The meaning of December 23 brings Mr. Tao to heaven. Tao Quan (Chinese: 灶君); Apple Vuong (灶王) or Ong Tao in Vietnamese and Chinese folk beliefs is considered the god who governs the kitchen in each house; Apple (灶) means kitchen. Vietnam and China have different legends about Tao Quan. [1] At the end of the year, discussing the custom of ancestor worship, seeing off Mr. Cong and Mr. Tao Worshiping Mr. Apple according to Chinese culture Chinese people believe that in the past, the kitchen king ascended to the sky once a month on a dark day. the end of the lunar month) to report on each person in each family, but after that, the king ascended to heaven only once a year on the 23rd or 24th of December. On that day, the Chinese set up an altar near the kitchen, worshiping the kitchen king with meat, fish, glutinous wine, and confectionery. There is also water and hay for the horse of the kitchen king "Eat" to fly and carry the king to heaven [2] Worshiping Mr. apple according to Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese believe that the three Gods of God determine the family's blessings and virtues, which are due to the ethical conduct of the owner and the people in the house. The altar is usually placed near the kitchen, on which there is an altar written in Chinese characters. Every year, on the 23rd of December is the day the Tao Cong ascends to the heavens, so there is a place to call this day "Tet Ong Cong", the worshiping ceremony has carp because the Vietnamese believe that Mr. Tao rides a carp to the sky. [3] - Vietnamese people follow the cultural custom of worshiping Ong Tao to pray for blessings, for fortune, and for a prosperous family. Then, every Lunar New Year, the people of Thuy Tram village, Tuy Loc commune, Cam Khe district (Phu Tho) are busy casting fishing nets to harvest red carp to serve the needs of the people on the 23rd day of the month. slowly bring Mr. Tao back to heaven. - They serve superstitious people to buy fish as a means to bring Ong Tao to heaven to pray for blessings. In Vietnamese folklore beliefs, December 23 has killed many lives (Golden Carp) to worship Ong Tao. - According to Buddhist culture: Blessings or misfortunes also come from the heart, Buddhists need to have Right View to see it as it really is. They should not follow superstitious cultures to help bad people harm their lives. compassion, disaster will come. - The compassion of the Buddha shows the culture of vegetarianism, freeing life to respect life, the Buddha taught "In every living being there is Buddha nature." Buying golden carp to worship Ong Tao to pray for blessings, but doing that is completely useless, not only has no blessing but also loses its blessing. In the Brahma Vong Sutra, the Buddha taught: Hey Buddhist! “If you kill yourself, teach others to kill, use a method to kill, praise kill, see kill but gladly follow. Until using mantras to kill, the cause of killing, the fate of killing, the method of killing, the profession of killing. Up to all living species must not try to kill. As a bodhisattva, he often generates compassion and uses means to help and protect all sentient beings. But turning back and giving up the pleasure of killing lives, this Bodhisattva commits the Para-la-di sin." [4] - In the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Buddha said: "The most precious thing of all living beings is "Life", the most precious thing of all Buddhas is sentient beings. of the Buddhas". In the Distinction of Good from Evil: Question: What do you do to reap the fruit of a long life? A: There are 10 things. What is 10:1. Abandon self-harm. 2. Forgive the mistake of advising others to kill. 3. Abandon the pleasure of taking pleasure in killing. 4. Forgive the mistake of seeing the person kill you as an assistant. 5. Saved from the sin of death in prison. 6. Freeing the body (Releasing life). 7. Grant all species of dharma without fear. 8. Diagnosis for patients. 9. Giving food and drinks. 10. Offering lights, torches and banners. Thus, 10 jobs harvest blessings and longevity. - If we are Buddhists, on December 23, we should not follow the superstitious cultural custom of buying golden carp to kill and worship Ong Tao. Not only is there no blessing but also a sin, the karma of the next life will result in loss of life. In the Treatise on Great Wisdom, it is also said: "Among evil deeds, killing is the greatest. Among good deeds, liberating life is above all.” Therefore, we as Buddhists need to follow the Buddha's teachings, not buy carp to worship Ong Tao, not follow superstitious culture, That is, we do not help other people take advantage of fish farming to sell on December 23. Ancestor worship customs: The bridge to bring Buddhism into the hearts of the Vietnamese people. Phuoc or the mind creates blessings. Good or bad, good and bad are also created from the heart. If our mind does good, our life will be peaceful. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha said: "In all dharmas, the mind takes the lead, the mind dominates, the mind creates all. If one speaks or acts with a defiled mind, suffering will follow like a wheel following the footsteps of an animal pulling a cart. Of all dharmas, the mind takes the lead, the mind dominates, the mind creates all. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness will follow like a shadow and a figure.” [5] - Thereby we see that harm or good fortune is created by the mind, if you want to have a peaceful, happy family, flourish in the family religion, you should not believe in any God. but we need to establish our mind in a sustainable way, with faith in the Dharma and Wisdom to live a righteous human life by observing the five precepts: Each person himself does not kill and advises others not to kill. Each person does not steal and advises others not to steal. Each person does not commit adultery and advises others not to commit adultery. Each person does not lie and advises others not to lie. Each person does not drink alcohol and advises him not to drink alcohol. The five precepts are the foundation for building a happy and peaceful life for the family and society. In daily life we ​​must have a firm belief, when blessings come, do not rejoice, when disaster comes, do not worry. Just live happily ever after. Like when we're in trouble, like being sick, living in solitude, or pretending to be suffering from an incurable disease... for example, we know it's caused by our karma, so now we have to pay. Thanks to today's cultivation, we have the merit to repay the debt of the past life, when we pay off the debt, don't we turn the disaster into a blessing? - We try to practice doing good, chanting sutras, reciting Buddha's name, upholding mantras, meditating (Blessing is not smuggled)... There's nothing to fear, because we have already paid our past human karma, and we know that everyone has to enter the door of death. This is a trail that everyone, young and old, must go through. When we release this sacrificial body, the blessings of practicing in this life will bring us to a peaceful realm (Nirvana) free from the suffering of birth and death. So, didn't I turn the disaster into a blessing? - On the contrary, we pray for wealth, blessings, peaceful children, prosperous family... do not know how to cultivate and create blessings, According to the superstitious cultural practices of worshiping the Gods, killing animals to offer sacrifices and praying, isn't that a blessing in disaster? - In the best polytheistic religions, they believe in a God who has the power to give blessings, so the new believers kill animals to sacrifice to God, bless... The best New Year's Eve Prayers 2021 - When the Buddha appeared in India, he removed the thoughts of God's blessings in the form of superstition. The Buddha taught that: "Blessings are all created by our karma, everything in this world is judged fairly based on the law of cause and effect, karma." If people who do evil must bear bad retribution, do good to enjoy good results, do not believe in any God: - "Don't believe anything because of style. Don't trust anything because of a tradition. Don't believe anything because it's been told over and over again. Do not believe in anything even the writings of the Saint, do not believe in anything that we imagine and think that a supreme spirit has revealed it to us. Don't trust anything based on the reputation of your teachers. Only believing in what you have experienced, experienced and received as true, is beneficial for yourself and others. Only that is the ultimate goal, sublimation for people and life, you should take that as a standard." During the Buddha's time in the world, Sariputra said to the Buddha: - "Please sir. just teach me why that bhikkhu is very intelligent, but his retribution is always overlooked, so he has to eat the rice of Shariputra.” The Buddha said: “This teacher is not a novice, whose previous life was a Venerable. Although he has precepts, he does not give up selfishness. Buddhists should think about this, cultivate for a long time, create many blessings, but selfishness and jealousy are still intact, still have to pay the retribution." - Therefore, people want to have a peaceful and happy life, they need to cultivate people to create blessings, not just pray, beg and pray, to Gods, Ong Tao, God of Wealth, Earth Dia, or general horoscope…. Only blessings can help people overcome accidents, have peace and luck. Blessings are obtained through meritorious, good, and honest deeds, such as: fasting, giving alms, going to the temple to worship Buddha, publishing scriptures, saving people, chanting and reciting the Buddha's name. Note meditation, keep the precepts of patience. Blessing is not the season of golden carp, votive paper…to sacrifice to the Gods to bless something very absurd and untruthful. Therefore, our Buddhists never follow such superstitious cultures.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=BUDDHIST DHARMA WHEEL GOLDEN MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.ASTRALIA,SYDNEY.23/1/2022.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.