Tết Hạ Nguyên Prayer (New Rice Festival)

Namo Amitābha Buddha! Namo Amitābha Buddha! Namo Amitābha Buddha! - I bow to the nine directions of Heaven, the ten directions of all Buddhas, the Buddhas of the ten directions. - I respectfully bow to August Heaven and Sovereign Earth and all the venerable deities. - I respectfully bow to the local Tutelary Deity, the Earth Deity of this place, the household Kitchen Gods, and all the venerable deities. - I respectfully bow to the High Ancestors and Ancestresses, the uncles and brothers, aunts and sisters of both paternal and maternal sides. The faithful (we) are: ............................................. Residing at: ...................................................................... Today is the 1st (or 10th, or 15th) of the 10th month, the New Rice Festival. The faithful sincerely prepares offerings: betel and areca, incense, flowers, tea, fruit, cooks new-rice meals, and lights incense of devotion before the altar. We humbly reflect: The tree casts cool shade, The fruit is good, fragrance spreads, Who built up such merit long ago? The precious harvest is now enjoyed by the descendants. Gratitude to Heaven, Earth, the Buddha, the Immortals, and the venerable Deities. Thereafter, by the kindness of the ancestors who founded our line — how great were their toils! Now the descendants are abundant, enjoying the choicest sweets. Now at this harvest time, Carrying the first sheaves of glutinous and ordinary rice, Thinking of the kindness of old — The plowing and weeding, We prepare a pot of new rice, Reverently offering it up. May our forefathers taste it first, That we might share in their blessing — Good crops bringing celebration, Grain stocks growing, Field crops fresh and new, Work advancing, Descendants prospering. Though the offering is simple, It expresses sincere reverence. We respectfully invite the local Tutelary Great Kings, the Earth Deity of this place, the household Kitchen Gods, the Five-Direction Long Mạch Wealth Deity. We humbly ask the venerable ones to descend before the altar, bear witness to our sincerity, and partake of these offerings. We respectfully invite the High Ancestors and Ancestresses, all the spirits of the lineage on both paternal and maternal sides of the family ..............., humbly asking them to have compassion on the descendants, manifest in sacred power, bear witness to our sincere heart, and partake of these offerings. We offer modest gifts with sincere hearts; before the altar we humbly bow and ask to be sheltered and supported. Namo Amitābha Buddha! Namo Amitābha Buddha! Namo Amitābha Buddha!