In the past, many Cantonese speaking elderly would stay behind at the funeral wake to wait for Taoist priest to perform the last ritual – Scattered Flowers.
In this ritual, the scripts are slightly different from the Taoism scriptures that the Taoist Priest used to chant. The scripts are simple and easy to understand. The focus, is more on relieving sorrows of the family members.
The scripts (or lyrics) uses the name of different types of flowers as a theme, sung by the Taoist priest accompany by music played using a Chinese musical instrument Er-Hu, to elaborate the unhappiness, helpless and sorrow in the living world so as to comfort and persuade the deceased and the family members to accept it as part and parcel of life and to let things go.
It is also because the simple and easy-to-understand lyrics, coupled with the sorrow and sadness when sung by the Taoist Priest, some listeners will feel sad and some even teared. This is why the elderly will stay behind to wait for this last ritual – scattered flowers.
Till today, this ritual is still one of the rituals that the Cantonese Taoist priest must conduct on the first night of the wake.
广东法事 – 散花 – 解心息结
可曾听过，以前很多广东老人家去奔丧的第一个晚上，总会留在治丧处等待道长做最后一场法事 – 散花。为何老人家会对这一齣法事这么感兴趣呢？
在法事里，道长所唸唱的经文与道教经文略有不同。它是较简单易懂的文字唸唱着解心息结的劝文。一齣以花为题的白文配合二胡拉出的幽怨曲所唸唱出的解心息结的劝文。
这一齣法事，主要是借助解心息结的劝文，劝解亡者和家人放下彼此心里的悲哀和牵挂，接受已定的事实。重点也更多于减轻家庭成员的悲伤。
散花科一小段的内容有：
“花初散，是荼薇，灵牌台上实依稀
三翻四覆将你记，叫他阳间怎分离
（简白的解说就是 – 亲人的逝世，家人无时无刻的思念，难以相信亲人已去世的事实）
花又散，九里香，借问阳司路几长
割断恩情多仇恨，旁人见者亦悲伤
（简白的解说就是 – 阳司路漫长，阴阳相隔，割断了阳间所有情谊，亲戚朋友也为之悲伤和无奈）
也因为这劝文里的简易文字易懂，加上由道长唸唱起来时是那么的幽怨和悲伤，会让听者感到伤心难过。有些听者还会黯然落泪。这就是为何老人家会特意等待来听这一齣法事 – 散花。
