Taoist and Buddhist Post Funeral Rites – 1 year 

After a year has passed, it is common for bereaved families to offer some prayers to the decedent in the hopes of aiding their loved one a smoother transition to the other world, before being reincarnated. There are two main rituals to be conducted a year after death for Buddhists and Taoists namely the “Ku Qian” and “Gong De” rituals. To facilitate these rituals, do put aside about 3 to 5 sets of the decedent’s clothings as they will be needed.

Ku Qian 裤钱

It is believed that before everyone of us is reincarnated, we need to borrow a sum of money from the official in the underworld for expenses needed on the voyage to get reincarnated into this current life. The exact sum of these monies to be borrowed depends on the zodiac of the decedent.

“Ku Qian” money comes in various forms but in Singapore, the type that is seen the most is the one where family members have to draw a circle and mark the centre of the circle with a dot to signify the signature of the bereaved family members offering these paper monies

The burning of “Ku Qian” money is to return these borrowed monies as the deceased return to the other world. Paper money is often burnt in excess to fend off wandering spirits that might come and steal the paper money meant for the deceased. Borrowed monies have to be returned to ease the transition of the soul in the afterlife to get reincarnated.

Gong De 功德

“Gong De” involves the use of Buddhist or Taoist scriptures to guide the deceased’s soul to the path of light in the underworld. It is a ritual that cleanses the deceased of his or her accumulated sins and ailments from his or her past life. The end goal is to achieve spiritual cultivation. There will be recitals of “King of The Underworld Sutra” and “Compassionate Water Repentance for Extinguishing Sins”. Rituals like the “Walk Of Forgiveness”, “Bestowal of Documents” and the “Crossing the Bridge” will be conducted to symbolise that the souls are being freed from hell.

Common Elements

1. Paper Products

Paper products are needed for both types of rituals but for “Gong De”, the paper money used will be usually more and the paper house that will be burnt will usually be at least 16 feet. For “Ku Qian”, the paper house to be burnt just has to be bigger than what was burnt during the funeral. We would recommend family members to fold at least 20 big black bags of paper money for the facilitation of the burning of paper house. Family members will usually purchase boxes of paper money weeks before the date of ritual and start folding the paper money. In the event that the family is small without many people or if time is tight, we will help family members to get pre-folded paper monies. Clothe boxes and money boxes are usually also offered during this grand ritual. A paper car with a chauffeur is usually offered to the decedent as well.

2. Duration of Ritual

Both rituals typically take a minimum of two days with the ritual starting the night before. At the start of the ritual, the Priest or Monk will invite the decedent as well as the souls of other ancestors over. Prayer food offerings would be present.

3. Food Catering

Usually, food will be catered for such an occasion. Food offered can be in the form of buffet, live station cooking or live cooks. An additional tent will be needed if live cooks are preferred as the cooks will need the space to cook on the spot for the tables of people present. In olden days, it is customary for Chinese to offer food for those who participate in this event as an expression of thanks to those who come to partake or help in the occasion.

4. Venue

“Gong De” and “Ku Qian” can be held at religious-neutral funeral parlours (Sin Ming, Ubi, Woodlands and Tampines) or at the void deck of public housing estates. Some temples also allow the rituals to be held there.

5. Toilet and Fridge

If these ceremonies are held at the void deck of a housing estate, family members will usually cater a portable toilet and fridge.

6. Attire

Family members are to don themselves in the funeral attire (white shirts and coloured pants of different colours based on the person’s generation in the family) if they still have the funeral attire. We will also need one set of the deceased’s clothes including shoes to place it at the altar table in the front to conduct the rituals.

“Gong De” and “Ku Qian” are considered grand post-funeral events for Taoist and Buddhist funerals and as with most grand events, the price tag accompanying these events is not small. The package for such post funeral events starts from SGD12,000. If you do not want to spend too much on these post-funeral events and budget is tight, you can also do a simple ritual with the burning of some paper products. Such rituals would be a lot more friendly on the wallet.

If you are unsure which ritual to do for the deceased, do call us now for immediate assistance.