Glossary and Further Questions

　

Glossary of the Taoist terms

锺通天, 鼓通地- The beat of the bell travels to the heavens while the beat of the drum travels to the underworld.

九天- 9 realms of heaven.

九地- 9 realms of the underworld.

城隍- City Deity

九幽拨罪- Dispelling crimes in the 9 dark hells.

门神- The door guardian of the gate.

罗- A Chinese instrument which is called the ‘gong’. Chinese gongs are made up of high-tin bronze, hammered into a sifter shape.

东门- East Gate of hell.

开光- Empower by giving authority over something.

火筆- Lighted joss paper folded in the shape of a cone which is called the ‘fire brush’.

从东门出来呀!- “From the East Gate, out you come!” the priest declared in order to allow the injured spirit to come out of the East Gate of hell so as to be cleansed.

沐浴亭, 望乡台- A paper model of a bathroom with a stage overlooking the hometown located just above.

木鱼- A Chinese instrument called the ‘mu yu’. The muyu is carved from a block of wood and into the shape of a fish with its interior hollowed out. The muyu is mostly made of mulberry or Chinese toon wood.

磬- A bronze inverted bell which is shaped like a bowl with a wooden stick. It can be struck at the side of the bowl used for chanting.

九幽拨罪天尊- Deity who dispels crimes in the 9 dark hells.

花公花妈- Flower Deities.

云铛- A Chinese instrument called ‘Yundang’. It is also known as the Cloud gong. The Cloud Gong is a small gong made of brass with a framework and a handle. It is held in the left hand and beaten on the rhythm of recitation with an ivory ball on the top of a small bamboo stick in the right hand. The Cloud Gong held in the hand symbolizes heavenly music and can be played in procession.

观音- The lady goddess Guan Yin also known as Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. Guan Yin is the one with the highest kindness and compassion amongst the Bodhisattvas. Guan Yin is able to perfectly penetrate in all ten directions to observe and contemplate the reality and origin of all phenomena. He can search for and contemplate all the sounds of sufferings and happiness, goodness and evil etc. and rescue the suffering ones.

奈河桥- Nai he bridge also known as the ‘river of endless sorrow’ bridge. This bridge is used by the common people to cross in the underworld. The river below Nai he bridge is made up of the sinful blood of the sinful people and is also filled with snakes and other horrible creatures inside. Only the good people will walk through the Nai he bridge without worries, however the bad people will fall through the bridge into the river to be tortured.

金桥- The golden bridge
银桥- The silver bridge

灯光接引幽魂- Illuminating the path with a candle held by the priest to allow spirits to cross the bridge safely.

慈光接引天尊- Use the sacred divine lights of the deities to lead the spirits.

三皈依- The Three Refuges.

三请座位- Inviting the spirits to have a seat at the altar.

人平安, 好运, 贵人扶持- Bless the people, wishing of good luck and having people to help and assist them.

出来吃先, 离开阴府- To ask the spirits to enjoy the food at the altar after they had left the underworld.

保佑家人, 家人平安, 家人高兴- Bless the family, watch over their safely, wishing them happiness.

某门堂上代祖先-The ancestral spirits of a particular clan(family surname) were invited to witness the ceremony.

圣杯- Sheng Bei

安奉灵位- The ancestral tablet altar.

合家平安, 功德圆满- Wishing everybody peace and prosperity.


Further Questions
　

1. Why is the red thread used to tie around the paper effigies of the groom and the bride’s head? What is the significance?

2. What Chinese instruments were used to perform the ritual?

3. What is the priest, Master Lu Rong Xin’s Taoist name?

4. How many family members were led to the gates of the temple facing the heaven?

5. What are the flower deities? Are they related to the flower garden?

6. Why the family used only the golden and silver bridges instead of the naihe bridge?   
   Note: Golden and silver silvers are used by the sages and righteous people, whereas the ‘naihe bridge’ is used by the common people.

7. What are the names of the two paper effigies used to cross the bridges?

      Note: The small paper effigy represents the current state of the spirit rescued from hell and she carries the illness and sufferings she had when she was alive. The much larger  people paper effigy next to her represents the healthier form.

8. Why must the spirits wait for another 200 years before they can be reincarnated? Is 200 years equivalent to human years?       
   Notes: From one of the newspaper in the photo taken, it is said that 200 years is according to the Taoist mythology in the cycle of reincarnation.