Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for educating. Didn't really know the procedures when praying in temple. Few questions here:

1. The dead will have his soul collected by the Hell guards. Who is subject to this? All Chinese ppl or only Buddhist/Taoist? What about Christians or atheist Chinese?

2. Why does it always rain during 9 Emperor God time?

3. I went to a temple and there is a white Dog/Wolf statue. Wonder what is the story about the dog? Is it named 天狗?

4. Just to share my own experience. I went to Thean Hou Temple with my friends to ask for guidance (Kau Chim) and I got a not so good chim (with a number that i forgot). The next week I went again with another group of friends and I tried again, hoping to get better results. But the same number came out, I was stunned. Means one cannot run away from his fate.

What about fortune tellers who can tell ur future by seeing ur birth dates. Are they any how related to sin tua? They are releasing secrets of the sky aren't they?

Thanks for the info with the furnished photos for better understanding.
Further question. Some ppl are "adopted" by some of the gods, mainly Guan Yin. How does this adoption works? My friend when he was very young was adopted by Er Lang Shen. He was too young to remember and then his parents divorced. He followed the father and later became Christian. Then he grew up and said he had dreams about this "3-eyed" guy. He later found out about the adoption from his mum

Thanks again Nacht. Really learned a lot from this thread. Before this I was told a temple nearby is praying to "ghosts" which are actually the Hell deities as their faces look scary. Previously misunderstood and I thought the temple is doing some black magic or evil sorcery. Now this clears up after I understand thei Hell deities job and role.

More questions, if you don't mind:
1. Is gambling allowed in temple? they seem to do that often.
2. The temple provides service for 打小人 on certain dates. How does this works?

Nacht, regarding your story when u were chased by ghosts when u were young. U believed u could have died. How does a ghost technically kill a human?

I heard before my friend's uncle was hospitalised with unknown sickness. Even doctor can't find out the cause of sickness and said he has only 1 week left to live. So they brought a sifu to visit the uncle. Apparently, the uncle was disturbed by some spirit and the sifu chased it away. The surprised doctor then said it's a miracle he survived.

Thanks Nacht. No wonder they say woman suicide in red cloth is more powerful.

I always wondered why a woman who died wearing red is more powerful...could it be because "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"? LOL

Actually I do not think it just "ends" as per se after you are strong enough or reach adulthood and the deity will continue to look after you. Its the same as having a dad and when you are younger you "seek" his attention and he pay more attention to you but as you grow up into adulthood you talk less and interact less (remember to treat your dad nicely). And as i say, you are linked with that deity and that deity will continue to look after you. Just that you grew stronger and doesnt really need to rely on them. I believe the "ties" will not be broken at all.

When a child is having some difficulties or problem, as the example given by nachtsider such as sickly, prone to being disturbed by evil spirits (usually manifest with signs like nightly crying, screaming, restlessness, easily startled and so on), normally the parents will be asked to seek the temple's help. The temple will see (depends on the temple, some might use date of birth and consult a special book, some can terus "see" and tell, some consult "sifu" or totem master or consult a medium and the list goes on) and they will then tell you which deity (or deities, it could be more than one) or what you need to do to help. It could be none deity. I seen a guy whom needs a "Datuk", as in a title Datuk and after find one whom willing to accept him as his godson, the kid's body automatically become better and the illness does not really come back. Anyway, most of these cases usually involves deity or deities.

Some might ask, if there is why is there more than one? and in this case, how to know which one to find? Depending on the "problem" the child faces, some of the problems can be solved by a number of deities. For example, if due to "past" life or some sort of karma, one child is prone to be disturbed by "spirits", a lot of deities can help. The child might also face problem that only one deity can handle (that particular deity's area of specialty). Anyway, if a lot of deity can help, then the "affinity" of the child will be taken into consideration and even with the date of birth, there still might exist a few deities to choose from.

So, in that case how to know which deity to "choose"? Easy, go to the temple of the said deity and see if you got "fate". A case which i personally knew. A child has 3 deities that was recommended to the parents. The first day, the parents decided to bring to one of the temple whom host one of the deity. At the time of departure, it rains quite hard and due to the body condition of the child, the parents decided to call it off. Second day they decided to try a second temple but the condition of the child suddenly got worse and they call it off. On the third day, they decided to visit the third temple and everything went smoothly. After that i was told that it actually mean that the first two is not the one the child should seek but the third one is. This one is from experience and how I knew about these stuff but there is no hard evidence and mostly from hearsay from people in this area. But I above two cases I know them personally and that was what i was told.

so.... nachtsider. Am i right?

A simlar story at the Indian temple in Mid Valley

Ghosts can exert influence upon the physical realm (e.g. making themselves visible to humans, speaking to/communicating with humans, moving objects, etc), although doing so requires energy expenditure on their part, which is why most ghostly encounters are quite mild - even the very act of making themselves visible to humans necessitates a ghost to expend energy, which each ghost only has a limited pool of.

Certain ghosts have larger energy pools than others; a ghost can derive strength from its emotions (e.g. from its sadness or its rage, if it died a wrongful death), from feeding off living creatures (which is why people sometimes feel weak or fatigued after encountering ghosts - they have had their vitality sapped), or from anchor objects (objects that hold significance to them in some way, which they can draw power from or use to help themselves manifest - an anchor object can even take the form of another person, a loved one).

A ghost with a large enough energy pool can use it to exert harmful influence upon a human, including interfering with said human's physical, mental and spiritual faculties - this can present as physical illness (your uncle's case), or even mental illness/behavioural problems.

If the ghost keeps up this onslaught for long enough, it can definitely kill its victim - either directly, via physical illness, or indirectly (e.g. driving the victim to suicide).

Just curious, is there any possibility that a Hell Deities cross path with Heaven Deities?

Would they "fight"/ "argue" or they just do their own role/ job function?

I'm a "cina kampung" from kelantan and born into these culture. When I was a boy, I really look forward to the festivities and celebrations that we would have in honour of these deities. I even looked forward to being "chopped" at the back of my old t-shirt with those "bloodied chops". (Back then I only know that it will protect me but thanks to this thread now I know why  ).

We also looked forward to the event where 4 guys will carry a deity's statue on a "kio" and it will turn and turn. To the child me then, it was fascinating how 4 big burly guys could be subdued and put under control by a small statue. Just look at how they struggled to keep still. 

New query for Nacht. Why is that some people have the third eye and can see "things"? And how come children and kids are more prone to seeing "things"?

Who's that ah pek in a long white janggut?

i want to ask sintua heibaiwhchang can know our dead and life book?

Hi Nach,
How many number of joss sticks that we use to pray to all these deities in heavenly, earthly and under world? I was told that different numbers of joss sticks. For example: Heavenly deities- 3 sticks, Earthly -5 sticks and underworld 7 sticks? Can you confirm?
Thks.

You have been taught the proper basic behaviour, which is highly commendable, although there certainly is more to the nuts-and-bolts of prayer. 

I make it a point to be at my most presentable before attending a temple. This includes having a shower and putting on fresh clothes. If you are female, visiting a temple when you are menstruating is not advisable; menstrual blood, so heavy in yin energy, is a substance that confounds/contaminates the temple's spiritual 'ecosystem' and prevents rituals from being optimally conducted.

Certain taboos exist where it comes to certain deities, and one should be mindful to adhere to them. For instance, one should not consume non-Halal items before praying to Datuk spirits, or offer them such items. It pays to do one's research where it comes to these matters.

Your first port of call when you get to the temple is the altar to the Heavenly Hosts/the Jade Emperor; this is usually represented by a large urn standing just outside the main entrance. An offering of three incense sticks, representing Heaven, Earth and Humanity, is the standard for most Heavenly gods, and applies here. As per folklore, incense sticks serve 'to waft your prayers/wishes to the gods', akin to smoke signals.

Standing with the urn in front of you and with your back to the main entrance, clasp the incense sticks in both hands, bow your head  or bow at the waist, and make your prayer while remaining bowed. Once you are done, place the incense sticks in the urn using your left hand; this hand is closer to the heart, the seat of Yang energy, and using it thus also creates a gesture of sincerity.

Most large temples have a double door as the main entrance, with small side entrances flanking it. Do not enter via the main entrance, but via the small entrance to the right of the double door instead (the right side is always favoured first, as this is the side that represents Yang, while the left represents Yin). The main entrance is reserved for the deities' use, and is also the prime conduit for the temple's spiritual energies.

Next, head for the main altar in the interior of the temple; this will display the principal deity to whom the temple is dedicated. This deity need not necessarily be the most senior deity enshrined within, but are nevertheless the next in line. A three stick offering will again be the order of the day - this is in deference to the fact that they are the 'guest of honour'. Same prayer procedure as before, with you facing the main altar this time.

You then similarly pay your respects to the other deities in the interior, travelling in an anticlockwise direction. In other words, once you have paid your respects at the central altar, you then make offerings to the deities enshrined to the right of the altar, and then the deities enshrined to the left of the altar (again, Yang over Yin). After this, you exit the temple through the small entrance to the left of the double door (once more, Yang over Yin), and pay your respects to any deities enshrined outside.

The other deities will often consist of a mixture of Heavenly gods, Earth gods and Hell deities. As above, most Heavenly gods will warrant a three-stick offering - unless there are specific indications that individual offerings are a must, you can collectively offer three sticks to a group of Heavenly gods (this will be apparent when only a single incense urn is placed before two or more statues). There are one or two exceptions, such as the Five Camp Commanders, a group of Heavenly warriors who are collectively offered five sticks instead of three (I will speak more about them later).

The Earth gods are normally collectively offered five incense sticks, as they are fivefold, in charge of the soil of all five cardinal directions. And the Hell deities are normally collectively offered seven incense sticks. Seven is a number associated with the Yin aspect and death - each phase of the moon, a Yin heavenly body, is a seven-day cycle, seven seven-day periods, totalling forty-nine days, are how long it supposedly takes for a newly-deceased soul to sever itself from the mortal realm (see my previous posts on the 'bail period' that a soul receives prior to heading for the Netherworld), and the Hungry Ghost Festival takes place during the Seventh Lunar Month.

The general order in which one pays their respects is Heavenly gods first, Earth Gods next, and Hell deities last (you've got it - Yang over Yin). Once you are done, drop an offering into the temple's donation box if you feel like it. You are not obliged to make an offering, but if you do, the offering is traditionally commensurate with the seriousness of the problem for which you are seeking assistance.

As previously mentioned, it is very bad manners to bald-facedly make demands of the gods, especially if you haven't been a particularly good person. But a sincere, virtuous individual in genuine need of help - that's another story. You need not provide your particulars, nor need you necessarily go into all the nitty-gritty details; merely saying something along the lines of the following will do: "Sir/madam, I am in a time of need. I know I may not necessarily deserve help, but if you somehow deem me worthy of assistance and decide to smile upon me, I would be very much obliged. Thank you in advance." Neither does your prayer have to be said out loud.

Attending a temple with no desire to seek assistance is more than acceptable - in fact, I pretty much always attend temples with no requests in mind whatsoever. You adhere to the same procedure as above, but your prayer will obviously be different. Something along these lines is fine: "Sir/madam, I am here to pay my respects - I hope that you enjoy my offerings, and that you have a good day."

Hope this helps. 

Hi Nacthsider,
I was told that the chief diety in charged (or BIG BOSS) of Big bro & Small bro above is "Tu Si Wan". Do you have any infor on this? Perhap, some pictures of how the BIG BOSS look like.
Thanks.

Hi Nacht, not sure if this has been mentioned here before in this thread. can share with us about ppl keeping "little ghosts"?

How are categories #1 and #2 possible? That means the spiritual police are incompetent?

Bro Natch and I were chatting and he came out with a couplet.
In dedication to the 9 netherworld warriors
九陰忠貞遵敕令... 將軍剛毅守萬民


And I came out with one too ,
陰曹善惡必經路 分明無私萬民服

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