Deities and Faith
For ancestor worship, is uncooked rice enough or should cooked meals be prepared?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
For ancestor worship, I would generally recommend cooked food that can be eaten. Thinking of it as inviting family to a meal makes this easier to understand. If the meal expresses care, preparing it properly is more complete than simply setting out uncooked rice.
In a teaching, Master Ji Gong also reminded everyone through the example of inviting family to eat. Serving them only uncooked rice naturally feels different from properly preparing a meal. He said cooked food might be better for worship, with the point being the care shown toward others. This is advice about worship, not something that needs turning into another frightening prohibition.