What needs understanding before rites for the deceased, and why does their willingness matter?

First understand who the deceased person is, their present condition, what they cannot release and whether they are willing to accept help. Needs and connections differ. One scripture or destination cannot fit everyone. Sheng Zhen Men first seeks understanding, then decides which deities or Buddhas to ask and which texts to recite, aiming to suit the person.

I have discussed infant spirits longing for their mother and deceased people unable to release grievances or family attachments. These experiences make communication and reassurance important, beyond simply driving someone away. Willing acceptance and unresolved feelings call for different approaches and difficulty levels. A large altar or lively event does not itself prove someone is settled.

Even kindly wishing to help untended deceased people in a cemetery requires understanding their willingness. I do not agree with calling soldiers to seize and forcibly remove beings who are not disturbing anyone. Compassion does not mean cutting down or killing every ghost. But this does not prohibit intervention in all cases. In our religious understanding, malicious ghosts or spirit soldiers intruding on people and taking energy may require handling under corresponding rules. Karmic creditors with command flags require understanding their reasons, which is a different matter.

I use processions to explain this boundary: deities announce protection and boundaries in a locality, warning against intrusion on kind people and helping those willing to receive rites. It is not indiscriminate killing. Humans and unseen beings need limits against mutual infringement.

Universal offerings and rites for the deceased also differ. Sharing food and dedicating recitation merit cares for connected beings; individual rites address specific circumstances. Families can express blessings, reduce emotional pulling and care for their daily lives. The hope is greater steadiness for all, not a guarantee every wish is fulfilled once or using fear to make people feel compelled indefinitely.

For ancestors, I have introduced collective Zhongyuan offerings and separate individual rituals. Group participation was less costly then, while individual arrangements could target particular needs. I understand differences in arrangement and energy transformation through faith, but price cannot guarantee results. Those with limited means can join group ceremonies as appropriate without adding burdens through comparison. Current arrangements and fees require separate confirmation.

A client returned from Japan feeling physically unwell and sought our understanding. Through divination and perception then, we understood children seeking their mother as following her. She had no abortion history. This was the religious judgment of that case. Another person’s discomfort does not establish the same cause.

During the rite, divine guidance was not proceeding smoothly because they kept asking for their mother. As I prepared to ask the Seventh and Eighth Lords to lead them away, I perceived Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva appearing as their mother and carrying them off. I was deeply touched. Understanding the actual longing may be nearer the issue’s heart than simply wanting removal. This was my individual case, not a script every ceremony should follow.

I also relayed a story heard by a religious-supplies-shop friend: someone went to a cemetery hoping to help wandering souls, then felt disturbed afterward and wondered why goodwill had not brought the expected result. I reminded people that wanting to help is our intention; willingness to accept still requires understanding. It was a friend’s relayed religious story, not an incident I investigated or proof such rites inevitably harm people.

Introducing our school’s rites, YOYO said that beyond completing recitation, we understand the deceased person’s needs, select texts, request guidance and check through perception and divination. She also said ordinary recitation and merit dedication still benefit the deceased; introducing ourselves must not negate others’ recitation. I added that sincere recitation and dedication are good, while the person’s needs remain central. This describes our service priorities, not judgment on the effectiveness of every other ceremony.

Another easily confused distinction is that seeing or sensing does not mean being able to complete rites. We discussed people suddenly communicating with pets and then claiming ability to serve the deceased. Actual work also requires knowing what is missing, whether appropriate deities can be asked and whether the practitioner is prepared.

I have seen forceful removal of souls and felt sad. Thinking a destination is better does not mean the other being is willing or ready to adapt. Assistance can first reach a better place and proceed gradually. We too learn and work step by step. Kindness or spiritual perception does not mean we can already do everything.

Home-purification cases likewise cannot all be understood only as removal. In one religiously perceived case, some beings could receive rites, others needed learning before potentially becoming spirit soldiers, and there were arrangements for local protection. These were understandings and interventions for that case. They do not mean every home must worship identically or every being remaining was immediately conferred a title.

I have compared rites to receiving a ticket: helping a deceased person who did not know where to go toward a better next journey. A ticket does not mean that station is the final destination. What follows depends on the person, accumulated merit and later conditions. This illustrates guidance, not a guarantee every rite takes someone straight to the Pure Land.

Timing also cannot become only an expiration rule. In the tradition I described, conducting rites within forty-nine days aims to provide early help. After forty-nine days, understanding and arrangements are still possible, depending also on the deities requested and actual ability to assist. I still begin with the person’s needs rather than telling families that passing one date leaves no chance.