Hell Hath No Fury Like a Hungry Ghost
Yue Laan Festival
Merit points gained during life help the dead avoid a terrible fate. But for those spirits still on their way to the Taoist Hell, they can secure a better, and higher, position in the many levels of Hell, and eventual ascent to Heaven, through the offerings of their descendents.
Though in the East, Hell (or the afterlife) is essentially a Taoist tradition, in Buddhism it has become mixed with ancestor worship. The Taoist Lord of Hell opens the gates of Hell in the seventh month to allow neglected spirits – hungry ghosts – to return to the land of the living to get their food, shelter and money essentials. It is the fear of roaming ghosts – said to try to possess children who wander about late at night or drown people who go swimming – that stimulates grand offerings of food, and paper money and goods. This appeases the insatiable ghosts so that "misfortune" doesn't befall the living.
A spirit may be neglected due to a lack of descendents or diminished filial piety. An improper burial (far away, at sea or after execution) also renders a spirit homeless and restless.
In Buddhism, the feeding of the ghosts is traced back to the tale of a monk whose previously sinful mother was a hungry ghost. Through the virtue of the many monks who accepted his huge offerings of food, he was able to release his mother from her abyss of misery. The fact that such filial piety has a beneficial effect on ancestors' lives in the afterlife is enough to make devout Buddhists attend carefully to this festival.
Meat, wine and incense are traditional offerings to ancestors. Luxurious paper goods, such as houses, clothing, cars, mobile phones, plasma TVs and money – Hell banknotes – are incinerated at roadsides all over Hong Kong during the festival. These gifts ease discomfort and allow the ghosts to increase their merit or escape punishments in Hell. The banknotes are often printed in huge denominations (if only they were real!) with the Lord of Hell's face, or even a US president, on them. A word of caution for those inclined to collect these fascinating offerings – it's bad luck to keep items intended for the dead. And giving Hell banknotes to a living person makes your ill intentions obvious!
During the festival period, Chinese opera helps keep the ghosts entertained and unable to create havoc. This is also the time of free rice distribution to worshippers and the poor in Hong Kong.
Will the extravagance of the offerings truly make the transition from Hell to Heaven easier? We may not know for sure till our own turn comes….
The Hungry Ghosts Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which is 8 August this year. |