Manifestation Anniversary or Inspection Day of Emperor Lord Di Guan (中元地官大帝聖誕/校考朝)

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Emperor Lord Di Guan aka Di Guan Da Di or Emperor Lord of the Earthly Realm, is considered as a very important Taoist Deity that is being bestowed to take charge of the issues that are related to Mortals and also other Beings that stayed in the Earthly Realm, such as Mountainous Beings, Nether World Beings, etc.

On the 15th Day of Lunar 7 Month, Taoists & Chinese will visit Temples to pay respect to Di Guan Da Di, as a lot of people tend to mistaken this Day as the Birthday of Di Guan Da Di, which is not that accurate. This Day shall be considered as the Day of Inspection for Di Guan Da Di.

On the 15th Day of Lunar 7 Month, Di Guan Da Di will descend into the Mortal World with his subordinates to do recording and checking on the Credits & Merits of the various Being Groups and then from there, issued the necessary orders to eliminate the Debts & Sins accordingly to the records.

And so, in Taoism, this is a Day that can be classified as a Very Important Day or Festival to remember and take certain actions.

Okay, back to the main Topic.

Emperor Lord Di Guan’s Manifestation Anniversary falls on the 15th Day of Lunar 7 Month (in 2008, it falls on 15 Aug, Friday).

On this Day, remember to visit Temples that dedicate Altars or Statues to Di Guan Da Di to make your respect.

In Singapore, you are able to find the Altars at:

1) Havelock Road Tian Gong Temple (合樂律玉皇殿)
2) Bukit Merah View Lei Yin Temple (紅山景雷音寺)
3) Sin Ming Road Tian Hou Temple (新民路天后廟)

More info here: http://javewu.multiply.com/photos/album/91

And so, what to prepare?

According to our Chinese Custom & Folks Practice, here are some recommended items to be prepared for the paying respect:

1 Five Oranges (桔子)
2 Longevity Noodles (壽麵)
3 Longevity Peaches (壽桃)
4 Ang Ku Kueh (紅龜粿)
5 Huat Kueh (發糕)
6 Rice Wine (米酒)
7 Chinese Tea (茶)
8 Paper Offerings (紙料)
9 Candles (蠟燭)
10 Flowers or Lotus (鮮花或蓮花)
11 Di Guan She Zui Paper (地官赦罪紙馬)

Once all these stuffs are prepared and ready, then one self can proceed to the Temple.

1st, pay respect to the Heaven & the Main Deities in the Temple and then last, proceed to the Altar that honoured Di Guan Da Di.

Make a Bow in front of the Altar and then sincerely kneel down and proceed with the following Passage (for those who know how to recite the Bao Gao of Di Guan Da Di / Bao Gao Banner: http://javewu.multiply.com/photos/album/144):

今逢。
Jin Feng.

中元地官大帝。(拜)
Zhong Yuan Di Guan Da Di (Bow)

千秋聖誕之期。
Qian Qiu Sheng Dan Zhi Qi.

南洋新加坡共和國。 (你的住址) 。
Nan Yang Xin Jia Po Gong He Guo. (Your Address)

信士 (你的名字) 。及闔家同人。
Xin Shi (Your Name). Ji He Jia Tong Ren.

於此。
Yu Ci

虔備薄禮酒儀。
Qian Bei Bo Li Jiu Yi.

敬向。
Jing Xiang.

中元地官大帝。(拜)
Zhong Yuan Di Guan Da Di (Bow)

虔誠請安。慶賀聖誕。
Qian Cheng Qing An. Qing He Sheng Dan.

於此虔祈。
Yu Ci Qian Qi.

中元地官大帝。(拜)
Zhong Yuan Di Guan Da Di (Bow)

地生黃金富貴至。官封一品人上人。
Di Sheng Huang Jin Fu Gui Zhi. Guan Feng Yi Pin Ren Shang Ren

大威聖靈常佑護。帝尊赦罪善永存。
Da Wei Sheng Ling Chang You Hu. Di Zun She Zui Shan Yong Cun

以佑。
Yi You.

信士 (你的名字) 。及闔家同人。
Xin Shi (Your Name). Ji He Jia Tong Ren.

一年平安常在。月月福佑不怠。
Yi Nian Ping An Chang Zai. Yue Yue Fu You Bu Dai.

四季神光普照。萬事遂心安在。
Si Ji Shen Guang Pu Zhao. Wan Shi Sui Xin An Zai.

於此。
Yu Ci.

信士 (你的名字) 。及闔家同人。
Xin Shi (Your Name). Ji He Jia Tong Ren.

敬向。
Jing Xiang.

中元地官大帝。(拜)
Zhong Yuan Di Guan Da Di (Bow)

獻三拜三叩禮。
Xian San Bai Li.

一拜。再拜。三拜。禮成。(起立)
Yi Bai. Zai Bai. San Bai. Li Cheng (Raise)

After rising, make another sincere Bow and then left the spot.

After about 15 minutes, retrieve the Paper-offerings and then burn them off.

Once the Paper-offerings are being burnt, go back to the Altar, make another sincere Bow and then retrieve back the Offerings, bring them back home and share with the other members in the Family.

And so, the whole Paying Respect to Di Guan Da Di is considered end.