Values and Buddhist Principles That Appear in The Poi Ja Tee Tradition

Abstract

This article aims to study the value and Buddhist principles that appear in the Poi Ja Ti tradition.
It was found that Poi Ja Ti is a sand pagoda worship ceremony of the Tai (Shan) people. It is organized with the aim of worshiping the Buddha. It is believed that if one participates in this tradition, one will gain great merit. In addition, it is a way to avert bad luck, to make bad karma disappear, to turn bad things into good things, to make good things even better. It is also considered a tradition to ask for rain to fall in the right season. Villagers will work together to build a pagoda with sand, decorate it beautifully, and worship it with sand, water, flowers, incense, candles, flags, or lanterns, and light lanterns to provide bright light at night. On the day of the event, merit-making is made to dedicate to the Buddha, food is offered to the monks, food is fed to the participants, the offering ceremony is held, and sermons are listened to. After that, fireworks are lit. It is believed that if the sand pagoda is worshipped and offered to the Buddha, the bad karma for the year will disappear, and the village will be blessed and their agricultural activities will be successful that year.