Speech by Nee Soon GRC MP Henry Kwek at the 2017 Singapore-Malaysia-Indonesia Ancestor Worship event
义顺集选区议员郭献川在2017丁酉年新马印中元祭祖大典暨护国息灾超荐系念法会的讲话
Worshiping our ancestors is an important Chinese ritual. It lies at the heart of our tradition. It has continued uninterrupted for centuries, through war and peace. It is done by everyone, from the common man to leaders of nations.
And why do we do it? We do so because we want to remember them. We do so with a genuine heart. We believe that by doing so, we shape the values of those around us, which in turn creates a better society. And the way we worship our ancestors is to go through certain rituals, such as the ones we will go through today.
So while we physically go through the elaborate rituals today, what should our hearts and minds focus on? I believe that the answer could lies in a particular phase in the Analects,《慎终追远》. Let me try my best to explain this concept.
In Chinese customs, we visit our ancestors’ tomb at Qingming festival every year. We clean the tombs, we also hold rituals. This ritual is a good opportunity for us to reflect and introspect. We start by first remembering our ancestors. And then we thank them, especially for what they have done for us. And we try to remember the spirit that they hold, the virtues that they carry. And then we measure ourselves against their spirit and virtues. And if we find ourselves lacking in any of these spirits and virtues, we strive to change ourselves for the better.
And when we ourselves gain from this constant reflection, we teach our next generation how to do this. Not just the rituals, but the process of reflection that accompanies the rituals. This is the best way to remember our ancestors, and to express our love for them.So today, as we go through the ritual together, let us love, respect and reflect.
祭祖大典遵循古礼以缅怀先祖，来敦厚民风。祭祖是华人的一项重要的活动，在中华文化已经延续了数千年。在古代，从君王到百姓 ，都是一项非常重要的活动，以真诚恭敬的心来缅怀祖德，纪念祖先。
而现今，我们应该带着什么精神来祭祖呢？我还是觉得我们应该回到《论语》中所提到的四个字-“慎终追远”。对我而言，“慎终追远”和祭祖的精神息息相关。
清明时节，家家戶戶都会扫墓祭祖，全家谨慎而隆重地祭拜祖先。这就是“慎终追远”的表現，也是长久以來根植人心的重要观念。
那《慎终追远》的精神又是什么呢？当祭拜祖先时，我们首先感恩祖先的庇佑，怀念祖先，但同时，我们也要检视自己是否传承、拥有和同祖先一样的精神，如果我们发现自己有缺乏之处，就必须赶紧改过，然后将这个概念传递给我们的子孙。如此代代相传，这就是“慎终追远”，真正对祖先的思念之情，尽了孝道。
先人把孝顺之心跟智慧传给我们， 我们应该把宝贵的传统文化继续传承下去，承先启后。谢谢。