CHINESE NEW YEAR DOS AND DON’TS
Question: We are not supposed to throw out trash on the first day of Lunar New Year. How about the ashes of Little Houses that have been offered?
Answer: You don’t have to throw them away. Just wrap them properly before placing them in a relatively clean dustbin.
Question: In the event of a thunderstorm or rain without thunder during the period between midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve and 5am on the first day of Chinese New Year, is it alright to offer the First Incense and subsequent rounds of incense, recite the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance, the Heart Sutra and the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra (Wang Sheng Zhou)?
Answer: It doesn’t matter even if the weather condition is bad when offering the First Incense on the first day of Chinese New Year. As long as you have a Buddhist altar, you can continue to offer incense and perform recitation.
Question: We may recite up to a total of 87 times of the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance (LIFO) on the eve and first day of Lunar New Year. For critically-ill Buddhist practitioners, what is the maximum number of LIFO that they can recite on both days?
Answer: It should not exceed 49 times in total. Meanwhile, they should also recite more Little Houses in advance.
Question: Is it true that we can only offer Little Houses before 2am after offering the First Incense on Chinese New Year’s Eve?
Answer: There must be a formal Buddhist altar to offer Little Houses on the night of Chinese New Year’s Eve, and you can only do so before 1am.
Question: Can we recite Little Houses for the deceased on the first day of Lunar New Year?
Answer: Yes.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Discourse (Question 89), 7 February 2016
