It’s common sense, but every once in a while, folks need to be explicitly reminded to not be inconsiderate, even for something as blatantly obvious as this. A Taoist priest has taken to Facebook to tell devotees not to mess up public spaces during the Seventh Month.
While the souls of the dead are believed to be roaming around these couple of weeks, Buddhists and Taoists are burning joss papers and other paper offerings for their deceased relatives. Nothing wrong with the tradition, of course, so long as folks remain considerate while doing so.
Chung Kwang Tong — a Taoist priest of the Quan Zhen Longmen Tradition — is no stranger to hearing and seeing problematic cases involving the burning of offerings. Instead of burning joss papers in the bins kindly provided by the Town Councils, some continue to burn them elsewhere, including grass patches, pavements and drain covers. Some don’t even pick up after themselves, leaving unburnt joss papers flying around and basically creating a mess in housing estates.
“The spirits won’t physically take away the offerings and clear it for you,” Chung joked.
“The cleaners will have to do so. Let’s give them a helping hand ok?”
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