The Hungry Ghost Festival is what we commonly call the traditional Ghost Festival. The most important thing on the Hungry Ghost Festival is to burn some paper money as gifts to deceased elders in the family and friends. Every year during the Ghost Festival, the adults in our family always prevent us from going out. Before worshiping family members, we must first worship a "big master".
During the Hungry Ghost Festival, in some areas (such as Fujian and Taiwan), before worshiping the souls of the dead, believers will first worship a god named Mianran Dashu. Many people called him "Grand Master" and "Pudu Gong". It is said that in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, all the souls of the dead in the Yang world are managed by the "Grand Master". There are several Buddhist sayings about "Da Shi Ye": First, he is the incarnation of Guanyin, so he is called "Da Shi Ye". The second is that he was originally the leader of all ghosts. He was taught by Guanyin and converted to his disciples. From then on, he was called "Master" and became the god who protected the affairs of the Zhongyuan Purification.
According to Taoism, Taiyi saved the suffering god and incarnated as the "King of Burning Ghosts". He is the commander-in-chief of all the ghosts in the underworld and is also responsible for supervising the ghosts receiving incense in the underworld during the Ghost Festival. In addition, some sects such as the Lingbao sect do not ask the "face-burning ghost king" to supervise the prison, but have two gods "General He" and "General Qiao" to hold this position. For example, "Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu" written by Lin Lingzhen at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty wrote that "the two great sages of Beikui Xuanfan Mansion, Hu He and Qiao".
The Chinese society mostly adopts Buddhist teachings, and various Dharma assemblies often use Buddhist forms to shape the statue of the Great Master: "It has two horns on the top, a green face and fangs, tall and mighty, and there is a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva on its head, which symbolizes It represents the compassionate Avalokitesvara.” Some cautious believers will make a statue of the Great Master with paper during the Hungry Ghost Festival, and some will use tablets, paintings, wood and stone statues to offer sacrifices, and place the tablet or statue of the Great Master in front of the altar to ensure that the sacrifice goes smoothly. After July, the statue and throne of the great master are usually cremated and sent to heaven.
In Nanyang, it is the custom of overseas Chinese to hang banners with the words "Namo crossing the netherworld and the Buddha Amitabha" or "Namo sharing clothes and feeding Amitabha" during the Purdue Festival in the Zhongyuan Dynasty. On the side of the statue of Shiye, or even on the hands of the statue, words such as "crossing the netherworld and relieving suffering" are written in the hope that the Buddha will lead the souls of the dead to rebirth in the Buddhist kingdom. If words such as "distributing clothes and food" are written, it means praying to Amitabha Buddha for help. Master, distribute paper money, clothing, and food equally to the souls of the families.
Conclusion The Grand Master is also called Pudu Gong, and is generally not worshiped in the north. However, in southern Fujian and Taiwan, this god is valued very much. You must worship this god first. After becoming a god, you can burn paper for your family members.