<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The worship of Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean (Heaven-Communicating) is a widespread folk belief in venerating Heaven in the South of our country. According to folk beliefs, Heaven ranks above Buddha among the objects of worship, in the order \u201cHeaven \u2013 Buddha \u2013 Saints \u2013 Gods.\u201d Therefore, worshipping Heaven is the very first act of devotion for every individual and every household.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before 1975, in most rural areas of the South, nearly every home had an outdoor Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar in front of the house (often called the \u00d4ng Thi\u00ean altar). The altar was usually simple, made of wood: a single post about 1.5 meters tall topped with a square wooden platform, each side around 0.4 meters. More affluent families built concrete posts and tiled them. On the altar there was always an incense burner and several small teacups filled with rainwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n On important days such as the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, two bowls of rice and salt were added, along with plates of fruit. Every evening at dusk, the homeowner would light a single incense stick, clasp hands before the altar, and pray to Heaven for blessings, health, and peace\u2026 hoping the rising smoke would carry their sincere wishes up to Heaven (th\u00f4ng thi\u00ean \u2013 \u201ccommunicating with Heaven\u201d), so that Heaven might bless their family and loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar serves as a spiritual bridge connecting humans with Heaven, with ancestors, and maintaining the link between Heaven and Earth, between the living and the departed. This is symbolized by the daily lighting of incense at dusk\u2014the moment when day transitions into night\u2014and the incense placed in the burner, which stands between Heaven (above) and Earth (below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The worship of Heaven also appears in many religions present in the South. In Cao \u0110\u00e0i, Heaven is worshipped as Thi\u00ean Nh\u00e3n (\u201cHeavenly Eye\u201d), represented by a single eye symbolizing the all-seeing, all-powerful Supreme Being who observes every human action. In H\u00f2a H\u1ea3o Buddhism, besides venerating the Nine Ancestral Generations and national heroes, each devotee\u2019s family maintains an outdoor Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar in front of the house to honor Heaven and Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n For farmers, \u00d4ng Tr\u1eddi (Mr. Heaven) is seen as a powerful, miraculous, and compassionate being who can save people in times of need. When facing misfortune, people \u201cpray to Heaven and Buddha\u201d to \u201cward off danger and calamity.\u201d Heaven is sometimes personified and humanized, addressed as \u201c\u00d4ng\u201d (Mr.\/Grandfather),<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00d4ng Tr\u1eddi has eyes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh Heaven, look down and see,<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n and has ears:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey, don\u2019t take advantage of others.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n And \u00d4ng Tr\u1eddi bears responsibility: people believe \u201cHeaven gives birth to the elephant, Heaven provides the grass,\u201d \u201cHeaven gives life, Heaven nurtures,\u201d and \u201cHeaven never forsakes the sincere heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, \u00d4ng Tr\u1eddi has moved from being a distant \u201csupernatural being\u201d into the daily life of Southern farmers\u2014understanding their thoughts and feelings, witnessing their joys and sorrows, seeing their hardships, and ready to lend a helping hand. \u00d4ng Tr\u1eddi becomes as close as grandparents, parents, or family members. That is why worshipping Heaven feels completely natural and ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Southern people are straightforward and open-minded in life and customs, so religious syncretism is clearly evident. Many Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altars also include worship of \u00d4ng T\u00e0 (the Earth Spirit) nearby\u2014sometimes a few stones placed beside the incense burner, or a small corner at the base of the altar. On death anniversaries, festivals, or T\u1ebft, people often combine offerings to \u201c\u00d4ng Tr\u1eddi\u201d as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If there is a tray of food offered inside the house, the Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar outside also receives offerings\u2014fruit, a plate of sticky rice, or sometimes wine and meat. On New Year\u2019s Eve, every family places a five-fruit tray or a round, full watermelon on the Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar to pray for abundance throughout the coming year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, many rural areas in the South still maintain this custom. Observing a Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar reveals the simplicity, sincerity, and genuine faith of the Southern people. Yet beneath this simplicity lies the ancient yin\u2013yang philosophy that has existed for thousands of years among the L\u1ea1c Vi\u1ec7t people, symbolized by the square (Earth \u2013 yin) and circle (Heaven \u2013 yang).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The square altar represents Earth (yin), while the round incense burner represents Heaven (yang). The Southern people\u2019s constant yearning for harmony and perfection is quietly expressed every day through the Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean altar: square and round, yin and yang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The worship of Th\u00f4ng Thi\u00ean (Heaven-Communicating) is a widespread folk belief in venerating Heaven in the South of our country. According to folk beliefs, Heaven ranks above Buddha among the objects of worship, in the order \u201cHeaven \u2013 Buddha \u2013 Saints \u2013 Gods.\u201d Therefore, worshipping Heaven is the very first act of devotion for every…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[652],"tags":[867,868,869],"location":[],"class_list":["post-2424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-ban-tho-ong-thien","tag-tuc-tho-ban-ong-thien","tag-tuc-tho-thong-thien"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2424"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2452,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424\/revisions\/2452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2424"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
My wife beats me with a palm-leaf stem.\u201d<\/em> (folk verse)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buddha has eyes, Mr. Heaven has ears.\u201d<\/em> (folk verse)<\/p>\n\n\n\nAccording to C\u00e0 Mau Online<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"