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 The Official Lowyat.NET Sintua Thread, A thread on Chinese folk religion.

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loud
post Dec 31 2014, 11:37 AM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Dec 30 2014, 06:48 PM)
...
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.
user posted image
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.
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What will be his advice for non-believers?
loud
post Dec 31 2014, 12:12 PM

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Did your spiritual teacher told you how he got involved with these practice? How he acquired the spirit eye?
loud
post Dec 31 2014, 12:44 PM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Dec 31 2014, 12:25 PM)
My teacher became a medium at the age of sixteen. People are usually chosen to become mediums as a form of penance for previous negative karma.

He didn't have the second sight, although he was sensitive to the supernatural.
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I wonder why it seldom happen on Xtians and Muslims.


loud
post Dec 31 2014, 12:45 PM

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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
loud
post Dec 31 2014, 08:02 PM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Dec 31 2014, 02:24 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. tongue.gif


QUOTE
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.

user posted image
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And a buddha is down there enjoying stout with them?

loud
post Dec 31 2014, 10:01 PM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Dec 31 2014, 09:37 PM)
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

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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.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalokite%C5%9Bvara
loud
post Jan 1 2015, 11:48 AM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Dec 31 2014, 09:46 PM)
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. smile.gif

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.  cool2.gif

user posted image
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Thanks again for the nice pic. notworthy.gif

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? laugh.gif
loud
post Jan 12 2015, 08:32 PM

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natchsider do you mind if i posted video here showing mediums on trance?
it looks interesting but don't know real or faking...
loud
post Jan 13 2015, 11:06 AM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Jan 12 2015, 10:20 PM)
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.


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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?


loud
post Jan 13 2015, 11:14 AM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Jan 12 2015, 10:24 PM)
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.  tongue.gif

By all means, go ahead and post some videos. I may or may not be familiar with the material that you are posting.
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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?

loud
post Feb 9 2015, 12:31 PM

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QUOTE(Deadlocks @ Feb 9 2015, 11:06 AM)
I understand your point, but didn't those values came from Confucianism? And not from the Chinese folk religion?

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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. rclxms.gif
loud
post Feb 10 2015, 09:53 PM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Feb 9 2015, 03:11 PM)

Believe hard enough in something, and it might just become real. wink.gif
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Just came across this link:
http://www.gateway-fellowship.com/2009/08/...n-jesus-christ/

Imagine the same thing happen to you, how do you reconcile such experience with your pre-existing belief? brows.gif

loud
post Feb 11 2015, 07:32 PM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Feb 11 2015, 06:16 PM)
I'm sorry, I don't follow.

What exactly is there to reconcile?
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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?
loud
post Feb 11 2015, 07:54 PM

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QUOTE(nachtsider @ Feb 11 2015, 07:45 PM)
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.


QUOTE
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.
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Yes, crap mesti ada... because Christian hell is said to open only after judgement day.


 

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