Any translation of Zhong Yuan Jie into English ?

  
  got a point.

  中元节Zhong Yuan Jie into English is Middle Lunar Month festival. and it's Taoism. not Buddhism. Buddhism is Ullambana ç›‚兰盆.

  http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%85%83%E7%AF%80%E8%88%87%E7%9B%82%E8%98%AD%E7%9B%86%E7%AF%80

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival

  /\

• Punggol meegoreng

  9 Aug 11, 16:35

  Seen. I think it is Mid Year Festival ? Where the year is the lunar calendar.

• Ianytha.....

  9 Aug 11, 16:59

  Originally posted by Leogirldreamer:

  so you are the one who send me the question? i have already replied on this weeks ago.
  Stop personal attack on this forum. It’s meaningless and both of you are here with BAD intention.

  http://sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/435396

  Please don't be so negative.   There is no intention of any personal attack to you.   I hope you can learn from other buddhists in this forum on kindness and positiveness.  Don't worry, if there is any question I will not ask you.    I will ask other buddhists.

  You are so arrogant!

   

• Leogirldreamer

  9 Aug 11, 17:01

  Fear and Ignorance can be proved by real happenings. Why someone don't go around and interviewed those who had seen ghosts , had kicked the offerings along the roadside and something weird happened to them that kind of real stories. Once the facts are proven, it is no longer fear and ignorance.
• I No Stupid

  10 Aug 11, 00:14

  why bother to interview those who have seen ghosts?  better to interview the ghosts!

• Punggol meegoreng

  10 Aug 11, 14:26

  (no personal attack pls)

• Leogirldreamer

  10 Aug 11, 15:35

  lanthyan in that case don't disturb me by throwing a question into my mailbox. At least i took the trouble to find the weblink and post here for all to read. What did you do ? Did you thank me for taking the trouble to answer your question? Why are you so arrogant and negative ?
• Weychin

  11 Aug 11, 01:36

  One thing about being born into a traditional polytheistic chinese family is that you never really questioned your beliefs and of the supernatural your family unless being questioned. Mine first association is the seventh month, where you are not to go out at night, or go swimming, sing or whistle, kick offerings or stand at the crossroads. Most are mainly admonishments not to do, not to do that! If you are to believe by your family, you just accept it, and even it doubt creep up later, it does'nt have much direct effect on our daily lives, but be mindful just to place safe, just in case..... Traditional chinese religion mirror the ancient government, you have the Jade Emperor, Tien Gong or Shangti, with his retinue presiding over all. What you have in the human realm also exist in heaven and hell. There is three realms, Heaven, Earth(Hell), Human realm. The Gods with the Jade Emperor preside over the heavens,which are different levels, with the Son of Heaven, the chinese emperor presiding over the middledom, and Yen Luo Wang, or Yama presiding over hell. In chinese beliefs, the departed will stay in in underworld for certain period, all will have judgement pass upon them,the virtuous will ascend to heaven, only those who are guilty are sent to hell to suffer punishment. After whichthey are made to drink a memory erasing elixir to forget before crossing the bridge of life and death(nine her chiao) to be reborn back as humans or animals.f
• Weychin

  11 Aug 11, 01:51

  One thing about taking refuge as a Buddhist is that you no longer seek Gods of other religion as refuge. But again, notable persons are deified owing to the virtuous acts. Some of these are also accepted as Worldly Dharma Protector owing to the great respect the chinese has for them. The average polytheistic has no discrimination against Gods of other religions, you will see chinese offering incense ai Indian temples. The only objection they have are those religions that an antagonistic views over chinese polytheistic beliefs. Traditionally, chinese visit and pray at Buddhist, Taoist, Shenistic temples. Buddhist and Taoist are consider "kong" or empty paths, where one renounces the worldly life.
• Kosen pang

  11 Aug 11, 02:09

  For what is already there for centuries . there is no need to question anything . real or not real is no longer the point . there is no harm in conducting traditional customs . there are certain things in this world we cannot comprehend or totally understand .

   

• Weychin

  11 Aug 11, 02:10

  Originally posted by Punggol meegoreng:

  To : Weychin

  I think you got the meaning of 7th month mostly right.

  But I think the translation Hungry Ghost is wrong. Hungry Ghost is too Western.

  Any translation of Zhong Yuan Jie into English ?

  
  Yes! You are correct, Hungry Ghost Festival is a termed recently! I remember there was an incident where is was termedy the"Hungary Ghost Festival"! Ha!Ha!
• Weychin

  11 Aug 11, 02:36

  Originally posted by Kosen pang:

  For what is already there for centuries . there is no need to question anything . real or not real is no longer the point . there is no harm in conducting traditional customs . there are certain things in this world we cannot comprehend or totally understand .

   

  
  Sometimes deep seated beliefs may be untrue due to ignorance, either the way it is presented or the way we see it. There is a need for quietude and also a confidence in one identity in association to these beliefs. One need to feel unthreatened when calling to question these beliefs. There is a need for respect when we review these beliefs.
• Kosen pang

  11 Aug 11, 02:45

  Traditional customs add richness in our culture . some look at the festival as supernatural . others look at it just as another cultural festival . say like during deepavali when our Indian friends are piercing their own body with needles and other tools . it adds richness to their Indian culture . to many it is fun to watch (fun without disrespect) . I think True or not true is not so important . if you look at the festival as something educational then the main purpose could be not about ghosts at all . the festival could be to teach us about respecting people and even the deceased . I think it depends on how we look at things and how we want to perceive them too .

• Weychin

  11 Aug 11, 03:00

  I being able to celebrate different festivals.But being a Buddhist, it is important to develop the right view, although I don't aim to impose. I try my best to see the meaning behind each practice and significance beneath the symbolism.
• I No Stupid

  16 Aug 11, 19:48

  A grand dinner was organised by the owners of Zhilie Trading.  The 6-course dinner was set for 88 tables complete with entertainment.  But the seats were empty.  After the dinner ended at 9pm, the food was all thrown away.  The manager of Zhilie said they received instructions from the deities to set up 88 tables.  They were taken ‘aback’.

   

  Apart from the sumptuous meal, a Buddhist monk was hired to perform religious rites, a traditional puppet troupe, and a paper house with 150 cartons of offerings.  The ghost banquet and all cost $25,000 and were done to help the hungry ghosts.

   

  What was the Buddhist monk doing there?  And deities giving instructions?  Which deities?

• Kosen pang

  17 Aug 11, 03:07

  Originally posted by I No Stupid:

  A grand dinner was organised by the owners of Zhilie Trading.  The 6-course dinner was set for 88 tables complete with entertainment.  But the seats were empty.  After the dinner ended at 9pm, the food was all thrown away.  The manager of Zhilie said they received instructions from the deities to set up 88 tables.  They were taken ‘aback’.

   

  Apart from the sumptuous meal, a Buddhist monk was hired to perform religious rites, a traditional puppet troupe, and a paper house with 150 cartons of offerings.  The ghost banquet and all cost $25,000 and were done to help the hungry ghosts.

   

  What was the Buddhist monk doing there?  And deities giving instructions?  Which deities?

  
  What was the Buddhist monk doing there ?

  a Buddhist monk was hired to perform religious rites

  And deities giving instructions ? Which deities ?

  the deities who asked them to set up 88 tables