Prayer to the Household Deities on the 15th of the 7th Month
Occasion of the 15th of the 7th lunar month (Vu Lan / Trung Nguyên)
Meaning
Beyond offerings to the ancestors and to wandering souls, the 15th of the 7th month is also an occasion to give thanks to the deities overseeing the land — gratefully acknowledging their shelter and asking for prosperous, advancing household fortunes.
Offering preparation
- Incense, flowers, wine, gold votive paper, paper clothing.
- A meat offering tray carefully prepared and beautifully arranged.
- A meat offering tray carefully prepared and beautifully arranged.
Content
Namo Amitābha Buddha (3 times)
I respectfully bow to: the Reigning Grand Duke (Thái Tuế) of the current year of supreme virtue; the local Tutelary Deities and Great Sovereigns; the Earth Deity of this place; the household Kitchen Gods; and all the spirit-deities overseeing this region.
Today is the 15th of the 7th lunar month, year .........
The faithful, named …………, residing at house number …, street …, ward (commune) …, district …, province (city) …, with sincere heart prepare incense, flowers, offerings, and other items, laid out before the altar.
We sincerely invite: the Reigning Grand Duke of the current year of supreme virtue, the local Tutelary Deities and Great Sovereigns, the Earth Deity of this place, the household Kitchen Gods, and all the spirit-deities overseeing this region. We humbly ask the deities to descend before the altar and bear witness.
Now we encounter the Vu Lan season, the day on which departed souls are pardoned. We gratefully acknowledge the kindness of the Three Jewels, the shelter of Heaven and the Buddhas, the protection of all the deities — great virtue we cannot know how to repay.
We therefore respectfully present this modest offering, expressing our sincerity, asking that you receive and accept it; that you shelter and support us and our whole family — every person in good health, young and old in peace, the heart turned to the right Way, fortune advancing, the household prospering.
With sincere heart we humbly ask you to bear witness.
Namo Amitābha Buddha (3 times)