... The moment I came face to face with the statue, the sensation of being followed/chased stopped. Only then did I dare to look behind me (there was nothing there). I stayed near the statue for quite a while. I felt so safe, so calm, standing there in the shadow of the King of Ghosts. When I was satisfied that everything was okay, I went straight home. Could I have been imagining things? Anything's possible, I guess. But I remain firmly convinced that Da Shi Ye saved my life that night. Those kids probably desired a playmate, and may have been willing to kill me to make me one of them. Ever since then, I've been a believer, praying to Da Shi Ye out of gratitude for being saved. I did this in public to begin with, then pondered the idea of worshipping him at home. I did not know how to set up an altar for home worship at first, though. So I asked around, and through a family friend, I got to know the man who became my spiritual teacher.
He was a veteran medium, the real deal - very knowledgeable but nevertheless humble and always willing to help. Not only was he a good mentor in all matters concerning Chinese folk religion, he was practically like a dear uncle to me. Through him, I consolidated my relationship with not only Da Shi Ye, but the other Hell beings, as well. I've seen all kinds of things go down at his temple, that have more than convinced me that there is more to this world than just the physical. But those are other tales for other days.
Few of my family members are believers of deities too, not exactly Sintua but the more common ones ranging from chinese, hindu and siamese traditions.
Are the hell deities compatible with the heavenly ones when placing their idols close together in an altar?...since people served them different offerings.
This post has been edited by loud: Dec 31 2014, 12:46 PM
You'd be surprised, how many Chinese deities fall under the sintua/folk religion category. Many people who identify as Buddhists or Taoists are actually sintua practitioners; they just don't know it.
If you related some of the deities that your family believes in, I might be able to tell you if you are actually one of my brothers/sisters in faith.
Tian kong Na tuk kong Guan kong Guan Yin Ganesh and a few different buddha idols.
Personally my faith has ceased quite for sometime, what remains is curiosity. But the badass looking idols from the pics you posted are too mesmerizing to be ignore...feel like getting them for ornament purpose.
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This is a good question.
Heavenly gods and Hell deities are normally placed separately. Take a look at the photo here, for instance; the Heavenly gods occupy the upper portion of the altar, while the Hell deities are placed in an alcove beneath. It is actually quite common for Hell deities to be placed near to or even on the floor; the Chinese phrase for Hell (地狱) literally means 'subterranean prison' or 'prison of the earth', after all.
And a buddha is down there enjoying stout with them?
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
It would seem that you indeed, are, one of my siblings in faith.
Datuk (Na Tok Gong) worship is a Chinese folk religious practice. They are Malay earth gods and nature spirits, the spiritual landowners of Malay soil. If a plot of Datuk-owned land is to be used or developed, the relevant Datuk(s) must be appeased beforehand.
Lord Guan is the sintua God of War, he who protects humanity from war and its horrors, and who is the patron of fighting men such as soldiers and police. He was a philanthropist in addition to being a warrior, and is thus revered as a god of wealth - a military wealth god, who does not usher in wealth but helps you safeguard your wealth from being swindled or stolen. This quality, coupled with his ability as a strategist, makes him revered by 'fighters' of another kind - traders, businessmen, those who 'do battle' in the world of hostile business takeovers and high stakes deals.
Lady Guan Yin is recognised by both Buddhism and Chinese folk religion. Within the sintua context, she is the Goddess of Mercy; a former princess who went against her cruel father's wishes and became a Buddhist nun who subsequently worked many miracles, including saving her father from a dreadful illness, despite him attempting to kill her for defying him.
The 'Buddha' of whom you speak is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, also known as Di Zang (地藏; Haven - literally 'womb' - of the Earth) or Ojizosama. Recognised by both Buddhism and Chinese folk religion, he is a Hell-associated Bodhisattva whom we sintua practitioners regard as one of the highest ranking beings in the Hellish pantheon. An ancient king of India turned Buddhist high priest, he a saviour and protector of suffering souls, especially deceased children (including aborted babies), and has the power to pardon those who are undergoing punishments in Hell. He has vowed not to accept the status of Buddha until Hell is empty.
Ksitigarbha is often present on Hell altars in a position presiding over the other, lesser Hell beings (see image below). But no, he does not drink, haha. Offerings to his subordinates that are incompatible with a Buddhist's vows are positioned at a distance from his image.
Thank you for their interesting background. A bit confuse with Guan Yin story. Some source stated that Guan Yin is a He with the original name Avalokiteśvara. Quote: The name Avalokiteśvara is made of the following parts: the verbal prefix ava, which means "down"; lokita, a past participle of the verb lok ("to notice, behold, observe"), here used in an active sense (an occasional irregularity of Sanskrit grammar); and finally īśvara, "lord", "ruler", "sovereign" or "master". In accordance with sandhi (Sanskrit rules of sound combination), a+iśvara becomes eśvara. Combined, the parts mean "lord who gazes down (at the world)". The word loka ("world") is absent from the name, but the phrase is implied.[1]
It was initially thought that the Chinese mis-transliterated the word Avalokiteśvara as Avalokitasvara which explained why Xuanzang translated it as Guānzìzài (Ch. 觀自在) instead of Guānyīn (Ch. 觀音). However, according to recent research, the original form was indeed Avalokitasvara[2] with the ending a-svara ("sound, noise"), which means "sound perceiver", literally "he who looks down upon sound" (i.e., the cries of sentient beings who need his help; a-svara can be glossed as ahr-svara, "sound of lamentation").[3] This is the exact equivalent of the Chinese translation Guānyīn. This etymology was furthered in the Chinese by the tendency of some Chinese translators, notably Kumarajiva, to use the variant Guānshìyīn (Ch. 觀世音), literally "he who perceives the world's lamentations"—wherein lok was read as simultaneously meaning both "to look" and "world" (Skt. loka; Ch. 世, shì).[3] This name was later supplanted by the form containing the ending -īśvara, which does not occur in Sanskrit before the seventh century. The original form Avalokitasvara already appears in Sanskrit fragments of the fifth century.[4]
The original meaning of the name fits the Buddhist understanding of the role of a bodhisattva. The reinterpretation presenting him as an īśvara shows a strong influence of Hinduism, as the term īśvara was usually connected to the Hindu notion of Krishna (in Vaisnavism) or Śiva (in Śaivism) as the Supreme Lord, Creator and Ruler of the world. Some attributes of such a god were transmitted to the bodhisattva, but the mainstream of those who venerated Avalokiteśvara upheld the Buddhist rejection of the doctrine of any creator god.[5]
An etymology of the Tibetan name Jänräsig (Jainraisig) is jän (eye), rä (continuity) and sig (to look). This gives the meaning of one who always looks upon all beings (with the eye of compassion).[6]
In other parts of Asia other than China, Avalokitasvara is commonly refers to the Bodhisattva of Compassion or the Goddess of Mercy. In Korean Buddhism Avalokitesvara is Gwaneum, or Gwanseeum-bosal. In Sanskrit, Avalokitesvara is also referred to as Padmapāni ("Holder of the Lotus") or Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World"). In Tibetan, Avalokiteśvara is known as Chenrezig, སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ (Wylie: spyan ras gzigs) and is said to emanate as the Dalai Lama,[7] the Karmapa[8][9] and other high lamas.
And that's perfectly okay. There's no pressure on you to conform to any faith, my friend. You're free to leave and return as you so please, as per what you're comfortable with. I'm more than happy for you to discuss the topic from a curious onlooker's perspective.
I'm glad you like the pics I've posted, including those of the statues on my altar. Considerable man-hours and funds went into assembling my personal lineup; feel free to request more photos of it, and ask any relevant questions.
Thanks again for the nice pic.
Here is a more challenging question...drumroll...
As far as i know, the heaven and hell concept in eastern religion is not eternal, yet people keep praying to the same deities with the same fashion. Isn't it the time to expect some old deities to retire or take new rebirth? As for Nezha, aren't he suppose to grow up already?
This video (see below) is one that I often recommend to sintua neophytes. The mediums in the video are channelling the Black and White Ghosts; it illustrates the trance process quite well from the point where the mediums 'go under' to the point where they awaken from their trances.
It is not always possible to tell a fake trance just by observing it. The gold standard for the authenticity of a trance is results - a fake medium cannot produce meaningful results, the same way a fake doctor cannot truly heal the sick.
Embed failed... copy paste only this part A_Pwt-4z_Nc So in what way they can produce meaningful result? can they really cure sickness like cancer?
Oh wait, hang on - it's you who WANT to post trance videos, not you who's ASKING ME to post videos. My apologies; it's been a long day at work and my brain isn't working 100% correctly.
By all means, go ahead and post some videos. I may or may not be familiar with the material that you are posting.
No problem. I appreciate if you or anyone can share other interesting video too. It seems that the video i mention is of the nine emperor gods, perhaps you can help point out which deities the medium represented. There are 2 mediums and why in 15:46 he still pray to another deity idols? is it the same deity he represented or other deity?
I understand your point, but didn't those values came from Confucianism? And not from the Chinese folk religion?
The way i see it, Chinese folk religion portrays a great quality of syncretism and liberalism. Since they worship datuks(Islam), bodhisattvas(Buddhism), chinese sages(Confucianism or Taoism) and many others, their moral values can derives from many source ...kind of like rojak master.
If you dream the same lucid dream or experience some state akin to NDE; falling into hell, called for Guan yin, monkey king, Tai SengYe...all powerless at last teringat Jesus, called for him, he came and hellfire cool down, shown you a glimpse of heaven...
I ask this because many sintua practioners believe supernatural beings can comunicate with people through dreams or trance. Do you? So what if a monotheist God appears and seem to occupy the throne?
A true sintua practitioner would understand that EVERYONE goes to Hell - see my earlier posts on the meaning of Hell in the sintua context.
He would understand that if he is being punished in Hell, he deserves it, and that he should accept his punishment like a man, plus reflect and repent accordingly.
And he would understand that the gods are not all-powerful, nor would they intervene if someone is being deservedly punished.
I recall he said he is good man, more than 10 years as medium always help out others.
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Which is why the more I listen to this fella Vince's testimony, the more I think he's full of crap.
Since when does becoming a medium afford you any sort of special protection, or grant you exemption from final judgement?
You become a medium as a form of atonement for your negative karma, nothing more.
If a monotheist god appears to occupy the throne, I wouldn't give two hoots.
He never exerted any influence over my life, the same way the ghostly beings in black and white did.
My loyalty lies to them, not to this guy who never made his presence felt one bit.
Yes, crap mesti ada... because Christian hell is said to open only after judgement day.