Chu said: "By the way, Master, Master, why do we usually cook, the ordinary way is just that, if we make something delicious, such as meat, or eggs, or usually don't eat much, and there are delicious things, or steamed buns, in short, it is delicious, we have to worship the Stove God, and sprinkle some on the ground, this is dedicated to the Stove God, I know what it means, but the one that is sprinkled on the ground, is it for the undead?" When I was a kid, I didn't know what it was all about, but now that I think about it, I'm afraid it's like this! ”

Lu Dongbin said with a smile: "Almsgiving is a kind of Taoist Zhaijiao dojo, the main content of which is that the lord of the Zhai invites the Taoist priest to set up the altar, furnish the offerings, and the master of the high gong writes the green word seal, recites the mantra, and sends it to inform the gods and goddesses, praying that the ninth parents of the lord of the fasting and all the dead souls will be liberated from the hell and the netherworld, and will be reborn in the heavenly realm and get rid of the sea of suffering. ”

Xuan Chu said: "Hehe, it seems that these are Taoist customs that we do casually!" No wonder, when I was a child, when I ate, sometimes, my mother forgot to spill the food, and the food fell to the ground hard, and I couldn't catch it! Hehe, it turns out that it's really for these dead souls......"

Zhong Liquan said with a smile: "Through the transcendence of the deceased souls, we can further achieve the purpose of blessing the lord and the world from disasters, blessing longevity and health, and family safety." It requires that those engaged in sacrifice must be physically and mentally clean when worshipping the gods, and that their words and actions meet the requirements of the norms. Specifically, it is to diet vegetarian meals, forbid all meat and spicy tastes, and at the same time bathe in fragrant soup, clean clothes and body, abandon all distracting thoughts, and devote oneself to the Tao. Jiao's original meaning is the meaning of sacrifice, that is, the ritual of sacrificing to the gods, which originated from witchcraft and was later absorbed by Taoism. ”

Xuan Chu said: "Hehe, I always thought that praying or something was a ritual, or a confession, but I didn't expect that what I did casually was just to share a little food with all sentient beings!" ”

Zhong Liquan said with a smile: "Although "Zhai" is mainly to repent and apologize for sins, and "Jiao" is mainly to pray for blessings and disasters, but in many Taoist ritual activities, Zhai and Jiao are often linked, and it is difficult to distinguish between the two. ”

Ji Chu said: "Zhai dip in the dojo? ”

Zhong Liquan said with a smile: "In the dojo ritual activities of almsgiving, making offerings to the gods is a very important part and an indispensable procedure. The main offerings are incense, flowers, lamps, water, fruits and meals. The display of these offerings, in terms of form, is splendid and makes the ashram spectacular. Judging from the actual needs of Zhaijiao, incense, flowers, and fruits are mainly used to worship the Heavenly Venerable of Badu's ghosts, and lamps, water, and rice are mainly used to help the souls of the deceased. ”

Xuan Chu said, "Uh, what is the purpose of all these offerings?" ”

Zhong Liquan said with a smile: "The theological meaning and function of the above six types of offerings in the almsgiving dojo are as follows. Incense: Eliminate impurities, communicate with the gods, incense is the most important offering of Taoism to worship the gods, worship the gods, and practice the dojo. Taoism believes that there are two main uses of incense: one is the faint fragrance and curling cigarette smoke, which can regulate and purify the air in the temple and help people's physical and mental health; At the same time, it can also eliminate all the impurities of the world of ghosts and gods. Second, it is also the most important meaning of incense, Taoism believes that incense is the medium and channel for the Taoist to communicate with the gods. ”

Chu said: "What role does it play? In practice? ”

Zhong Liquan said with a smile: "In other words, the thoughts, thoughts, prayers, wishes, hopes, etc., of the high-level master who presided over the dojo are all conveyed to the heavens and the underworld through cigarettes. Since almsgiving is a dojo for the undead held by the lord of fasting, then the mantras and recitations of the high meritorious Taoists in the green words and green chapters can only be conveyed to the gods and ghosts through incense, and the wishes of the lord can be realized. The incense burned is mainly sandalwood, cloud incense, agarwood, purple incense, eggplant incense and other "precious five spices". When burning incense, it is not allowed to smell it with your nose, nor is it allowed to throw it around, and it must be carried out in accordance with the rules and requirements of Taoist incense burning. That is, first use incense sticks to light the lamp, hold the incense in the right hand, protect the furnace with the left hand, recite a mantra in the mouth, and devotionally incense, so that the gods can accept it. ”

Lu Dongbin said with a smile: "Sazu Iron Pot Feeding Sacrifice and Alchemy Fan" said when talking about the religious significance of incense: "The jade furnace is hot at the beginning of the real incense, the sound of Danyin is played in the heavens, the Dharma people are a fairy and a fanju, and the immortals are thousands of miles of colorful clouds. "Incense offerings, golden tripods release auspicious light, treasure covers the realm of bliss, auspicious clouds surround the heavens, in front of the Jade Emperor; Ciyun cloth flew down to the Nine Heavens, the underworld Cao Gong cast magic rain, the Hades Mountain descended spiritual smoke, and the incense dispersed the sinful soul. ”

Chu said, "What about the flowers? I've never understood what flowers are for? ”

Lu Dongbin said with a smile: "Flower: Praise the place of residence, revere the gods, the ultimate goal pursued by Taoism is to cultivate both life and become immortals." In the eyes of Taoists, the fairy heaven is a blessed land of flowers and colorful caves, which is beautiful and wonderful. Flowers are placed in the almsgiving ashram and a beautiful and warm atmosphere is created in order to express the lord's praise for the gods and the place where they live, as well as to express their devotion to the gods. Only in this way can we move the heavens and bring out all kinds of unjust souls as soon as possible. Moreover, the more precious the flowers, the more they show the heart of the lord. "Flower offerings, thousands of years of wonderful and difficult to measure, the peony blooms beautifully, the crimson peony is fragrant, the jade girl is colorful when it is scattered, and the golden boy holds out a thousand auspicious. Rescued, the deceased returned to the fairy land. The lord of the fasting will now make offerings of flowers, and the ghost will be born early. ”

Zhong Liquan said with a smile: "There is also a lamp: turn on the light, bring hope, according to Taoism, the ghosts that people become after death enter the underworld, where they are under the eighteen layers of hell, it is dark, there is no light, it is extremely eerie and terrifying, and the ghosts are tortured by all kinds of torture instruments there, and the pain is unspeakable." Everlasting lamps (usually lit candles) are placed in the dojo in order to open a ray of light to the dark and gloomy ghosts of the underworld, illuminate the road to escape from the sea of suffering and transcend to the heavenly immortal land, and bring light and hope to the ghosts. The silver lamp opens at dawn, until the Ruizhu Palace, the Three Realms, the fire tree is exquisite, the ten thousand rays of the glow are blue, the five colors shine on the underworld, the heaven and the earth are all connected, the salvation degree, and the deceased return to the fairy land. ”

Xuan Chu was surprised: "Ah! It's no wonder that many tomb robbers dig up something like a night pearl and want to illuminate it! The Empress Dowager Cixi heard that there was a big night pearl in her mouth, and it was later taken away by the tomb robbers......"