While “Ghost Month” has traditionally been linked to danger and misfortune, a Buddhist charity group has been trying to change that perception by promoting the period as a joyous and auspicious time.
The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation said it plans to hold more than 900 prayer meetings at home and abroad from now till the end of the month to “communicate positive thoughts” and dispel the myths associated with Ghost Month.
At 12 of the prayer meetings, Taiwanese opera companies will act out Buddhist tales to convey positive messages to the public, said the foundation, which has been holding such gatherings for many years.
Ghost Month, observed during the seventh month on the lunar calendar, is this year marked from Aug. 7 to Sept. 4.
People usually avoid activities such as swimming, traveling, whistling or going out after dark during Ghost Month, as it is believed that spirits are on the lookout for souls to capture.
However, the Buddhist group believes that the seventh month on the lunar calendar is in fact a joyful time.
The 15th day of that month marked the end of an annual summer retreat for Buddha’s disciples when he was alive, the charity said.
On the retreat, the disciples would meditate and lead a conscientious life, Tzu Chi said, urging the public to do away with the negative thoughts associated with the month.
Last year, the foundation organized about 4,000 activities around the world to celebrate Ghost Month, attracting the participation of more than 280,000 people in dozens of countries.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS