Well, some of you guys/girls might not know what am I studying..
Some of you might thought that I’m doing Arts or Music because of my long hair..
Not exactly close to either one of that..I’m actually doing Communications and Electronics Engineering..
No, not Mass Comm that kinda Communication..I studying things related to satellites, radio waves, electromagnetic fields, electronic circuits, and the likes of it..
Yes, something you might relate to being a psychic wtf..
Nothing much..Want to show you what we usually do in the lab, and playing with hobby kits..
*Traffic Light System Hobby Kit*
*IC - Integrated Circuit*
*Transistors (black), resistors (stripe), and LEDs*
*Diodes*
*Wires/cables/jumpers*
*Look like a mess*
Well basically that’s what we engineering students do best during lab sessions..
I bet most of you who did Science stream in high school times did played with these things before..
Anyhow, if you found the result, it’s great..If you didn’t, it sucks..
In conjunction with Qing Ming Festival, I went to Kwong Tung Yi San Temple to visit my mom on Sunday..
No, I have nothing against Qing Ming nor Buddhism nor Taoism nor Hokkienism nor Hakkaism, nor Teochewism..
It’s all based on my thoughts and nothing but a discussion of a Free-Thinker..
Yes, I’m a Free-Thinker myself..I have no religious belief nor any cult belief nor anything..
I just believed in what I do and everything that I do are of the best and not doing any bad things which I think are bad, and do the good deeds that I think are good..
Well, my discussion is, like this..
From what I’ve learnt about Qing Ming Wikipedia-style, Qing Ming is otherwise called Tomb Sweeping Day or Clear Brightness Festival..
It’s a directly translation that Qing is clear, and Ming is brightness..It’s somewhat like a cleaning day for their house tomb..
So other than cleaning, it’s a norm for the living family of the deceased to offer the dead some food such as cupcakes guai fah kou, fruits, and drinks..
Burning joss sticks to the dead is also another form of offering food to the dead or god..
I don’t really mind if the smokes are smelly or whatsoever as it’s always as smelly as in the clubs, but the smokes sting the eyes and it’s very hurtful..
Not to mention all the crowd pushing here and there..
The thing I don’t understand i, is this whole thing a compulsory for every Chinese?
I don’t think Qing Ming is applied to Chinese Christians right? Or mayb Chinese Muslims..Muslims have their own way of prayers or whatsoever..
So I don’t really think that I, as a Free-Thinker, am obliged to follow the customs or culture and everything to suffer myself, although I’m a pure Chinese..
Yes yes I know..Some argued that it’s a way to show your respect to the dead and do the best for the dead to compensate what you didn’t get to do when they are still alive..
But, what has been done, it’s done..
I’ve discussed something related to this, the “Chiu Dou” event, click HERE..
I don’t think there’s any need to repeat the same over and over again every year after one dies..
You have sent the soul to the netherworld, that’s it..Why keep on sending over and over again?
I thought Buddhism believed in reincarnation? Even if the dead doesn’t reincarnated is because they have reached Nirvana or whatsoever..
Even so, reaching Nirvana means they are at the peak of bliss and happiness..I don’t think they’ll be coming back to let us send them back to ‘the’ world again..
As for Qing Ming, you clean the tomb or the decks or urns placings, you offer food and drinks, that’s all..
I don’t see there’s any need for me to do all the things that OTHER people do during Qing Ming or Chiu Dou..
Furthermore, neither my family nor I know anything about the custom and rules and what to do during the whole commotion..
Doing it wrongly might even resulted in getting jeered, or perhaps they are good enough, you’ll get advice from them..
Also, different people from different family background is doing it differently..
Hokkien people have their own ritual..Hakka people have their own ritual..Teochew people have their own ritual..
So for me as a Free-Thinker Cantonese, which way should I follow if I were to do it?
I don’t think there’s any answer to my question..The ONLY answer is, do what you think is the best for the dead ones..
So what I think is the best is, clean up the place, place offerings, pray with several joss sticks, voila..I’m done..
Okay, no offence to any Buddhist or Taoist out there..It’s just another discussion in this world, ain’t it?
What say you? What’s your experience and what’s your argument?
We are still in the Hungry Ghost Month of the Lunar Calendar..
So I thought these things would be informative for you guys..
I think none of the followings match any of the Malay ghosts that we heard of, such as Polong, Penanggal, Hantu Air, Hantu Raya, Hantu Galah, etc etc..
Maybe they belonged to one of the groups but these Malay ghosts seemed to be famous for their own names and shapes already..
Residual
A spectral recording of a specific location that is played back later in time.
You can hear it on tape or see it with your naked eye. It’s often the echo of a traumatic event, like a murder or mutilation.
Elemental
A being that inhabits nature, like goblin or an elf.
It is commonly described as “shape-shifter”, with the ability to grow or shrink at will and to change from a solid to liquid.
Phantom
An entity that closely resembles a living person. You might not suspect that it’s not human, until it walks through a brick wall.
Bilocation
When a person, object or spirit is seen in two locations at the same time.
Possession
A phenomenon that takes several forms :
Sometimes a medium allows a spirit to enter his or her body, eithe partially or fully - in order to communicate with the living.
In demonic possession, an entity takes over someone’s body without permission and won’t leave.
Photographic
A ghost that can only be seen in photographs.
It can take many forms, including an orb , vortex, an ectoplasmic mist or optical abnomality.
Discarnate
A spirit that exists without physical body. You know that creepy feeling you get when you walk through a graveyard? You’re probably being stalked by one.
Denial
Ghosts that don’t believe they are dead.
They can’t move on and spend eternity watching us, envying us - and often hating us just for being alive.
Intelligent
A ghost that is sentinent, and angry.
It will try to attract your attention by creating foul odors, moving things around, making noises, slamming doors, and hiding things..
Poltergeist
An angry, mischievous ghost that can be traced to psychokinetic acitivity created by living beings, usually children, who live with great stress.
Events surrounding it can include objects that appear and disappear at random, electrical disturbances, water coming from no apparent source, foul odors, rocks raining from the sky or ceiling and spontaneous fires.
Orb
A spherical, translucent mass of energy that resembles a ball of pure light.
It is the most basic and most photographed type of spirit and it often appears in haunted places.
Ectoplasm
A subtance that emanates from a medium during a trance.
It can be a mist, a vapor, a gush of blood from the mouth or just a spume of putrid goo.
Entity
A being that is intense, powerful and very rare.
It is usually the ghost of an extremely violent individual, like a murderer, psychotic, or just plain evil person. Mayb it was never a human to begin with.]
Vortex
A very strange and mysterious phnomenon that usually appears as a swirling funnel shape.
When it slows down, it looks straight and narrow and is often confused with a speeding orb.
Anniversary Entity
Appears only on a date that was significant to it, like the day the person was killed in a horrible accident or the day he was murdered.
Apparition
A visual representation of a ghost, usually as a transparent figure.
It looks as real as a living person, and it interacts with the living - until it disappears into thin air.
Electromagnetic Field
Combines electric and lagnetic energy that radiates from radio and light waves to gamma and cosmic rays.
It manipulates these to suit its own ends - Have you ever felt your hair stand on end.?
Projection
A manifestation of the thoughts and fears of the human subconcious.
Demon
A spirit that possesses a living person and forces him/her to do evil.
So that’s all the types of ghosts that we got, from the western knowledge..
It’s the Hungry Ghost Festive month again everyone..
It started on 13th of August til 10th of September 2007..The peak season is said to be on 30th of August, Merdeka Eve..
I believe that most Chinese parents would advise their children not to stay out til late at night to avoid bumping onto any ‘dirty‘ things..
Anyhow, my mind is contradicting in any other ways..I don’t know whether to believe in it or not, but I do take pre-cautions..
I’m scared to go out to the mamak near my house when I got hungry late at night..
It’s reported in the newspapers that couples are afraid to take pics during this season, if they were to wed during this season..
They are afraid if those pics might appear another figure beside them..
Wedding is hopefully a once in a lifetime thingy, so how can they skip the outdoor photoshooting part.??
And worst of all, if they are so scared, why choose to wed during the Hungry Ghost Festival in the first place.?? I don’t get it..
One thing about whether to believe it or not, an argument made me think like that..
I’m not sure it’s correct or not..Correct me if I’m wrong..Sorry if I offended any people here..
This Hungry Ghost Festive month is to offer the deads with food, hell money and other things..
But then again, other than to pray for those neglected wandering souls/spirits, aren’t those whom got buried or cremated already sent to the netherworld and waiting to be reincarnated.??
If the souls/spirits of the deads already reincarnated, then meaning they have a new body as their house..
So is it possible for the deads to come back and accept our offerings.??
Okay, let’s assume that they do come back for the offerings, I thought since we were lil kid, we were taught that once we were dead, we’ll walk past a bridge where we’ll be offered a soup called “Mang Po Tong“..
After drinking this soup, we’ll forget our past life and get on with a new life in heaven/hell and wait to be reincarnated into the world again..
Even if they haven’t reincarnated yet, they should have lost their memory of the past life, meaning they have forgotten their family and friends..
It’s all just my thought..No offence..Sorry for me being a Free-Thinker, but I’m still a Chinese..
I cannot deny that I’ll be bound with all these customs and rules and stuffs for the rest of my life, as I’m a Chinese..
Yesterday was the day where “Chiu Dou“ was being performed at Fatt Wah Temple, Salak South, Kuala Lumpur..
So I was there to so-called send my mom’s soul to the heaven..
“Chiu Dou” is something like cleansing ritual and send the souls up to heaven to be with the almighty Namo Amitabha..Wtf..
But there’s one thing I don’t understand..
Since you already sent your deceased family member’s soul up to heaven, why you need to send it again the next year or perhaps the next “Chiu Dou” event.??
Is it that they will fall back to ground every certain period and you keep sending them back up there again and again and again.??
No wonder the nuns and monks make a lot of money in this industry..
Most of the nuns in this temple owned an above average car..
Cars like Merz, Toyota, Honda, and some other imported cars..National car tak mainlah..
The place was packed like tunas (had enough of sardines)..
But of course, lots of people means got chicks, even in a temple like this ^^
There was even a goth-wannabe girl..She dressed in those flowerish-lolita-style-blouse, which was of see-through material..
A above knee-length jeans skirt, and knee-length stockings..
Well, the blouse was so thin that I could saw her bra is in purple color, and her skirt was so low that I could saw her G-string..Wtf..
I guess I’ll narrate the whole thing with the assistance of pics that I had taken there..
*That’s my dad, going to where my mom’s altar was being placed*
*Rows of paper altars*
*More or less around 2000 altars*
*Vegetarian meal*
To be honest, this was my first time to eat in a temple..
*Paper gold and silver bars*
*The paper Titanics*
These paper Titanics will sail the souls up to heaven..
*Everyone seems so busy*
*The God paper-figurine*
*Paper-golds being placed around the God*
*Video of burning the God paper-figurine*
*Some flowers and a coin*
During the ritual, we were told to line-up and cross a bridge then received these flowers and a 10 cent coin from the nuns..
What for they gave me flowers and a 10 cent coin.?? Why don’t they just give me a RM 10 note.?!
*The crowd is waiting*
They were waiting for the nuns to clean up the tables first before they can take the altars..
*Rush hour*
EVeryone was rushing and squeezing through to get to their family altars..
*My mom’s paper altar*
There is something I find it very funny but I think it’s rather disturbing to those devout Buddhists and Taoists..
Anyway..I’m going to share it with you guys and let’s laugh out loud together..Hahahaha..
As I was holding my mom’s altar like everyone else holding their family member’s altar, we had to do something with it..
There was a wooden couch (like those in your secondary school canteen) placed between 2 paper-bridges..
We had to hold the altar and take them cross the bridges..Well, not any normal crossings..
You have to do it step by step just like the image below..
*Sorry for my bad drawing*
That’s right..You have to hold the altar and walk step by step up the bridge then down the bridge..
I just couldn’t held back my laughs after my altar breeze walking..Hahahaha..
An auntie standing beside me did it so precisely and carefully that the nun told her to walk faster coz there were a bunch of people waiting in-line behind her..
*The altars on the Titanics*
*Altars placing*
As you can see, those altars on top of the Titanics were placed on those expensive “seats“..
Those chepaer ones, like my mom’s were placed under the deck..
*One carrying few altars*
Some were not enough hands to carry 5-8 altars, from parents to grandparents and grand-grandparents, perhaps..
*Everyone busybody betul..So am I..Hahaha*
*Placing the 6th Titanic to the fleet*
*All aborad*
*So you know why there’s haze in our country*
*All gone*
That 6 Titanics were gone in less than 50 seconds..
