Remembering My Father 2

It's Ching Ming , so, we lay offerings of food that my father liked, as a symbol of respect  and a way of remembering him.

After that, we burned incense papers, fake paper money (interestingly they call them hell notes) and even the tobacco my father liked. It is a ritual. I don't think the burning will serve my father, unless he is still stuck in the astral world as a hungry ghost. I doubt that he is, because I know him to be such a peaceful soul that didn't need or want anything from us when he was with us. 

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If my father is reincarnated as a human being, he wouldn't know that we are burning these incense for him - at least consciously. It is the same as that I don't know if there is a someone somewhere praying for me, be they be doing it in a Taoist shrine, Catholic church, mosque...etc.

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If my father is in the heavenly realms, then he won't need us to burn those incense. He would be in pure bliss and would not have these earthly desires.

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Perhaps the traditions are for the surviving offsprings, as a ritual for the living to stay as a family and offer our gratitude to the deceased.

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However, my siblings who are Christians (and also my father's filial children) refused to perform the rituals.  For me, I go through the rituals. It is not going to offend my God. God cannot be offended. In other words, I have chosen to be in this world, but not of this world.

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