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Legend has it that the ancestral tablets originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, an imperial dynasty of China. There was a farmer named Ding Lan who was raised by his widowed mother. Ding Lan often verbally abused his mother due to his bad temper.

One day, while working at the paddy field, Ding Lan was surprised to see a baby goat in kneeling posture while suckling milk from its mother. The elderly goat herder related to Ding Lan the fable of the kneeling baby goat whose moral is that one should always show gratitude to one's parents. Upon hearing the fable, Ding Lan felt ashamed of himself for ill-treating his own mother. On that very same day, Ding Lan's mother was tied up with some matters and was therefore late in delivering meal to Ding Lan. She was fearful of angering Ding Lan and rushed to the paddy field with the meal. When Ding Lan saw his mother, he felt remorseful and ran towards her. When Ding Lan's mother saw him running towards her, she thought that Ding Lan was angry with her and could not wait to confront her. She decided to escape by running away from Ding Lan. She however fell into the rapids while escaping from Ding Lan. Ding Lan could not find any trace of his mother in the rapids. He only managed to retrieve a piece of wood. Ding Lan was devastated and decided to bring the wood home. He engraved his mother's name on the wood and enshrined it in the main hall of his house. Whenever Ding Lan encountered difficulties and needed his mother's guidance, he would kneel in front of the 'tablet' and dropped the moon blocks (jiaobei in Chinese). Ding Lan's ritual was emulated by others subsequently and it became customary to enshrine an ancestral tablet for veneration purpose and to demonstrate one's filial piety and gratitude towards one's parents.

The ancestral tablet is also known as the spirit or deity tablet. It is called the 'Gong Ma' tablet by the Chinese in the Minnan region of Fujian province. In Buddhism, it is known as the 'lotus seat'. The names of ancestors or deities are inscribed onto the tablets. The ancestral tablets symbolize the spirits of ancestors and are enshrined for veneration by the descendants. The ancestral tablets also symbolize the continuation of one's family bloodline and they are believed to protect the descendants from danger and harm. Nowadays, ancestral tablets are usually housed in Buddhist temples due to changing social structure.

"When you drink water, think of its source" is a Chinese proverb that exhorts filial piety. Proper handling of the funeral rites of one's parents is a form of filial piety. The purpose of installing an ancestral table at home is to 'invite' the spirit of one's ancestor to 'inhabit' the tablet so that the descendants will be protected from danger and harm. Nowadays, ancestral tablets are usually housed in temples for the following reasons:

The lifestyle and living arrangement of modern families differ greatly from extended families in the past. Adult children tend to leave parental homes and set up their own families elsewhere. They usually relocate to cities and live in apartments with limited space. There is no space for housing ancestral tablets. Moreover, the design of the altar is usually incongruous with modern furnishings and decor. Many people therefore choose to house ancestral tablets in temples instead of their own homes.

Housing an ancestral tablet is not just about enshrining it. There are daily rites and rituals to perform such as incense offering and worship in the morning and at night. Special rites will also have to be performed on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, death anniversary and during certain festivals. Many people are so preoccupied with work or studies that they are unable to perform the rituals or make any offerings regularly. They therefore decided to relocate their ancestral tablets to the temples where the rites and offerings can be performed and made respectively on their behalf. The added advantage of relocating the ancestral tablets to temples is that Sangha sutra-chanting and ceremonies will be conducted on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month and special occasions. These events help the descendants fulfill their ancestral worship obligations to a great extent.

Singapore's low birth rate is a serious problem. Many married couples have also remained childless. For married women, it is also inconvenient to house the ancestral tablets in their matrimonial homes due to Chinese traditions. It is also common for adult children to emigrate to other countries or change their religions such that it is no longer feasible to house ancestral tablets at home. Relocating ancestral tablets to temples will enable married women who have set up their own families to fulfill their ancestral remembrance obligations at the temples. It will also enable children who have emigrated to fulfill their obligations whenever they return from abroad.

When an ancestral tablet is enshrined and housed in the right location, the deceased would gain additional merit and rebirth in the Western Pure Land (also known as Amitabha's Pure Land). The descendants would also be blessed with protection and good fortune. You are welcome to house your ancestral tablet at the Ancestral Hall of Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (Singapore). We regularly conduct ceremonies, sutra-chanting and other remembrance rites for the deceased in addition to providing excellent facilities and services. Our Ancestral Hall is not just a place for paying respects to the ancestors, it also serves as a reunion venue where kinship is fostered. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to know more about housing ancestral tablets in our Ancestral Hall.