Practice This Week & Qing Ming

My practice for the week:
Monday – self practice at the Westin;
Tuesday – moonday, so no practice (so good, yah? – actually, was lazy, so happy to take a break);
Wednesday – no practice as it was Qing Ming for my family (more details below);
Thursday – self practice at Westin;
Friday – instead of my usual evening class at SS2, did morning self practice at the Westin, as it was Good Friday.

So, all in all, a good practice week in terms of frequency. Also, no nude encounters this week, which always set the tone of a calm practice.

So, a little details on Qing Ming, for those who are interested. It’s held once a year, and it is like All Souls’ Day for Chinese. It’s really more like Ancestors Day. Actually, I’m not sure this is a Buddhist festival. I think the Chinese, in particular the Chinese Buddhists, generally practices it. Can anyone clarify on this?


When I was young, it was a big occasion for the family (I mean bigger occasion as it is still a big event now for us; just a much smaller scale compared to the old days). The family, as in my uncles, aunts and their families would all meet up at my grandmother’s house in the early morning, have a breakfast feast before heading off to the cemetery. Then we would trek and navigate through many other tombstones before finding our ancestors’ graves. As this is a once a year event; first things to clear out are the weeds and the leaves on and around the tombstones. Then food is offered to the ancestors. A couple of two sided wooden objects are thrown on the ground. This is done repeatedly until the objects show a particular combination, which seems to signify the ancestors are done eating. Then the food is repacked into smaller bags and each family gets a portion of the food to take to their house.

Nowadays, it is a much simpler affair for us. Our ancestors’ graves have since been exhumed and cremated and all their ashes are kept in urns, which are now located at the temple. So, no need for gardening and all that stuff. Apparently, one can pre-book space in the temple for one’s final resting place.

I fear this is a dying event (sorry for the pun - can't resist) for my family. The family is now all spread out globally, and unless there is one in my generation willing to organise these events, this annual event will eventually fade away.