21. The Memorial Service
The most influential part of the custom related to ghosts is the ancestral god (ghost). The memorial service for them is in the center of Eastern culture.
Confucius recommended a memorial service to praise ancestors, even though he denied the existence of ghosts. The Confucianism culture could prosper through the blood-relationship(or nepotism) and the memorial service culture. The faith that prays for blessing from ancestors has been accepted on the extension of blood relationship because ghosts has been considered as the existences capable of giving a bless and as the objective of praying, friendly beings as well. The fear caused by ghosts disappeared and the concept of ghosts has been expanded under the filial duty in the view of Confucianism. The various cultural concepts about ghosts have been also expanded and reproduced through the spectrum of the religious faith praying for blessing and the geomancy culture* of making one’s fortune.
* Geomancy culture is based on the widely spread funeral and cremation culture in the Eastern. It is believed that the descendant will make a luck, if the late ancestor’s body is buried under a certain site full of qualified energy. It is also related to Feng shui.
A memorial service for ancestors is a ritual to communicate between ancestors and descendants. It is a ritual binding them as one, putting itself at the intersection which the life of ghosts and humans encounter each other. When a memorial service is performed for one’s ancestors, ancestral god may appear as an energy form at the possibility of 70%, depending on the descendants’ sincerity and level of consciousness.
It doesn’t matter if you pray or bow down 10 times or 12 times, if you perform a memorial service in Korea or in the U.S.A, if you are poor or rich, or if you prepare a lot of food or simple food for rites table. Ghosts might come and go, only depending upon the descendants’ sincerity and mind.
Ancestral gods might visit or not a memorial service. When they visit a memorial service, they might give or not light to their descendants. They also might or not grant their descendants’ wish. Those are beyond the strength and will of ancestral gods.
Only it differs whether the wish and hope of people performing a memorial rituals conform to the general rule of charity in the universe or not. If an ancestral god hope to grant his descendant’s wish, he could make a recommendation to the Government of Heaven. Then, the Government of Heaven will review that the wish is suitable for the life program designed by his descendant himself and suitable for the rule of universe. Only with the approval of heaven, granting the wish is going to be possible.
It is the rule of 4th dimension of spiritual world that ancestral gods can not help or harm their descendant just by their free will. Whether you are practicing ancestor worship or not, nothing goes wrong in this universe. Only the mind of descendant performing a memorial service may be comfortable or uncomfortable. Nothing changes neither can change in the universe.
What the fear of human being has made’ is the memorial service and ‘what the filial duty has expanded’ is the memorial service. It is the reality of today about the memorial service and ancestral gods that ‘Not following our costume makes us unpleasant and Performing a memorial service makes us uncomfortable’.
The thing that can come out of performing a memorial service is the comfort of mind for the performer of memorial service. To make it clear, it does not make sense that receiving a bless of ancestral gods is possible only through a memorial service. Regardless of a memorial service, the plan of Providence and blessing will be with the eligible people, who is to be granted a blessing or owners of good, pure, clear and transparent mind. No matter whoever he is and whatever he does, anytime anywhere.
There’s nothing the descendants can acquire but in fact they are comforting their own mind through a memorial service. A pray can be performed anywhere and anytime. It doesn’t matter whichever the object of praying for is. Maybe the object can be a god, ghosts, ancestors, a shrine, a statue of Buddha or a god of shoes, whatever!!! Only someone obedient to the will of Heaven is already receiving a bless whether he pray or not, while watching a river flowing by or stars in the night sky.
Confucius recommended a memorial service to praise ancestors, even though he denied the existence of ghosts. The Confucianism culture could prosper through the blood-relationship(or nepotism) and the memorial service culture. The faith that prays for blessing from ancestors has been accepted on the extension of blood relationship because ghosts has been considered as the existences capable of giving a bless and as the objective of praying, friendly beings as well. The fear caused by ghosts disappeared and the concept of ghosts has been expanded under the filial duty in the view of Confucianism. The various cultural concepts about ghosts have been also expanded and reproduced through the spectrum of the religious faith praying for blessing and the geomancy culture* of making one’s fortune.
* Geomancy culture is based on the widely spread funeral and cremation culture in the Eastern. It is believed that the descendant will make a luck, if the late ancestor’s body is buried under a certain site full of qualified energy. It is also related to Feng shui.
A memorial service for ancestors is a ritual to communicate between ancestors and descendants. It is a ritual binding them as one, putting itself at the intersection which the life of ghosts and humans encounter each other. When a memorial service is performed for one’s ancestors, ancestral god may appear as an energy form at the possibility of 70%, depending on the descendants’ sincerity and level of consciousness.
It doesn’t matter if you pray or bow down 10 times or 12 times, if you perform a memorial service in Korea or in the U.S.A, if you are poor or rich, or if you prepare a lot of food or simple food for rites table. Ghosts might come and go, only depending upon the descendants’ sincerity and mind.
Ancestral gods might visit or not a memorial service. When they visit a memorial service, they might give or not light to their descendants. They also might or not grant their descendants’ wish. Those are beyond the strength and will of ancestral gods.
Only it differs whether the wish and hope of people performing a memorial rituals conform to the general rule of charity in the universe or not. If an ancestral god hope to grant his descendant’s wish, he could make a recommendation to the Government of Heaven. Then, the Government of Heaven will review that the wish is suitable for the life program designed by his descendant himself and suitable for the rule of universe. Only with the approval of heaven, granting the wish is going to be possible.
It is the rule of 4th dimension of spiritual world that ancestral gods can not help or harm their descendant just by their free will. Whether you are practicing ancestor worship or not, nothing goes wrong in this universe. Only the mind of descendant performing a memorial service may be comfortable or uncomfortable. Nothing changes neither can change in the universe.
What the fear of human being has made’ is the memorial service and ‘what the filial duty has expanded’ is the memorial service. It is the reality of today about the memorial service and ancestral gods that ‘Not following our costume makes us unpleasant and Performing a memorial service makes us uncomfortable’.
The thing that can come out of performing a memorial service is the comfort of mind for the performer of memorial service. To make it clear, it does not make sense that receiving a bless of ancestral gods is possible only through a memorial service. Regardless of a memorial service, the plan of Providence and blessing will be with the eligible people, who is to be granted a blessing or owners of good, pure, clear and transparent mind. No matter whoever he is and whatever he does, anytime anywhere.
There’s nothing the descendants can acquire but in fact they are comforting their own mind through a memorial service. A pray can be performed anywhere and anytime. It doesn’t matter whichever the object of praying for is. Maybe the object can be a god, ghosts, ancestors, a shrine, a statue of Buddha or a god of shoes, whatever!!! Only someone obedient to the will of Heaven is already receiving a bless whether he pray or not, while watching a river flowing by or stars in the night sky.
Translated by Metrica
Udeka writes.
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