Cúng thí thực (Mông Sơn thí thực, food-bestowal rite)
Also called: Thí thực cô hồn, Chẩn tế cô hồn, Trai đàn chẩn tế
- Offerings to wandering spirits
Culture and belief A record of custom.
Thí thực is a Buddhist rite in which the pagoda uses sutras and mantras to share food with wandering spirits and urge them to hear the Dharma. The rite has three sizes: Đại, Trung, and Tiểu Mông Sơn thí thực; the small session needs only water and thin rice porridge. The order at pagodas is the same because it follows the ritual manuals, while the altar, ritual music, and votive paper differ between the North and the South.
At a glance
- When it is held
- The pagoda performs it daily and during trai đàn chẩn tế (rites to feed the hungry) and lễ cầu siêu (prayers for the dead); the head of the household can request it to be done at home
- For whom
- Wandering spirits, hungry ghosts, and the spirits of the dead; the Buddhas and Tiêu Diện Đại Sỹ (the Great Being with a scorched face) are invited to witness
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
Region:
Nationwide
- When
- The pagoda performs it daily (Tiểu Mông Sơn) and during trai đàn chẩn tế and lễ cầu siêu; the head of the household can request it to be done at home
- Where the offerings are set
- At the pagoda or at the home of the head of the household
- Who makes the offering
- A monk leads the rite; the simplified session can be done by the head of the household
| Offering | Quantity | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | |||
| Flowers, fruit, incense, lamps | Vegetarian | ||
| Other | |||
| Food, drinks, cakes and sweets | |||
| Tea, rice wine, water | |||
| Water and thin rice porridge | 1 cup of water, 1 bowl of thin rice porridge | Vegetarian | Required. The minimum for the Tiểu Mông Sơn session |
North
Red River Delta, Hà Nội, chùa Tảo Sách, Buddhist
- Where the offerings are set
- Setting up the altar and offering right at the Three Jewels altar
- Who makes the offering
- 1 to 3 monks, with additional ritual masters in the music and chanting group; one session lasts 2 to 4 hours
| Offering | Notes |
|---|---|
| Other | |
| Food for the offering | |
| Votive paper | |
| Votive paper, tiền tào quan (paper money for the underworld), paper horses, life-size paper utensils, paper servant figures | Lê Hoàng Hải and Hoàng Văn Chung (2022) record far more than pagodas in Ho Chi Minh City |
Red River Delta, chùa Côn Sơn, Hải Dương, Hải Phòng, Buddhist
- When
- Evening of the 23rd of the first lunar month (2026), the final rite of the Côn Sơn, Kiếp Bạc spring festival
- Where the offerings are set
- Côn Sơn pagoda courtyard, in front of the tiền đường (front hall): the main altar and the bàn tiến (offering table)
- Who makes the offering
- Monks of the city Buddhist Sangha Executive Board preside
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Xôi (steamed sticky rice) and cakes | |
| Rice porridge, vegetarian rice | Vegetarian |
| Fruit | |
| Sugarcane, bánh đa (rice cracker), fruits, popcorn | Vegetarian |
| Other | |
| Hoa đăng (flower lanterns), incense and candles, hoa nghi (ceremonial flowers) | |
South
Southeast, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, chùa Linh Tiên, Buddhist
- Where the offerings are set
- Besides the Tam bảo (Three Jewels) altar, there is also an altar to Tiêu Diện Đại Sỹ (bày vật cúng chúng sinh), five altars of Phật ngũ phương (Buddhas of the five directions) and cầu Nại Hà (Nại Hà bridge)
- Who makes the offering
- 5 to 7 monks, no ritual master; one ceremony lasts 4 to 6 hours
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | |
| Incense, lamps, water, flowers, fruits at the five altars of Phật ngũ phương | Vegetarian |
| Other | |
| Vật cúng chúng sinh (offerings to sentient beings) at the altar of Tiêu Diện Đại Sỹ | |
Steps of the rite
Used across Vietnam, Buddhist
- Offering incense, paying respects to the Patriarch, inviting the Buddhas
- Inviting the Three Jewels to guide the spirits
- Taking refuge for the spirits
- Phát tấu (presenting the petition) to the messengers of the five directions
- Chanting sutras, reciting mantras
- The ritual master mounts the altar, opens the Mông Sơn thí thực offering, forms mudras, and recites mantras
- Releasing living beings, concluding the rite
Red River Delta, Hà Nội, chùa Tảo Sách, Buddhist
- Inviting the Buddhas
- Inviting the spirits, bathing the spirits, returning the spirits
- Phát tấu (presenting the petition) to the messengers of the five directions
- Chanting sutras, reciting mantras
- Mounting the altar to offer; during the offering the monks perform the lục cúng dance (incense, lamps, flowers, fruit, tea, water) around the altar
Red River Delta, chùa Côn Sơn, Hải Dương, Hải Phòng, Buddhist
- Setting up the Mông Sơn altar, placing the Buddha statue seated on the altar
- Offering to the Buddha, offering to the Saints
- Presenting the sớ (petition) for cầu an (prayer for peace and safety)
- Arranging vegetarian offering trays along the way from the main altar to the bàn tiến (advancement table) to distribute to sentient beings
Southeast, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, chùa Linh Tiên, Buddhist
- Inviting the Buddhas
- Taking refuge for the spirits
- Chanting sutras, reciting mantras
- The chief celebrant goes to invite the Buddha at the five altars of ngũ phương, performs the rite to open the gates of hell
- Inviting Tiêu Diện Đại Sỹ, summoning the wandering spirits
- The chanting masters circle the altar, leading the spirits across cầu Nại Hà
- Ascending the altar to perform the thí offering
Communities and regions
Sources
- Lê Hoàng Hải, Hoàng Văn Chung: Thực hành nghi lễ Mông Sơn thí thực trong Phật giáo Việt Nam hiện nay, Nghiên cứu Tôn giáo số 5 năm 2022 (vjol.info.vn)
- Linh thiêng Lễ Mông Sơn thí thực tại Côn Sơn (tapchitoaan.vn)
- Lễ Mông Sơn thí thực ở chùa Côn Sơn (mekongasean.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
More ritesDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, the life cycle, village and ethnic rites.Open