Tanze Temple's Laba Porridge: A Bowl of Blessings and Zen Serenity

As the saying goes, “Little ones, little ones, don't be greedy—once Laba arrives, the New Year is near.” Tomorrow marks Laba Festival, and in Beijing, the fragrant aroma of porridge has already quietly filled the air around ancient temples. Among them, the most profound blend of earthly warmth and Buddhist serenity is found at Tanze Temple's grand Laba porridge offering ceremony.

Known for the saying “Tanze Temple came first, then Beijing City,” Tanze Temple has upheld the Laba porridge tradition since its founding in the Western Jin Dynasty over 1,700 years ago. In ancient times, Laba coincided with the Buddha's Enlightenment Day. Monks would hold solemn ceremonies, chanting sutras for blessings while slowly simmering Laba congee with mountain spring water. Devotees and locals would flock to receive this “Buddha's porridge,” blessed by Buddhist teachings, hoping to ward off misfortune, ward off illness, and ensure peace and prosperity.

Today, this heartwarming tradition endures unbroken. Each steaming bowl of auspicious porridge not only simmers the rich aroma of grains but also bears witness to Tanzhe Temple's millennia of prosperity and decline. It carries the capital's residents' anticipation for the festive spirit of the New Year while perpetuating Buddhism's founding compassion for alleviating suffering.

Before the Heavenly Kings Hall at Tanzhe Temple stands a famed giant copper cauldron—the temple's prized treasure and the exclusive vessel for Laba porridge. Standing nearly two meters tall with a diameter of almost ten feet and weighing several tons, this cauldron is said to have been crafted by imperial artisans during the Ming Dynasty specifically for preparing Laba porridge. An even more moving legend persists: during times of famine when crowds of starving people gathered, this cauldron miraculously “added people but not rice,” remaining perpetually full. The folk saying “Tanze Temple's porridge cauldron adds people but not rice” originated from this, adding an aura of wonder to the ancient temple.

Each Laba dawn, Tanzhe Temple glows with light. Monks and volunteers tend a gentle flame lit on the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month, slowly simmering over ten ingredients—including rice, black glutinous rice, red beans, and red dates—for more than ten hours. Pilgrims and visitors flock to the temple, lining up amidst the red walls and ancient cypress trees. In the cold wind, they receive bowls of steaming hot fortune porridge, savoring it while standing or sitting. Each spoonful carries the sweetness of grains, brimming with auspiciousness and warmth. Amidst the lingering aroma of porridge, they experience a unique convergence of festive spirit and Zen tranquility.

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After celebrating the Laba Festival on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month—with the Tanze Temple’s Blessing Porridge Offering—people begin to make more concrete preparations for the New Year, such as selecting festive flowers, as depicted in The New Year Spirit of Guangdong: A Pot of Mandarin Oranges and a Tree of Peach Blossoms — ❈ — From the fourth day of the first lunar month A Spring Ritual in Southern China: How One Village Turns Tradition into a Living Performance, to the sixteenth day of the first lunar month Walking Into a Smoother Year: The Tongji Bridge Tradition in Southern China, the New Year rituals of Lingnan carry forward wishes for the coming year through a series of celebrations.