"The ancient ritual of burning paper replicas, or dzi-dzat, to send into the afterlife has kept pace with modern times: paper laptops and cellphones are burned along with bank notes and model mansions."...people in the West will have lots of cigarettes in the afterlife, and SWMBO will have a ton of candles.
I don't know. Burning a paper replica of a mansion, cars, etc., seems a bit mercenary and not really the point of the afterlife. But then I don't follow Taoism, Buddhism and regional folklore...
3 comments:
When I used to visit the oriental grocery stores on 20th street, I often found packets of "hell money" for funerals.
Ensuring that someone would lack for nothing in the afterlife is nothing new from an anthropological perspective. Indeed, such things were common in many cultures, where someone was laid to rest with the "tools of their trade", jewelry, chariots, ships, carved or painted reproductions of servants,foodstuffs, and, of course, wine and beer. What was buried with the departed varied according to wealth and status.
From my studies of Buddhism, and the search for enlightenment, this practice seems to be out of place. Though I can't say that I am truly an expert in Buddhist philosophy.
Now that you mention it, SWMBO and I shop at the shops on 20th (Chung Wah's, etc.) for our cooking needs, and I remember seeing the 'hell money' there as well. I have a vague recollection of a Chinese friend of ours explaining it to us.
Yes, I think this is a variant type of practice that isn't usual in Buddhism but is part of the superstitious nature of people that has crept in. Practices of all faiths are often changed from the 'pure' form in local areas, even in Christianity and Catholicism.
To be honest, in this sense the Chinese are a very practical people. After all, the thought is what can the departed actually do with "the real thing" such as real money, cell phones and the like. So, in this case, it truly is "the thought that counts" in the form of paper offerings.
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