在祈福会的最后一个环节里，与会者陆续到佛前以诚心供佛，期许自己在充满欢喜、感恩的农历七月里，行善积福报亲恩，一起度过意义非凡的七月吉祥月。 摄 / 李副腆
There is a widespread belief among the Chinese that the seventh lunar month is the time when the gates of hell are opened and its inhabitants allowed to roam the earth. Many Chinese residents and businesses make ritualistic offerings of meat and “hell notes” to appease the wandering spirits so as to ensure their safety and peace of mind.
According to Buddhism, however, the seventh lunar month is an auspicious and joyful month. During Sakyamuni Buddha’s time, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, in particular, was a time of rejoicing for the Sangha as they emerged from their three-month summer retreat during which many of them would gain spiritual awakening.
To encourage Right Faith and correct beliefs, from 22 to 23 August 2015, Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore) hosted four Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month prayer sessions at its Jing Si Hall, which were attended by more than 2,000 people.
Tzu Chi hopes that with Right Knowledge and Right Faith, people can understand what it truly means to “por tor” (普渡 “pu du” in Mandarin), i.e. “deliver living beings from suffering”.
Right Belief Promotes Love for Mother Earth
On the weekend the prayer events were hosted, Tzu Chi Singapore also held a green exhibition at the pedestrian walkway by the side of the Sungei Api-Api river, which lies beside the Jing Si Hall. The exhibition showcased a series of topics, including vegetarianism and its benefits, how burning incense paper affects the environment, the importance of a clean water supply, etc.
Among the exhibits, a mockup of the Earth was particularly eye-catching. On one side of it, there was a peaceful scene of flora, fauna, and man coexisting harmoniously. Recycling volunteers went on to point out to their young visitors: “Little children, see how the Earth is “bleeding” on the other side…… the forests have vanished and so have the blue skies and (clean) water supply; man has mined and wasted resources excessively.” The volunteers also took the opportunity to ask the adult visitors to reflect on how making ritualistic meat offering and burning incense paper would affect the environment they live.
One of the visitors, Xie De Lai, said, “I won’t burn incense paper any more next year.” His wife, Ou Xian Yue has been making vegetarian food offerings to their ancestors after having taken Master Cheng Yen’s words on embracing Right Faith to heart. She had also successfully persuaded her boss to cut down on the amount of incense paper used so as to minimize pollution. Xie, too, hoped to be able to do the same with his company and have them celebrate the seventh lunar month in a more environmentally friendly way.
Beside the model of the Earth, a map of Singapore created from more than 400 recycled PET bottles clearly marked out the four main sources of water supply for the country, namely, 17 local water catchment areas, five NEWater plants, as well desalinated and imported water. The carefully crafted exhibits served to remind people of the importance of conserving water.
Finally, volunteers invited the visitors to make positive wishes and aspirations by getting them to paste recycled bottle caps representing four messages, “make recycling a part of daily life,” “uphold vegetarianism,” “be filial to our parents,” and “Right Faith in the Karmic Law of Cause and Effect”, on an empty map of Singapore.
Putting Right Faith into Action
“What Master (Cheng Yen) says makes sense. We don’t have to burn so much (incense paper) nor in such elaborate ways as no matter how much you burn, they (our ancestors) will never receive them. It’s just a ritual, so why should we burn up all this paper? It’s a waste of money, so why don’t we donate the money to charity instead and do something meaningful?”
Chen Sheng Fa, an entrepreneur, agreed with the Master’s view to celebrate the seventh lunar month with Right Faith. He said that one must start being environmentally friendly and pave the way for the next generation, as they will be the ones to suffer the consequences if we do not.
It was the first time Chen took part in the prayer event, and it made a strong impact on him. He realized that one must make the changes starting from within one’s own home and even more importantly, never waste water. Then, by slowly influencing friends and family likewise, one will reap the blessings of Right Faith.
Volunteers also invited the visitors to take a look at the resource-saving benefits of consuming vegetarian food, stating examples, such as 15,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1kg of beef, while the same amount of water is enough to produce 6kg of rice. They also got the visitors to lift a 5ℓ container of water to experience for themselves how heavy it was in order to drive home the message that vegetarianism is the most practical way to save the Earth’s resources.
Dr. Htet Htet, who hails from Myanmar, was on a 45-day self-imposed vegetarian diet and helping out at the medical station during the event. She revealed that she had made a vow to be vegetarian at least one day a week. As she seldom consumed meat, it was not too difficult for her to achieve her goal.
An Indian student from the National University of Singapore, Anjana, said that whereas she had thought that burning incense paper was part of the Chinese beliefs and did not realise that harmful pollutants would be released during the process, she now understood the real meaning behind the Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month. After viewing the related video clip in which Master Cheng Yen explained this concept, she was very moved and impressed. Anjana is already following a vegetarian diet and is in the midst of writing her thesis exploring religion and environmentalism. She even aspired to join the ranks of Tzu Chi recycling volunteers.
The Message of Filial Piety
Apart from being an auspicious month, the seventh lunar month is also a celebration of filial piety and this originates from the two Buddhist stories of “Maudgalyayana” (one of Sakyamuni Buddha’s top ten disciples) and “Prabhacaksuh” (i.e. “Bright Eyes” ─ Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in one of his past lives). The first auspicious prayer session opened with four Dharma masters leading 48 Tzu chi commissioners up the stage to offer reverence to the Buddha as well as to present flowers and fruit offerings.
The 2015 Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month prayer event conveyed the theme of filial piety through song, drama, and sign language presented live, which illustrated the feelings and emotions of parents from pregnancy through to the point when their children finally establish their own families. This brought across the message that filial piety and doing good cannot wait.
Four Tzu Chi volunteers from Taiwan also made the trip to Singapore to accompany local volunteers in their rehearsals. Liao Jia Wen from the team said, “We hope to (portray something) close to the hearts of the common man and (put up a presentation) which can be easily understood by them to let them know that love is right in our daily lives and can be seen from the stories we encounter in our relationships with others.”
Tzu Chi volunteer Lian Mei’er was invited to go on stage to share her life story with the audience. Lian had harboured resentment against her father after her mother’s death, and even when she returned to her hometown for a visit, would rather look at her father from a distance than to meet him face to face.
However, after she joined Tzu Chi, her heart gradually opened up. Through a long-distance call to her father, the love she had for him re-surfaced. From conducting house visits to the needy, Lian deeply understood that merely providing for parents’ material needs is not true filial piety; only when we look after the spiritual and emotional needs of our parents and make good use of our body by working to benefit those in need are we truly being filial to them.
A Cup of Tea Evokes a Lifetime of Realizations
After the conclusion of the event, Tzu Chi volunteers arranged for a tea presentation session so that participants could serve tea to their parents. “Please bow……now you can serve the tea.” Even before she had finished drinking her tea, 60-year-old Chen Bao Zhu had gone all teary-eyed. After she finished the hot tea served to her by her daughter Lin Xiu Qing, and her son-in-law, the three of them hugged each other. This scene touched the hearts of many that day.
Lin recollected that in the past, she could not get past three complete sentences before she and her mother would start quarrelling. When she returned to the fold of Tzu Chi after many years, she came across the Jing Si Aphorism, “Good deeds and filial piety cannot wait”, and the Tzu Chi precept which advised one to be filial to one’s parents and to moderate one’s manner and tone. Realizing that she still had not changed her attitude towards her mother, she felt very ashamed of herself.
Since 2014, Lin, together with her husband and their two children, have started listening to the Dharma teachings of Master Cheng Yen. Gradually, she was able to change her attitude towards her mother and today, the pair have endless topics to talk about with each other. In the past, Lin’s family would prepare large amounts of ritual meat offerings and paper incense for their ancestors, but since July last year, they have replaced these with flowers and fruits. At this year’s prayer event, Chen learnt that the spirits of those who have passed on cannot receive these offerings and does not wish to see her family offer meat in their prayer ritual. She thus decided to share her knowledge and persuade her sisters to depart from their usual tradition of burning incense paper and making meat offerings during the seventh lunar month.
Zhou Qi Shi, his mother, and his daughter also came to attend the event and participated in the tea presentation. His mother, 85-year-old Madam Liang, was very happy as she felt her children were very filial. This year, she had offered fruits to cut down on the inconvenience of preparing meat items. After attending the prayer session, she decided to burn a lesser amount of incense paper too. Zhou said he would like to bring his mother to the prayer session every year, as she could learn something new from it each time. “(I will) slowly persuade my mother to burn less incense paper. If everyone burns a little less of it, the Earth will be less polluted,” he shared.
During the last phase of the prayer session, participants went up on stage to offer their sincere prayers to the Buddha; they made aspirations to engage in good deeds to accumulate merits, celebrating the Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month meaningfully with joy and gratitude.
Participants of the Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month prayer event offer their prayers reverently to the Buddha. (Photo by Douglas Lee)
The first auspicious prayer session opened with four Dharma masters leading 48 Tzu chi commissioners up the stage to offer pious reverence to the Buddha as well as to present flowers and fruit offerings. (Photo by Teh Siau Tong)
A month before the prayer event, Tzu Chi volunteers went to various markets and residential estates to invite members of the public to attend the event. (Photo by Chen Bi Hui)
In conjunction with the prayer event, Tzu Chi Singapore also held a green exhibition by the side of the Sungei Api-Api river, showcasing a series of topics, including vegetarianism, how burning incense paper affects the environment and the importance of a clean water supply. (Photo by Zheng Zhen Yu)
A Tzu Chi volunteer explains an exhibit which shows a lush green earth on one side and a “bleeding” side on the other devoid of greenery caused by the destructive efforts of man. (Photo by Zheng Zhen Yu)
Entrepreneur Chen Sheng Fa (in blue) agrees with Master Cheng Yen that one should celebrate the seventh lunar month meaningfully, and after viewing the green exhibits, took part in the interactive Q&A game session. (Photo by Feng Gui Qiong)
NUS student Anjana (left) not only learnt about the origins of the Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month, she was also made aware of the harmful pollutants that are released from the burning of incense paper. (Photo by Huang Ti Ying)
Tzu Chi helpers invited the public to make positive aspirations by getting them to paste recycled bottle caps with the messages, “make recycling a part of daily life,” “uphold vegetarianism,” “be filial to our parents,” and “Right Faith in the Karmic Law of Cause and Effect”, on an empty map of Singapore, symbolizing their wish to see the love from everyone fill the whole of the Lion City. (Photo by Feng Gui Qiong)
The 2015 Auspicious Seventh Lunar Month prayer event conveyed the theme of filial piety through song, drama, and sign language presented live, which brought across the message that filial piety and doing good cannot wait. (Photo by Wu Ming Jun)
Some in the audience were so moved by the absorbing presentation that they shed tears. (Photo by Wu Ming Jun)
Tzu Chi volunteer Lian Mei’er shared how a Jing Si Aphorism and the experience of volunteering has helped her change her attitude towards her father. (Photo by Wu Ming Jun)
A heartwarming tea presentation session was arranged so that participants could have the opportunity to express their gratitude to their parents. (Photo by Douglas Lee)
During the tea presentation, a first-time participant 60-year-old Chen Bao Zhu tearily embraces her daughter and son-in-law. (Photo by Nichelle Chan)
Volunteers serve up tasty snacks made from Tzu Chi’s Jing Si line of food products to participants and take the opportunity to promote vegetarian cooking. (Photo by Nichelle Chan)
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