Ihai

An ihai (位牌) (zh: paiwei) is a tablet left before a Buddhist altar to commemorate a deceased loved one. The tablet is a holdover from days of ancestor worship practiced in Chinese Buddhism. The mortuary tablet is usually in front of the Buddhist altar with incense burning. The family of the deceased usually chants sutras or Buddhist scriptures at this tablet. This and prayers are believed to relieve the suffering of the deceased loved one in jigoku or the Buddhist hell. The ihai takes the form of a wood or stone tablet that is ingraved with a name given to the deceased as a posthumorous name. The tablet is kept in the butsudan for what is considered the "Judgement" phase after one has died and is akin to the Catholic idea of purgatory. During this period people offer prayers and priests hold ceremonies on the advent of the death day. This practice is not followed by the followers of the Pure Land sect who believe that the soul is reborn on death in Amitabha's paradise.