Today marks the first day of the Hungry Ghost Month where the ghouls roam the earth when they are set free from hell to create trouble - that's what I was told by some old wives years ago.
So fast forward to today and this posting - it is the start of one month of burning hell for me. The people who observe the rituals of the Hungry Ghost Month will be burning all sorts of stuff for the ghouls - usually paper money as far as I know - and also leaving food around. The area around our home will be littered with ash from the burnt offerings, there will be joss sticks stuck along the pavements, and the grass would have been damaged by these inconsiderate people.
Years ago, before the recessions started - we would find these giant joss sticks in the industrial estate waiting to be burnt. What a waste of money!
I don't have a problem with the burning if the people did it sensibly - burn in the bins provided; have fire fighting equipment should there be a disaster; place joss sticks in central zone or in one area instead of a long line scattered all over; and generally clean up after themselves.
These people leave a mess for the cleaners to deal with in the morning - just because they pay conservancy charges does not mean that they have to be inconsiderate!
Many years ago, I could see about 20 small fired within my line of sight around our estate. I called the fire brigade because it seemed like a fire hazard. The fire brigade came and DID NOTHING!!
So to those who must do something for hungry ghosts, please be considerate to those around you. Thank you!
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1 comment:
When I went through work orientation at NUH some moons ago, they invited Singapore's chief Taoist priest, amongst other religious leaders to advise Nurses on religious issues with patients.
I took the opportunity and asked about the litter caused by 7 months bonfires and the damage they caused and he replied that actually, there is no necessity to burn the items close to home and that originally, the people were meant to burn the items at the temples in the assigned kilns but members of the Singapore public have taken things in to their own hands for convenience sake. Now, I wish these priests would inform their parishioners to save the Earth that we share, instead of destroying public property.
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