Should real money be placed on the altar? Real money helps attract wealth, fortune, or is it bad luck?

During the mid-autumn festival, Vietnamese people pay more attention to worshiping ancestors, deities, and praying for good luck. Many people visit temples and pagodas to make offerings and ask for blessings. Apart from offering traditional items such as sticky rice, chicken, fruits, incense, betel leaves, and gold medicine alcohol, people also place real money on the altar. Should this practice be encouraged?

Many people believe that placing real money on the altar of deities and ancestors will bring them good luck, prosperity, and the ability to make more money. But does this practice have any impact on feng shui and spiritual matters?

Should real money be placed?

According to the advice of many temples, it is not recommended to place real money when visiting temples. Temples are places where people seek liberation and follow the law of cause and effect. Therefore, it is not appropriate to place real money or gold on the altar of the Buddha. Instead, it is advised to offer vegetarian fruits. Real money can be put into the donation box as a form of merit.

However, at altars dedicated to deities, gods of wealth, ancestral altars, and temples, it is still acceptable to place real money. But it is important to choose an appropriate denomination that is not too large. When placing money on the altar, it is advisable to use new bills. Old bills have been circulated and may carry bacteria and negative energy, which can disrupt the spiritual energy and bring negative feng shui to the altar. Dirty, scribbled, or old bills with a foul smell from handling and trading can create negative energy in the worship area.

When placing money, it is also important to avoid placing it too close to the incense burner to prevent the risk of burning or fire, which can bring bad luck.

Altars dedicated to the Buddha should only have vegetarian offerings and not real money or gold. Altars dedicated to ancestors and deities can have real money, but it should be new and clean.

Money placed on the altar should be replaced with new bills at the end of the year to avoid accumulating from one year to another, as this can create negative energy. According to feng shui, if money is not spent, it can lead to financial stagnation and difficulties.

When placing real money on the altar, it is important to consider the presence of curious children who may play with or steal the money, causing anxiety or disturbances in the family. Therefore, it is advisable not to place a large denomination on the altar.

Money placed on the altar should also be in a denomination that can be spent. For example, it is not advisable to place 500 or 200 currency notes, as these denominations are less commonly used in daily transactions and can be seen as unnecessary and disordered.

Can the money placed on the altar be used?

After worshiping, real money can be taken down from the altar and placed in a wallet to attract good luck and prosperity.

Placing real money on the altar is like seeking blessings and help from ancestors and deities to bring good fortune and prosperity. Therefore, you can certainly use the money as you would with other items.

However, it is important to use the real money in a responsible manner when making offerings. You can use the money to purchase items for future worship, such as incense, fruits, or tea. You can also use it for important transactions to seek favorable outcomes, financial prosperity, and the ability to generate more money. However, it is essential to avoid using the money for negative or harmful activities such as gambling, illegal activities, or causing harm to others.

This information is for reference and personal interpretation.