How to worship the God of Wealth
How to worship the God of Wealth. Worshiping the God of Wealth is a Chinese custom and culture in our country. Most people have worshiped it. They all say that worshiping the God of Wealth can bring abundant wealth and good luck. But worshiping the God of Wealth also requires time and attention. So let’s take a look at how to worship the God of Wealth. I hope it can help everyone.
How to worship the God of Wealth
1. The offerings you need to prepare to worship the God of Wealth
1. Five-color fruits (representing the five gods of wealth) such as: apples, oranges, and peaches , dragon fruit, red dates.
2. Set up an incense burner and place three cups of tea on the right to symbolize tranquility. (Tea processing)
3. Place a vase of flowers, such as lilies, chrysanthemums, and carnations, in front of the god. Represents harmony, joy, and vitality.
4. Candy (peanuts, candies, pastries).
5. 9 incense sticks, 1 pair of candles, ingots (paper money) and other incense-burning supplies. Burn a pair of candles or five bright lamps in front of the vase to symbolize the five ways of light!
6. Some sayings require the use of meat from three animals, which actually goes against Taoist principles. When Tianshi Zhang Daoling founded the religion 2,000 years ago, he clearly pointed out that "gods are not allowed to eat." Taoists cannot harm lives in the name of worshiping gods. If you want to worship the God of Wealth in a clean body and mind, don't put meat or vegetables on the altar.
2. Methods of worshiping the God of Wealth
First: The time to worship the God of Wealth should be the midnight of March 14th (either on the 15th of March or during the day of March 15th) .
Setting up the Mysterious Altar for the God of Wealth
Marshal Zhao Gongming’s altar is called the Mysterious Altar. To receive the God of Wealth, the altar must be decorated first. The Xuantan is simple and elegantly arranged.
Put the statue of Zhao Gongming first. The one riding a tiger, holding a treasure in his left hand and a whip in his right hand is the orthodox one. Treasures and golden whips represent rewards for good and punishment for evil respectively, which is the basic principle of Xuantan method. For friends who decide to practice seriously, it is best to choose a statue of Zhao Gongming with a smile, because the Xuantan Wealth God method takes harmony as the core key. Harmony and harmony, harmony generates wealth, and this is the right way to generate wealth. Therefore, the statue of the God of Wealth with an angry face is not in line with the purpose of Taoism and it is best not to be used by friends who are not practicing deeply.
The above requirements must also be followed when using images of the God of Wealth.
If there is no statue of a god, or there is another shrine at home, you can write your own tablet. Just write "Zhengyixuantan Zhao Tianjun" in the middle of the altar. If the tablet is very long, you can write the full name [Marshal Zhao Gongming of the Reward and Punishment Department of Zhengyi Longhu Xuantan].
If there is no way to place the various statues and tablets mentioned above. You can download this talisman of the God of Wealth. Seeing the talisman means seeing God. You can print it and use it, or you can download the screen saver.
Second: After bathing and changing clothes, place the offerings, burn incense and candles, put on three pillars of incense and perform three bows and nine kowtows.
Third: Kneel down at the altar table and recite the "God of Finance". This article has attached the God of Finance and can be printed out.
Fourth: After reciting, stand up and light three sticks of incense. After offering incense, kneel down and recite "The God of Wealth Essay". You can copy it yourself in advance, or print it out and fill it out.
I invite the ancestral heavenly master Liuhe Infinitely Ming Emperor, the Zhengyi Longhu Xuantan Grand Marshal Zhao Gongming, the Black Tiger General Guo Qi, all the gods of the Xuantan and Heshengzong, and the local dragon god of the land. Lei Wei, looking down at the cave. Always prepare incense, tea, lights, candles and fruits as offerings, and make them available to everyone.
Add three more sticks of incense and perform the ritual of [Three Refuges and Nine Bows] to end receiving the God of Wealth.
The officiant burns the money, clothes and paper. At this time, the fellow worshipers can take turns to offer incense and perform the ritual of "Three Refuges and Nine Bows" to thank God!
On Marshal Zhao Gongming’s Christmas Day, every day, palaces and temples all over the country will hold “Worship the God of Wealth Dharma Assembly” to celebrate. During the Dharma assembly, incense is burned on the altar to convey the believers’ good wishes to the gods in order to seek protection from the gods. Believers can also go to the local Taoist temple to participate in the worship ceremony of the God of Wealth, burn incense, worship the God of Wealth, and pray for the God of Wealth’s blessings.
How to worship the God of Wealth
It is also a very common phenomenon to worship the God of Wealth at home.
But when worshiping the God of Wealth at home, there are many details that need to be paid attention to when burning incense. Let me explain them one by one:
1. Before burning incense, those who offer incense must wash their hands with clean water to show respect for the God of Wealth. . It is best to fast and eat vegetarian food on that day;
2. Light candles before lighting incense, which is intended to illuminate the path between humans and gods and attract the God of Wealth to your home;
3. Be calm and calm , pay respect to the God of Wealth. Holding three sticks of incense, the candle to the left of the God of Wealth is lit. If there is a flame in the incense head, do not blow it out with your mouth. Instead, hold the incense horizontally and gently push it forward to extinguish it.
4. Facing the holy image, hold incense with the fingers of your right hand, wrap your right hand with your left hand, and hold it in front of your forehead.
5. When putting incense, insert the incense into the incense burner with your left hand. The distance between the three incense sticks should be equal. It is required that "the incense is no more than an inch", that is, the distance between them is no more than one inch.
6. Burning incense to the God of Wealth also requires careful attention. You can buy some incense from the official Wuxiang Copper Stove. I suggest you try it.
7. There is also Shangshuwen (table text). For daily worship, there is no need to write essays. On the God of Wealth’s birthday, you should burn some texts to celebrate the God of Wealth’s birthday; during the New Year to welcome the God of Wealth, you should burn some texts to welcome the God of Wealth during the New Year; when moving to a new home or opening a company or store, you should burn some texts to honor the God of Wealth.
Burning incense to worship God, burning incense to worship God, in fact, incense is also very important. Good incense can better convey information to the void Dharma Realm, and can sense the blessings of the Three Treasures of the Ten Directions. If you are interested, it is still recommended to go to the Wuxiang Copper Stove official website to reserve a box of incense suitable for your blessings.
Worshiping the God of Wealth is a kind of emotion, which is the devotion of people's spirit and symbolizes the good wishes of living and working in peace and contentment and good fortune. To worship the God of Wealth, special attention should be paid when burning incense.
The fruit used by Cantonese people to worship the God of Wealth during the Mid-Autumn Festival
1. Water chestnuts
Eating water chestnuts during the Mid-Autumn Festival is said to make children smart. Water chestnut is rich in protein, unsaturated fatty acids, a variety of vitamins and trace elements. It has diuretic, breast-clearing, thirst-quenching and alcohol-relieving effects. When young, it can be eaten as a raw fruit. It tastes sweet, flat and non-toxic, with crispy skin and delicious meat. You can also boil the peeled water chestnuts with rice to make a salty white porridge.
2. Pomegranate
Mid-Autumn Festival is when pomegranates are ripe. Pomegranate is often used as a festive fruit because of its bright color and plump seeds, which symbolizes many children, blessings, descendants, reunion and good luck. Therefore, it is one of the must-have fruits for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
3. Pears
Eating pears during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not separated. Many people still follow the custom of eating pears during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Pears are a good medicine for treating diseases. People often use pears steamed with rock sugar to treat asthma and cough. "Pear paste sugar" is even famous at home and abroad. Pears also have the effects of lowering blood pressure, clearing away heat and cooling, so patients with high blood pressure and heart disease are very beneficial to eating pears.
4. Sugarcane
The must-eat fruit during the Mid-Autumn Festival is sugarcane. The sugarcane segments are very strong. According to the old people, if you eat sugarcane on the Mid-Autumn Festival, your bones will be strong all year round. Strong, strong body, no broken arms. Sugarcane is sweet in taste and cold in nature, and enters the lung, spleen and stomach meridians; it has the effects of clearing away heat, promoting body fluids, moistening dryness and quenching thirst, relieving cough and reducing phlegm. It can cure dry stools, nausea, vomiting, upset and thirst.
Traditional Mid-Autumn Food Customs in Guangdong
Eating fried snails with perilla during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a must-have Mid-Autumn dish for many Cantonese people. There used to be legends that eating snails in front of the moonlight could improve eyesight. . In addition to snails, taro is also a traditional food. The taro is boiled (killed) and eaten with salt, and it is also used to worship the moonlight.
In addition to these, Cantonese-style Mid-Autumn Festival also includes water chestnuts, grapefruits, star fruits, persimmons, etc. Fruits are not difficult to buy, but traditional foods such as water chestnuts and glycerin are rarely seen. Eating snails, eating taro, eating moon cakes, and worshiping the moonlight are the most traditional ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in old Guangdong. However, as times change, these customs have gradually faded away. Some young people say that this Mid-Autumn Festival, eating a sumptuous meal outside is considered a festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival Customs in Guangdong
Guangzhou - Tree Mid-Autumn Festival
In Guangzhou, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a Mid-Autumn Festival activity, and the trees are also erected, that is, the lights are erected high. meaning.
With the help of their parents, children tie up rabbit lanterns, carambola lanterns or square lanterns with bamboo paper, hang them horizontally on short poles, and then erect them on high poles. When they are skilled, the colorful lights shine, adding to the Mid-Autumn Festival. A scene. Children often compete with each other to see who can erect taller, more lanterns and the most exquisite lights. There are also sky lanterns, that is, Kongming lanterns, which are made into large-shaped lanterns with paper. Candles are burned under the lanterns, and the heat rises, causing the lanterns to fly in the air, attracting people to laugh and chase them. In addition, there are various lanterns carried by children to enjoy under the moonlight.
Dongguan - Zhaoyue
Young unmarried people in Dongguan also burn incense and candles under the moon, begging Yue Lao to match them. In the old days, some women in Dongguan believed that "Yue Lao was a matchmaker." If there were adult men and women in the family who accidentally fell in love with someone, they would burn incense and candles under the moonlight at the third watch of the Mid-Autumn Festival and beg Yue Lao to match them. It is said that on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, soaking in the moonlight can make women pregnant. In some areas, on the moonlit night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, some women who have been married for a long time and are infertile will go out of their homes to bathe in the moonlight, hoping to have a baby soon, which is called "shining the moon".
Chaoshan - there are many delicious foods during the Mid-Autumn Festival
There is a custom of worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chaoshan, Guangdong, mainly for women and children. There is a common saying that "men do not have a full moon, women do not worship the stove" . In the evening, when the bright moon rises, women set up tables in the courtyard and on the balcony to pray in the air. Silver candles were burning high, incense was lingering, and the table was filled with fruits and cakes as offerings. There is also a local custom of eating taro during the Mid-Autumn Festival. There is a proverb in Chaoshan: "When the river and stream meet the mouth, the taro will be eaten." August is the taro harvest season, and farmers are accustomed to using taro to worship their ancestors. Although this is related to farming, there is also a widely circulated legend among the people: In 1279, the Mongolian nobles destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, established the Yuan Dynasty, and brutally ruled the Han people. Ma Fa defended Chaozhou against the Yuan Dynasty. After the city was broken, the people were massacred. In order not to forget the suffering of the Hu people's rule, later generations used taro, which is homophonic with "beard head" and resembles a human head, to pay homage to their ancestors. This has been passed down through the generations and still exists today.
What’s the point of worshiping gods during the Spring Festival?
In the past, our ancestors cut thorns and plowed vines, traveled through mountains and rivers, opened up land, and settled crops. After enduring wind and rain, thunder and lightning, , a reverence for nature suddenly arises in his heart, and he believes that the mountains, rivers, and all things in the heaven, earth, sun, and moon each have their own gods. Later, with the advent of religious thought, this Shinto concept became more concrete and practical. The Chinese people are actually very broad-minded. I always believe that since gods come to protect human beings, the more the better, so they accept all who come. Buddhism has Buddhist gods and Buddhas, and Taoism has Taoist gods. Although Confucianism has not developed religious forms or religious organizations. , but Confucius once said, "Intelligence and uprightness are called gods." This is equivalent to setting a standard for "godhead".
Under this concept, many sage kings, wise prime ministers, great scholars, and famous generals who have shined in the history of the country, as well as loyal ministers, righteous men, chaste wives, and filial sons in various places are recorded as being in line with the "divine head". There are also those who have outstanding deeds, are heroes at birth, and have spirits after death. They all have the opportunity to build temples to worship them. China has a vast land, a large population, a long history, rich cultural relics, and so many sources of gods. , it is not surprising that there are these gods and Buddhas in China, who protect the people of the world and receive incense from all directions.
When you go to the temple to worship gods, you will find that in addition to the main god in the temple, there are many incense burners, such as the God of Fortune, Heaven and Earth, the Door God or other gods. If you have not noticed it, you should pay attention. As the saying goes: "Enter the temple to worship the gods, and enter the house to call people." This is a kind of respect and courtesy. Entering the temple to worship the gods requires offering incense, but it does not mean that the gods will inhale the incense. This is a way of greeting the gods.
Generally speaking, when offering incense, three large incense sticks, three fine incense sticks, or five fine incense sticks are offered to the main altar, followed by all the gods other than the main altar; three incense sticks in one incense burner are offered to the entire temple. This is a rule for worshiping gods in temples.
When making a wish or asking for a fortune, you must have offerings. This is also a courtesy. When you go to visit friends, you will not leave empty-handed. You must buy some fruits or candies, cookies, etc. Everyone is polite, not to mention polite. The size of the offerings to the gods depends on your heart. You can bring a golden pig or three animals for a wine ceremony, or you can bring five fruits or a plate of vegetarian food as offerings.
Usually the offerings are placed first and then the incense is offered. If there is too much incense in the incense burner on busy days, another method can be chosen to offer incense.
That is to say, place the offerings on the ground (if there is space on the worship table, put it on the worship table). The gods will not be offended if you have to do this because the place is crowded; then put a fruit in front and put incense on top of the fruit. Then, after bowing, you can pray to the gods for your family's safety, good fortune, your children's reading and intelligence, marriage, etc.
Some people mainly want to ask for fortune sticks and offer sacrifices, and then they can borrow a lottery stick from the temple (usually devotees will donate some sesame oil money or check some stalls before entering the temple to see lottery sticks for sale, and you can buy them for your own use).
The specific details of worshiping Buddha
When you go to the temple to worship gods, you may find that in addition to the main god in the temple, there are many incense burners, such as merit, heaven and earth, door gods or other gods. If you have not paid attention, Just pay attention. As the saying goes: "Enter the temple to worship the gods, enter the house to call people." This is a kind of respect and courtesy. Entering the temple to worship the gods and offering incense does not mean that the gods will inhale the incense. It is a way to greet the gods.
First of all, let’s talk about choosing a door to enter. There are many doors in temple buildings, and there are particularities about which door you enter. Only temples that have been opened are eligible to build thirteen gates. The three doors in the middle are for people to enter and exit. Ordinary tourists can only enter through the door on the right. The door in the middle is called the empty door, and only monks can enter and exit.
1. When entering the door, female guests step with their right foot first, and male guests step with their left foot first. They must be careful not to step on the threshold, and the bigger the step, the better.
2. When burning incense, use three sticks to pray for yourself, six sticks to pray for two generations, and nine sticks to pray for three generations. Thirteen is the ultimate, and thirteen sticks of incense are the incense of perfect merit.
3. Burn incense first and then kowtow. When burning incense, you should hold the incense in your left hand and the candle in your right hand, because most people use their right hand to kill chickens and fillet fish. If you are left-handed, it is vice versa.
When burning incense, light the incense first. The more powerful the incense, the better. People often say that the incense is strong. The left hand is on top, and the right hand is on the bottom holding the incense stick, raising it high above the head to bow.
After bowing, put the incense in the ashes, and then go in and kowtow. When kowtowing, be sure to identify the Buddha, Bodhisattva or Arhat. For example, you cannot kowtow vigorously to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
4. The posture of kneeling is like this. Kneel on the futon with your knees and put your hands together. Note that when you put your palms together, you should pay attention to the hollow shape of the palms. Raise it high above your head and down to your mouth. While pausing, you can make a wish, then go down to your heart, say it silently, then spread your palms, palms upward, and bow down with your upper body.
There is also a blessing ceremony called "consecration", which of course is best presided over by an eminent monk. Things that are usually consecrated are placed at home and must be burned with clean hands and incense on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, otherwise it is disrespectful. But if it is a very special kind of light, it is different. The lighted object can be carried with you. The objects for consecration can only be ivory, gold or jade products.
5. Wrap the consecrated items and the paper with the name and birthday of the person being prayed for (you don’t have to write down the birth date if you can’t remember) in red paper or a red brocade bag, and hand it over with a congratulatory gift. (preferably related to the numbers three, six or nine), please ask the master to help you consecrate it. Your words must be respectful, otherwise you will offend the master and you will not be consecrated.
The process of consecration is to put all the consecration objects on a tray and place them in front of the Buddha. The master chants several sutras, which is considered to be the Buddha's light. Your objects are endowed with aura and magic power, and can be taken with you to bless you.