Name of Ritual
Salvation rituals 超度
Description of Ritual/Practice
- Sutras 经文 to be chanted for the various salvation rituals depend on what the family wants and can afford, and what the deceased needs.
- 倒头经 and 启程经 are the most commonly performed sutras at Chinese funerals now.
- The rituals start with the priests informing the gods and deities (开坛请神 — 天神、地神、水神、元神(人间的神)) that death has occurred and inviting these deities to assist them in performing these rites.
- 过十环殿 is one of the rituals that can be performed to help the deceased to pass through the 10 courts of hell and reincarnate successfully.
Who practices it? Who conducts the ritual?
Ritual specialists such as Taoist priest nam mo lo 喃呒佬 and Buddhist monks
Is it still practiced now?
- Practitioners do not recommend the playing of pre-recorded sutras as the ritual is only effective when the ritual specialists and descendants (who are living and breathing) make use of their elements and qi 气 to help the spirit of the deceased 用活人的五行念经文来祭往生者的五行.
- In the past, live animals such as chickens were slaughtered during rituals. No live animals are used in rituals now and substitues such as 发糕 huat kueh/fatt gou can be used.
Other Interesting Notes
- A lot of these rituals are based on Taoist philosophies of 五行: 金、木、水、火、土 and the philosophy of treating the dead and the living the same 视生如视死.
- At the Ullambana festival, salvation rituals are performed for the wandering spirits who are unable to reincarnate. Like the other salvation rituals, family members can engage the help of ritual specialists to help them perform these rituals for wandering spirits in order to earn merits for their ancestors and family. In this ritual, ritual specialists use 水 and 火 alongside various sutras and amulets (水火练度) help the wandering souls so that they can get to The Wheel of 6 Paths 六道轮回 and move on to the next stages of reincarnation.
- Taoists and Buddhists believe in cause-and-effect and karma 因果报应 and the idea of paying penance whether through reincarnation or suffering in the 18 levels of hell before one can successfully be released from the cycle. There exists the possibility of achieving the status of deity or buddhahood after completing all sufferings and paying back karmic debts.