Phuket Vegetarian Festival meanings

Andaman News NBT (VHF dial) + FM90.5 Radio Thailand at 8.30am & perhaps repeats on Phuket Cable TV channel 1, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, Monday 15 September 2008 & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/ Send comments to AndamanNews@yahoo.com

During the Phuket Vegetarian Festival,
Chinese shrines clearly reflect
their roles as community centres.
People wearing white go in and out all day
to pray and attend ritual ceremonies.

All shrines are opened as alms houses.
People flock in to take food
& make donations to make merit.

Its the time to share happiness
among the wealthy and the poor.
Everyone is equal when entering the shrines.

In Phuket dialect we say Chai Tueng.
Chai is vegetable. Tueng is place.
It is like the central dialect.
They use Taejiew Chinese, but we use Hokkien.

I would like to invite people
to take a bit of food from shrines
as we believe its a blessing.
When its a blessing, it becomes
a harmonious gathering of the poor & wealthy.
When everyone has a meal here
it means that they share the same rice pot.

The vegetarian diet was brought into Phuket
by Chinese settlers over 100 years ago.
During that time, people grew sick,
so the Chinese opera company
decided to keep to a vegetarian diet
& the sickness disappeared.
This led to peoples faith
& generations since keep practicing
the diet until today.

During the old days, we did not bring
the incense stick ash from China.
Later there was a person who volunteered
to go bring the incense stick
& the tray to place in Phuket.

The rules which vegetarian participants must observe emphasize bodies, speech and mind.
They not only wear white
& refrain from eating animal flesh,
but some more rules should be recognized.
People who are in mourning
cannot practice the vegetarian diet.
Pregnant women or during womens period
can eat vegetarian diets, but cannot visit shrines
to pray or attend the ritual ceremonies.

Despite keeping to vegetable diet,
some vegetables cannot be consumed.
These are strong smelling ones such as
garlic, leek, spring onion, onion, its leaves,
Chinese Chives & tobacco.

Flavor enhancers like Monosodium Glutamate,
artificial food like ducklike dishes
should not be taken.
Strict Phuket vegetarians would NOT eat them.

If you strictly observe the vegetarian festival rules
from the 1st days for 3 years of festivals,
people believe you purified your mind & bodies.
The most important thing is that
we are abstaining from killing animals,
which is considered sinful.
Vegetarian diet also contributes to good health.
Jai Chai means eating food prepared from vegetables
and not consuming strong smelling vegetables.
Song Keng means pray
& Je Seam means keep to the rules
or purify the mind for inner peace.

Many famous shrines are located in Phuket city area
such as Bangniew and Jui Tui Shrines.