Pictures of Gu Gong San Wang aka 3 Dukes of Gu Gong (南宋古公三王爺)

Gu Gong San Wang (古公三王), the Three Generals of Late Song Dynasty (南宋三將士), hometown in Zhang Pu Hu Xi Village (漳浦湖西鄉).

During the battle with the Yuan invaders, Gu Gong San Wang (consist of General Liu Xin (柳信), General Ye Cheng (葉誠) and General Huang Yong (黃勇)) led a group of Armies to rescue the 2 young Emperors, but to their disappointment, their mission failed.

Due to the death of the Song Emperors, Song Armies were defeated by the Yuan and soon, the Three Generals died in the battle.

After their death and due to their Loyalty, the Three Generals were being honoured as Deities.

Manifestation Anniversary Day of Lord Tai Yi (太乙天尊化身下降日)

Manifestation Anniversary in folks belief known as Birthday (誕辰).

 

Every lunar year, the 11 Day of Lunar 11 Month (農曆十一月十一日 in year 2007, it falls on 20 Dec) is consider as the Manifestation Anniversary Day of Lord Tai Yi, which mean this is the day where Lord Tai Yi is being manifested by San Qing (三清道祖) aka The Three Pure One to assist Jade Emperor (玉皇大天尊) in looking into the task of Salvation the Suffering Souls & Spirits (超度魂靈).

 

Lord Tai Yi is the Only Initial ONE Heavenly Lord, in Main Stream & Folks Taoism, that being appointed to look into the Salvation of Suffering Souls & Spirits task.

 

So on this day, what shall one self do?

 

In order to show one self’s gratitude to Lord Tai Yi, for his hardship in Salvation of the Suffering Souls & Spirits, one self can prepare simple offerings and called upon his title for blessings or recite Mantras/Scriptures that are dedicated to Lord Tai Yi.

 

Offerings can be the Taoist Five Offerings (道教五供) or Taoist Ten Offerings (道教十供) or just simply 3 sets of Fruits (三色鮮果).

 

On the day of the Anniversary, one self just needed to place the Offerings on the Main Altar at home (for those who wished to set up a separate Altar, it is encouraged), sincerely light 3 sticks of incenses, pay respect to the Heaven first and then kneel down in front of the Main Altar to initial the Ceremony.

 

After kneeling, recite the Praise Mantra of Lord Tai Yi (Qing Hua Bao Gao 青華寶誥) to evoke the energy of Lord Tai Yi and by doing so, hope that the one self can be connected with Lord Tai Yi.

 

After reciting the Mantra, sincerely place the incenses into the Urn and then, start to call upon Lord Tai Yi’s Official Title: Tai Yi Xun Sheng Shi Fang Jiu Ku Tian Zun (太乙尋聲十方救苦天尊). Before calling upon the Official Title, make a short request to Lord Tai Yi for giving blessing to any passed-away relatives or family members of one self (mention their names) and then start calling the Title.

 

Usually by calling upon the Official Titles and asking for the blessings, the passed-away will be blessed by Lord Tai Yi and he will salvage the souls accordingly.

 

In Chinese Culture or Taoism, Filial Piety (孝道) is one of the most important practices that one self shall withhold and practiced. Once one self is sincere and filially requested Lord Tai Yi to give the blessing to the death, Lord Tai Yi will be able to fulfill the request.

 

Wu Liang Shou

Introduction of the Taoist Five Offerings (道教五供簡介)

In Taoism, while paying respects and doing offerings for Deities, the Five Offerings will be presented.

And so, when are the Five Offerings started to be used in Taoism?

A lot of people might be wondering, are these Five Offerings a "duplicate product" from the other Religions?

To be honest and true, our Taoist Five Offerings can consider as the oldest set of Offerings invented for the Offerings for Deities far before any other Religions being imported into China.

So, what are consists in the Five Offerings?

Here they are:

Incense, Flowers, Lamp/Candles, Water & Fruit.

So any meaning behind these Five Offerings?

Of cos there're meaning behind, here's the brief intro on the meanings:

Incense represents Non-action or Action beyond Actions, in brief, All things are created or formed from Nothing or so-called Null. (香代表無為)

Flower represents Nature. Dao is a form of Nature and Nature is Dao. By offering Flowers to the Deities, one self will learn to appreciate how the Nature can change one self and affect the others. (花代表自然)

Lamp/Candle represents Accommodating & Respecting. By learning to accommodate things, one self will see the Light of Truth and by giving the necessary respecting to the others, one self will gain the respects and likes from the others. (燭代表順化)

Water represents Pureness, Calm & Peacefulness. Stillness of the Water is a form of silent cultivation. By reminding one self to stay calmness like Water, one self will always be blessed with the essence of Water – Peace & Pure. (水代表清靜)

Fruit represents Fullest or Successful. By withholding the Upright Teachings and promote the Correct Culture, one self will be able to see the "Fruits" of his/her efforts and hardship. By offering Fruits, one self will be able to bless with Successful and Fullest in everything he/she does or request. (果代表圓滿)

So when can we do the Five Offerings?

On the First & Fifteen Day of the Lunar Month or on any Big Festivals & Anniversary Celebrations.

Can we add more Offerings besides these Five Offerings?

Of cos you can. You can add any other Fruits Offerings or Traditional Cookies Offerings, as long as one self is comfortable with.

So what is the correct placement position?

Here's the arrangement for the Five Offerings:

 

Pictures of The Officer of Silk-Harvesting and the Five Various Ghosts (蠶官與五鬼)

Can Guan Yu Wu Gui (蠶官與五鬼) aka The Officer of Silk-Harvesting and the Five Various Ghosts.

In Spiritual Records, Can Guan aka The Officer of Silk-Harvesting was being appointed by Jade Emperor (玉皇大天尊) to assist Lord Tai Sui (值年太歲) in looking after the Harvesting Issues of the Silk and looking after the Birth-rate-issue of Silkworms.

Besides the normal task of looking after the Silk-Harvesting and Silkworm Birth-rate, Can Guan was also a Deity of Prosperity (豐收興榮之神). And so, in-order to be blessed with good harvesting, farmers would pay respect to Can Guan.

Wu Gui here meaning, the Spirits that obstruct the Harvesting. By appointing Can Guan to look after and control the movements of Wu Gui, normal Harvesting would be blessed.

And this is the reason that you can always see Wu Gui are being placed together with Can Guan.




Can Guan Yu Wu Gui (蠶官與五鬼) aka The Officer of Silk-Harvesting and the Five Various Ghosts.

In Spiritual Records, Can Guan aka The Officer of Silk-Harvesting was being appointed by Jade Emperor (玉皇大天尊) to assist Lord Tai Sui (值年太歲) in looking after the Harvesting Issues of the Silk and looking after the Birth-rate-issue of Silkworms.

Besides the normal task of looking after the Silk-Harvesting and Silkworm Birth-rate, Can Guan was also a Deity of Prosperity (豐收興榮之神). And so, in-order to be blessed with good harvesting, farmers would pay respect to Can Guan.

Wu Gui here meaning, the Spirits that obstruct the Harvesting. By appointing Can Guan to look after and control the movements of Wu Gui, normal Harvesting would be blessed.

And this is the reason that you can always see Wu Gui are being placed together with Can Guan.








Can Guan Yu Wu Gui (蠶官與五鬼) aka The Officer of Silk-Harvesting and the Five Various Ghosts.

In Spiritual Records, Can Guan aka The Officer of Silk-Harvesting was being appointed by Jade Emperor (玉皇大天尊) to assist Lord Tai Sui (值年太歲) in looking after the Harvesting Issues of the Silk and looking after the Birth-rate-issue of Silkworms.

Besides the normal task of looking after the Silk-Harvesting and Silkworm Birth-rate, Can Guan was also a Deity of Prosperity (豐收興榮之神). And so, in-order to be blessed with good harvesting, farmers would pay respect to Can Guan.

Wu Gui here meaning, the Spirits that obstruct the Harvesting. By appointing Can Guan to look after and control the movements of Wu Gui, normal Harvesting would be blessed.

And this is the reason that you can always see Wu Gui are being placed together with Can Guan.

Pictures of the Taoist Four Celestial Inspectors (道教四值功曹)

Si Zhi Gong Cao (四值功曹) aka The Four Inspectors of Year (值年), Month (值月), Day (值日) and Hour (值時).

According to Taoist Records, these Four Inspectors will travel around the whole Three Realms (遊行三界) to do inspections and records on things happened, Mortal Encounters and any other Abnormal Issues.

Besides that, their tasks are to receive Spiritual Petitions (疏文奏牒) send by Taoist Priests and/or Taoist Spiritual Masters for Jade Emperor (玉皇大天尊) to do reviews and other Celestial Departments for approval.

And so, these Four Inspectors can consider as a group of very important Deities in Taoism.

For Higher Res Pictures, please proceed to think link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taoism_deity_singapore_2007/photos/album/1839406572/pic/list

Pictures of Taoist Protector Er Lang Shen (道教護法二郎神)

Er Lang Shen (二郎神), a Celestial Official Title (道教神名) for Deities who is strongly connected with the element of water & slaying of demons or Negative Entities.

In the whole Chinese Deity System, there are a total of 3 Er Lang Shen.

Each of them is recorded in different era.

Here, I will do some brief introduction on the individual one:

1 – Li Er Lang (李二郎), son of Li Bing (李冰), a Shu General (蜀將) during the Warring Period 戰國時代 (around BC250).

During that era, due to lack of facilities in opening of new farms, directing of new canals, etc. Li Bing and his son Li Er Lang volunteered to assist the commoners in performing the tasks. Soon the tasks were completed.

And in one year in that era, snake demons appeared in the canal where they had opened, in-order to get rid of the disasters, Li Bing and his son Li Er Lang went to the canal side to fight with the snake demons and soon, the demons were subdued.

From then, the commoners respect them as Deities and after they passed-away, the commoners/folks dedicated Temples to them.

In later era, Li Bing was given an Official title of Guang Ji Wang (廣濟王) and his son Li Er Lang with the title of Hui Ling Hou (惠靈侯).

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2 – Priest of Mt Qing Cheng Zhao Yu (青城道士趙昱) aka Zhao Zhong Ming (趙仲明), born before Sui Dynasty 隋朝 (AD581 - 618), was once an Area Magistrate Officer.

After seeking Master-ship under Master Li Yu, Zhao Yu went to Mt Qing Cheng to do his self-cultivation.

One year, in Jia State, a gigantic water demon appeared in one of the country side river, upon knowing the existing of such a demon, Zhao Yu came out from Mt Qing Cheng to Jia State to do the slaying of the demon.

After several rounds of battling with the demon, Zhao Yu managed to subdue the demon.

From then, the folks dedicated a temple to him near to the mouth of the river, which later the folks addressed him as Guan Kou Er Lang Shen Zhao Yu (灌口二郎神趙昱)

Now in China Si Chuan Province (四川省), you are still able to find the temple dedicated to Guan Kou Er Lang Shen.

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3 – Er Lang Shen Yang Jian (二郎神楊戩).

This is a newly known Deity after the classic Feng Shen Bang (封神榜) appeared during the Late Ming Dynasty (晚明年間).

In Feng Shen Bang, he was known as the Leading person of Mt Mei (梅山首領), which later subdued the 6 demons to be his assistants – later people addressed them as Mei Shan Qi Sheng (梅山七聖).

In some myths, Yang Jian was known as the nephew of Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝之姪).

So what’s the features of Er Lang Shen?

Here’s the feature to spot a Er Lang Shen:

1 – a white face or normal face with 3 eyes

2 – carrying a Three Pointed Headed Spear

3 – a black dog

4 – one hand having the Formation of Sword Fingers Gesture

Till today, a lot of folks still cant differentiate Er Lang Shen and Hua Guang, so in the future, when you are looking for Er Lang Shen, remember to look out for the above mentioned features.

2007 Winter Solstice (丁亥年冬至節)

Start:	Dec 22, '07 2:15p
Location:	All over the World

Winter Solstice of Year 2007 falls on 22 Dec 2007, a Saturday.

The Winter Solstice will start at 14:02Pm, so for those who follow the Traditional Timing to do Celebration or Pay Respect to Deities & Ancestors, do take note of the timing.

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Dong Zhi, a day for remembering our Forefathers, Ancestors and also to show our Gratitude to the Deities.

Besides that, Dong Zhi is also a day for the family to reunion. This year, it falls on a Saturday and so, do celebrate this big occasion with your family.

Pictures of Liu Sheng Zhe of 36 Heavenly Generals (三十六天將之劉聖者)

Liu Sheng Zhe (刘聖者) aka Liu Jiang Jun (刘將軍) or General Liu, born in Pre-Song Dynasty (生于宋朝前五國十代), hometown in Hokkien Province Fu Zhou City (家鄉於福建省福州市), in some contexts, he was being recorded as a Spiritual Master from Jiao Zhi Kingdom (跤趾國) – which is today’s Vietnam (現今越南).

As recorded, his real name was known as Liu Zhi Da (劉志達) or Liu Wu Xiu (劉武秀). Due to him having some Spiritual relationship with Zhang Gong Fa Zhu (張公法主), in later part of the History, a lot of folks tend to acknowledge him as Zhang Gong Fa Zhu's sworn-brother (被后人誤會為張公法主之結義兄弟刘公聖君).

After growing up, Liu Zhi Da made vows to minimize sufferings that the folks encountered, Liu Zhi Da went around seeking master-ship under Spiritual Masters. Soon, he came to Mt Qi Tai (七台山), from then, he stayed at the Mountain to do his self-cultivation.

After knowing that Zhang Gong Sheng Jun was an Upright person and a person who volunteered to assist the needy, Liu Zhi Da approached Zhang Gong Sheng Jun in assisting him in the providing of assistance to the folks (at the time of Liu Zhi Da approached Zhang Gong Sheng Jun, Liu Zhi Da was already a cultivated person with an age of 180-200 years older than Zhang Gong Sheng Jun).

One year, during the subduing of demons in the City where they stayed in, Liu Zhi Da scarified himself and from then, he was being honoured as one of the Proetectors known as Liu Sheng Zhe of the Hokkien Fu Zhou Clan.

According to records, after Buddhism entered China, another Traditional Sect from India came into China too. This Traditional Sect was known as Yoga Sect (Yu Jia Jiao 瑜伽教).

In order for the new teaching of Yoga Sect to spread around among the folks, the non-Chinese Sect imported Liu Sheng Zhe into the Sect as one of its Founder, from then, Zhang Sheng Zhe was also known as the Spiritual Master of a non-Chinese Sect.

This was the reason why for the outlook of the statue of Liu Sheng Zhe or Liu Gong to be in standing position and having a strange hand gesture. The hand gesture is a hand formation of the Yoga Sect.

Taoist Mantra for the Death 2 - "Wang Sheng Zhou" (道教往生神咒二)

道教往生神咒(二)

Taoist Mantra for the Salvation of Souls (Leading to the Eastern Palace)

太上敕令。超汝孤魂。

Tai Shang Chi Ling. Zhao Ru Gu Hun

 

鬼魅一切。四生沾恩。

Gui Mei Yi Qie. Si Sheng Zhan En

有頭者超。無頭者升。

You Tou Zhe Chao. Wu Tou Zhe Sheng

 

鎗殊刀殺。跳水懸繩。

Qiang Shu Dao Sha. Tiao Shui Xuan Shen

明死暗死。冤曲屈亡。

Ming Si An Si. Yuan Qu Qu Wang

 

債主冤家。讨命兒郎。

Zhai Zhu Yuan Jia. Tao Ming Er Lang

跪吾台前。八卦放光。

Gui Wu Tai Qian. Ba Gua Fang Guang

 

站坎而出。超生他方。

Zhan Kan Er Chu. Chao Sheng Ta Fang

為男為女。自身承當。

Wei Nan Wei Nv. Zi Shen Cheng Dang

 

富貴貧賤。由汝自招。

Fu Gui Ping Jian. You Ru Zi Zhao

敕救等眾。急急超生。

Chi Jiu Deng Zhong. Ji Ji Chao Sheng

 

敕救等眾。急急超生。

Chi Jiu Deng Zhong. Ji Ji Chao Sheng

 

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Mantra for the Death aka Taoist Mantra for the Salvation of Souls (Leading to the Eastern Palace) - allowing the souls & spirits to process to the "land of no-sufferings".

Usually this Mantra is recite together in the Taoist Scripture while doing the Rituals for the Death (Pass-on) or Salvation for the Suffering Souls.

In the Night Taoist Home Work or Night Ritual Ceremony (道教晚壇功課), this Mantra is included, usually this Night Ritual is being conducted by a Priest or Taoist Spiritual Person.

 

 

Introduction of Lord Nan Dou aka Nan Dou Xing Jun (延壽六司南斗星君)

 
Nan Dou Xing Jun (延壽六司南斗星君) aka Lord Nan Dou, Nan Dou Liu Si Xing Jun (南斗六司星君) or The Six Longevity Lords of the Southern Hemisphere.

In Taoism, besides Lord Emperor Chang Sheng Da Di (南極長生大帝) and Lord Bei Dou (消災七元北斗星君), Nan Dou Xing Jun are the Deities that one self can pay respect to for prolonging of one's age, ceasing of the death disasters and changing of one’s fortune & luck (延壽, 度厄,司祿).

Since our Heavenly Master Zhang Dao Ling (張天師) started his promoting of Taoism, Lord Nan Dou was one of the important Deities that Taoists must pay respect to and because in Taoism, we are a Religion & a form of Teaching that greatly depended on the movement of Stars and so Lord Nan Dou was being highly respected by All Schools, Sects and Taoists together with Lord Bei Dou.

In some contexts, Lord Nan Dou was also being recognized as the Star Lord that being appointed to look after the Element of Fire (火行). And so, in some of our Taoist Mantras that associated with the Element of Fire, Lord Nan Dou would be mentioned, etc.

Due to the position of Lord Nan Dou being located (around the South Pole – opposite of North Pole where Lord Bei Dou was located), he was being appointed by the San Qing (三清道祖) aka The Three Pure One to assist Lord Bei Dou in looking into Living Beings' Life Span and Age issues.

In Taoist Rituals/Ceremonies, Li Dou (禮斗) or Bai Dou (拜斗) is one of the many Rituals/Ceremonies that is being dedicated to Lord Bei Dou and also, to honour the Lord Nan Dou.

In Taoism, once oneself is being claimed that the age is going to meet with an end, by doing a Petition Report to Lord Nan Dou and by placing the 6-Stars Lamp Formation (六星延壽燈法), oneself's life-span will somehow be prolonged (according to the merits and cultivation of the oneself, etc).

So who are the 6 Stars in the Lord Nan Dou Group?

Here they are:

1st Star: Tian Fu Si Ming Xing Jun 天府司命星君

2nd Star: Tian Xiang Si Lu Xing Jun 天相司祿星君

3rd Star: Tian Liang Yan Shou Xing Jun 天梁延壽星君

4th Star: Tian Tong Yi Suan Xing Jun 天同益算星君

5th Star: Tian Shu Du E Xing Jun 天樞度厄星君

6th Star: Tian Ji Shang Sheng Xing Jun 天機上生星君