About Qing Ming

Qing Ming is one of the most important Chinese cultural festivals. During this time, it is customary to visit the graves or memorials of the dearly departed as an expression of filial piety. Food, flowers and joss paper paraphernalia are also offered, as it is believed these will provide a more comfortable afterlife.

For Buddhists however, death is not the end but the beginning of a new journey. Thus, the living can help the deceased gain a better rebirth through dedications of merits, which are generated through virtuous deeds such as offering candles, incense and prayers to the Buddhas.

About Pujas

A puja is a formal set of rituals and prayers to help you overcome obstacles and create the results you’re looking for. Pujas work by purifying karma and creating merits. Merits are a special type of energy that can give you a good life situation and propel you to the highest spiritual state. What’s more, merits are superior to good karma because they won’t run out.

Pujas are traditionally performed in temples by qualified monks, nuns or lay practitioners. Each puja is centred around a specific Buddha deity, which is in turn centred around a particular aspect of enlightened activity or quality in order to fulfil a specific function.

They are done on behalf of benefactors who contribute towards the cost of the pujas and offerings. In return, the benefactor receives specific benefits such as:

• Healing + long life
• Better finances
• Success in personal + business endeavours
• Protection from seen + unseen dangers
• Fewer obstacles + challenges
• Favourable situations
• Purification of past negative karma
• Good karma + great merits
• Positive rebirth in higher realms

Puja offerings

It is customary to make an offering when requesting a puja. Puja offerings are a practice of generosity which adds to the accumulation of merit and creates auspicious connections between the benefactor, the person being prayed for, the Buddha being prayed to, and the sangha/practitioners offering the prayers and pujas. Puja costs are generally determined by:

• Puja type and size
• The physical offerings required such as candles, flowers, incense, tormas (ritual cakes), tsog (feast offerings) and other substances
• Token monetary offerings for monks, pastors or puja practitioners
• Contributions to cover the running costs of the monastery/temple.

Further Reading

• Qing Ming remembrance puja at Kechara
• Something simple for the deceased
• Relic Temple Memorial Hall at Kechara Forest Retreat
• Advice at a funeral
• An exhumation of ancestral graves