There are people who believe that Lord Guan has become the Jade Emperor and depict him in statue form as such, yes.

However, these people are merely a small subset of die-hard Lord Guan devotees.

I don't subscribe to this belief, either, because if Lord Guan were Jade Emperor, there would be a lot less going wrong with the world.

Great thread. Just finished reading all 17 pages. Keep it coming.


This post has been edited by Winning11: Mar 1 2015, 07:32 AM

Hi everyone. Great sharing & info we have here. Excellent job by TS & other forumers as well.
Im a christian & i find interest in expending my personal knowledge about others. Grew up watching chinese movies & dramas which are highly influenced by the topic.
On top of that, I apologized on behalf of other christians which purposely came here to judge or criticize our fellow brothers beliefs.
Keep on sharing & ignore them👍

I don't care if they judge or criticise. I can dish out as good as I can take. And any attention/publicity is good attention/publicity.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

Welcome.
I have one question. Do mediums have the ability to know whats going on in the other realm? I mean, the everyday routine of the deities/Gods. I always think that they live just like us. E.g: the Emperor gets angry & call everyone for a meeting etc...& mediums get the news & share it with us.

I think you know what i mean bro.

This post has been edited by figuremeout: Mar 1 2015, 07:49 PM

Not necessarily.

A medium can sometimes be privy to more information than the average person, but their 'security clearances' have limits; there remain a lot of goings-on in the unseen realm that they are not privy to.

Hell, there are a lot of goings-on in the unseen realm that even certain GODS are not privy to, as they vary in rank, clearance and even spheres of influence.

For example, one of the resident Hell deities at my teacher's temple stated that he had never been to Heaven before, much less met the Jade Emperor, and did not expect this state of affairs to change anytime soon.

Hi Nacht, I remember when I was growing up, there are two deities that my dad and mom were praying to and they are situated at the edge of our beds and one above side of stove/cooking area respectively.

I seldom see them being prayed to in modern houses, but never quite too sure why...

Can you share with me what are their stories, their origins, etc.?

Thanks

This post has been edited by EnergyAnalyst: Mar 2 2015, 09:57 AM

Near cooking area should be the Kitchen god i think. Not sure about the one at the edge of your bed.

If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to Kitchen God (灶君).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_God

stove god covered...how about bedside grandma? that is how we were asked to call her

http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh/%E5%BA%8A%E6%AF%8D

http://baike.baidu.com/view/2740835.htm


found it

This post has been edited by EnergyAnalyst: Mar 2 2015, 02:10 PM

Zao Jun/灶君, the Kitchen God, is considered the lord of the household - this is a throwback to ancient times, where the hearth, the stove, the kitchen, was considered the central feature of every home, as it was from the stove that the family's sustenance was derived. He is considered the personification of the hearth. The importance of the kitchen has obviously changed in this day and age, thus explaining why he is less worshiped in recent times. Just because you do not worship the Kitchen God in your home does not mean that he is absent, however.

It is the Kitchen God's job to oversee goings-on amongst the family inhabiting the house he resides in, and report back to the Jade Emperor and/or the local spiritual authorities. This reporting he normally does just before each New Year.

Most legends state that the Kitchen God is a singular deity, but I think the notion of multiple Kitchen Gods or at least multiple aspects/clones of one original Kitchen God, is quite an attractive possibility.

Here is a statue of the Kitchen God, plus an example of how his image is placed near the region of the stove.





Now for the 'bed deities'.

Chuang Gong/床公 and his wife Chuang Mu/床母 are domestic deities who specialise in the protection of the home's children aged 12 and below. Their domain is the bed or beds where the children sleep.



The couple have always been fairly obscure deities, mainly prayed to by rural and country folk, and only once a month - on the last night of the month, to be exact. But you can worship them if you are so inclined, particularly if you have young children whom would like them to watch over. It is nice to remind obscure deities that they are remembered.

All you need for this procedure is a 'huat kueh' brown sugar steamed cake, three sticks of incense, a cup of tea, a small bowl of vegetarian food (rice and vegetables will do), two red candles and three stacks of gold incense paper.

On the night in question (8 p.m. and onwards), place the items on a large tray and put the tray on the child's bed. Light the candles and stick them into each side of the huat kueh; then light the incense sticks, kneel before the bed and make your prayer; you must specify the child's name, date and time of birth for this.

Then stick the incense into the huat kueh, between the candles, and let the offerings stand for as long as it takes for the incense and candles to burn out. In the meanwhile, remove the gold paper from the tray and burn it outdoors. Once the incense and candles have burnt out, you're done - you may take everything away.

This rule is based on decency, as the bedroom is where one changes their clothes and engages in sexual or other intimate activity.

However, this should not be taken to mean that one cannot sleep near or before an altar, nor should it be taken to mean that a former bedroom, now unused as such, cannot be converted into a prayer room.

Thanks Nacht

stove= Food= good health makes sense, sometimes i wonder is it because we modern folks nowadays seldom pray to Zao Jun/灶君, the Kitchen God , that is why we get sick easily...hence it is about time to start praying back to then

By the same token,
bed= good sleep = good rest = good health...praying to them is therefore a good thing too, even for big children (young at heart folks like me), for growing old safely rather then growing up.


The problem today is really--- two

1. New houses design. I live in a condo, the kitchen is a tiny winy space where like most people, it is quite hard to put even a fridge, stove with all the modern cooking wares like micro wave, toaster, blender, etc. the challenge is therefore how to put an altar?

2. mindful of the incense lighting/burning: fear of fire hazard causing


...i am wondering whether we can pray to them say kitchen god by any other way without an altar, can teach?

Thanks for the praying procedures, etc. for Chuang Gong/床公 and Chuang Mu/床母

Exactly like the way my mum told me the story when I was young. The Hokkien people's salvation from barbarian invaders and it's actually like Thanksgiving Day (for the Hokkien) ritual to the Heaven God.

IF altar is not an option, tablets or some even poster is good enough as long as you have the proper heart and intention to worship them.

any alternative for incense /or candle burning?

hi Nacht.

I travel quite a lot on the road, i remember i read somewhere for people like me, it is advised to pray to 馬路將軍 for road safety but I can't seemed to find any info on such deity, can you please advise?

i have also tried to go back to where i found such advise, but can't trace it anymore

Praying to the Kitchen God at home need not involve anything fancy-schmancy. A small printed picture of him, or even a piece of paper bearing his title/name, pasted on the wall near your stove, will do just fine. This will have to be blessed before installation, however.

As per the sintua tradition, ritual items related to worship of any particular god have to be blessed by the selfsame god when he manifests via a medium. A god who outranks him or is otherwise given the authority to act on his behalf can also bless the items. It is not common for Hell deities to bless items related to Heavenly gods, nor is it common for Heavenly gods to bless Hell-related items. The general rule of thumb is Heavenly deities for Heavenly items, and Hell deities for Hell items.

As the Kitchen God is not a god that mediums channel, any other Heavenly god should be able to help you bless the items that you will use to worship him. Consult whichever reputable temples or sintuas that might be present in your area.

Incense or candles, while traditional, are not an absolute must for worship. What matters more than anything else is that you possess deep faith and a virtuous heart, which will more than suffice. Simply placing offerings before the Kitchen God's picture will be fine.

I have never before heard of a '马路将军'.

Ma Zhu the sea goddess (see below) is the traditional patron of travelers, although she is primarily associated with sea travel or travel across water.

Alternatively, you may install in your vehicle a statue of whichever deity you regard as your special patron, as a protective item. A talisman issued by them will also do just fine.