All around Taiwan this weekend, temples large and small will be holding
festivals for the Chungyuan Pudu (中元普渡), one of the high points of Ghost
month (鬼月). The event combines elements of both Buddhist and Taoist
religious practice. While the festival takes many forms, depending on the
location and the origins of the temple concerned, the Chungyuan Pudu is one
of the most visible of Taiwan's major religious ceremonies.
One of the more elaborate events associated with the Chungyuan Pudu are the
ceremonies held at the Pao-an Temple (保安宮) in Taipei. The traditional
Ulambana (盂蘭盆會) ceremony, which includes purification rituals and offerings
of food to the spirits of the dead, will be held between 9:30am and 8pm on
Sunday. The best time to visit is about 4pm when much of the action will
have moved to the front courtyard of the temple.
A special feature of the Pao-an Temple event is the inclusion of now rarely
performed rituals of kan-cang and sui-cang which are particularly associated
with immigrants from Tungan (同安) in China, who settled in this area around
the Bao-an Temple. The ceremonies, which involve intricately created paper
pray wheels rarely seen now in either Taoist or Buddhist ritual.
The Pao-an Temple is located at 61 Hami St., Taipei (北市哈密街61號), and can be
contacted at tel (02) 2595-1676.
Another major celebration of Chungyuan Pudu will be held in Keelung, which
is especially famous for its water lanterns, which are used to guide the
spirits of those who died at sea. The event takes place tomorrow night at
11pm and is focused around the Patouzu (八斗子) Fishing Harbor. A large variety
of religious ceremonies will also focus on Keelung's Chingan Temple (慶安宮)
which is located at 1 Chung 2nd Rd., Keelung (基隆市忠二路1號).
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