Hue, Vietnam: A Rare Glimpse of Thien Mu Temple Ancestors Celebration

Thien Mu Buddhist Monastery Leader going to start Ancestor Ceremony

Local Buddhist devotees praying to photos of their ancestors,
being blessed by their Buddhist monks chanting over them

The locals' ancestors

The locals bring food for the monks to celebrate the Ancestors' Day
on this first day of the 15 day lunar calendar.

January 4, 2011

We had a rare glimpse in time of an ancestors' celebration ceremony at the Thien Mu temple, with all its pomp and circumstance. Every 15th day of the Buddhist lunar calendar, something new is celebrated. This first day of the calendar, the ancestors of the local Buddhist congregation were honored and prayed to.

As we strolled through the temple, the Buddhist temple leader surprised us by popping out of the monastery, decked out in ceremonial robes with an umbrella held overhead by a couple older, but still young, monks at the temple. He was covered for the walk to the locals' temple near the big temple where Boom prayed. Inside, the leader sang along with the younger monks who sang, chanted and played small bells over the local Buddhist congregation as they prayed to their dead ancestors. Click here for the video.

This honoring of elders and ancestors seems to be universal in Buddhism, and Asia, in general. All older grandparents live with their children's family as they age. There are no old folks' homes in Vietnam, or most of Asia. My local Buddhist temple holds an annual red-tented meal for at least a hundred elder congregation members, complete with a Chinese dragon show and bedecked with flowers and welcoming younger members guiding elders to their seats.