Today - 5th April is the Chinese All Soul's Day or Qing Ming. It is also sometimes referred to as grave sweeping day or tomb cleaning day. That's the day where one is expected to go to the graveyards of your immediate departed relatives, clean that up and offer prayers to them. You are also expected to "transfer" some assets to them by burning money (Hell Bank Notes), paper cars, houses and any other modern amenities that one can fashion into a paper model to be burned for collection in the hereafter.

Normally, I don't care much for Qing Ming. I think it had been years since I went to pay my respects to my paternal grandparents or Father in law. Their ashes (they were cremated) are interred in the Qin Loong Shan (Golden Dragon Mountain), a Buddhist temple somewhere after Rawang town. My Father in law passed away more than 15 years ago and my paternal grandfather - almost 20 years ago now (who remembers??). Grandma passed away a few years back.

Their ashes are in urns and kept in a backroom. Their ancestral tablets are on shelves with their photos attached. Husband and wife can buy an ancestral table with provisions for 2 photos to be placed side by side. I just think it is a big scam for the temple authorities to get "donations". The little bit of 2 inches by 3 inches of space cost between 1000 to 5000 Ringgit back then. Now, with more people willing to buy such spots, the temple has built another shed to house more of these ancestral tablets. And I'm pretty sure, the prices has increased significantly too.
I only went this year because my mother in law wanted to go and her sons were not able to send her. The temple has expanded a lot more since the last time I was there. They now have a huge prayer hall that is lined on one side with large statues of

Buddha and Kuan Yin (the Goddess of mercy).

And on the walls are murals of Buddha sermonizing or whatever.

The only thing that I really appreciate in the temple were all the bonsai plants that the monks had cultivated.
Faith is a complicated thing.
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