Prayer text for the Thiết Linh sàng rite

Lễ Thiết linh (Thiết linh rite). After the mourning altar has been set up and the linh vị (spirit tablet) has been placed

  • Used across Vietnam
  • Folk practice

Culture and belief A record of custom.

What this prayer says

Prayer text for the Thiết Linh sàng ceremony, recited by the family to respectfully announce to the Buddhas of the ten directions, the deities governing the area and the ancestors on both sides, inviting the spirit of the deceased to take its place at the linh sàng (spirit bed) and asking the ancestors to receive and support it. Recited during the whole ceremony, after the linh sàng is set up and the portrait and spirit tablet are placed.

The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.

Fill in before the rite

Your name and address appear in the prayer below and are kept on this device only.

Your regional custom

Showing the version used across Vietnam.

9 more blanks

How it differs from the common version

Modern prose replaces the parallel prose: reverently worshipping the Buddhas of the ten directions, the local deities and ancestors (not worshipping Thành hoàng or Táo quân), stating the full name, date of birth, native place, time of death, inviting the soul to be seated at the linh sàng, with a passage asking for repentance toward the deceased.

The common version: Prayer text for the Thiết Linh rite

Other texts for Lễ Thiết linh (Thiết linh rite)

Collected text. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.

Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.

More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.