“Thank you, Kitchen God, for watching over this home, for holding us together, and for reminding us of the warmth and belonging we share. May you continue to guide and protect this space and the family that gathers here.”

Táo Quân

The Kitchen God (in Vietnam called Táo Quân) is more than just a deity of the kitchen or hearth; he is seen as the spiritual “glue” that keeps the family connected, protected, and harmonious. Traditionally, every home has a hearth or cooking area, and this space is treated with special reverence because it’s where meals are made, conversations happen, and warmth is shared. 

The Kitchen God is considered a witness to the daily life of the household — seeing its moments of kindness, its struggles, its celebrations, and its conflicts. Through the hearth, the Kitchen God symbolically holds the threads of family life, reminding its members of their bond and responsibilities to one another. As a protector of the hearth, the Kitchen God ensures warmth, safety, and prosperity. The hearth becomes a sacred space that nourishes both body and spirit.

At the end of the lunar year, the Kitchen God returns to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor about the family’s behavior. This time is called the Ong Cong Ong Tao Festival. This serves as both a spiritual “accounting” and a gentle reminder for family members to live with integrity and care. It is a time to reflect on the wholesome and wholesome actions of the family during the past year, without judgement.

According to legend, “Ong Cong Ong Tao” are the God of Kitchen, who look after the life of the whole family. “Tao Quan” is derived from three Gods: the God of Soil, the God of House and the God of Kitchen. However, people still know it collectively as Ong Tao.

“Tao Quan” is the God that decides the luck, risk and disaster of the homeowner. Besides, he also prevents the invasion of the devil and keep the family’s peaceful. Therefore, the worshiping ritual of “Ong Cong – Ong Tao” was meant to pray for prosperity and completeness. Ong Tao will go to Heaven and report to the Jade Emperor about the work, manners of every family in the world.

Prepare three sticks of incense, flowers, tea and fruit, and place them before the altar in the kitchen.

Below are the prayers for the Kitchen Gods, excerpted from the book Traditional Vietnamese Prayers:

Prayer to the Kitchen Gods

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật! 

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật! 

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật!

We humbly bow before the Honored Kitchen Gods,
Guardians of the hearth, witnesses of all within our home.

I am… (your name / family’s name),
Living at… (your address),
On this day of… (date), with sincere heart,
We offer incense, fruits, and humble offerings,
As a token of respect and gratitude.

Thank you, revered Kitchen Gods,
For watching over our home through the past year,
For keeping the fire warm, the family united,
And protecting us in peace and harmony.

As you ascend to Heaven to report to the Jade Emperor,
We pray that you speak of our good deeds,
Forgive our mistakes,
And bless our household with health, prosperity, kindness, and wisdom.

May our family be filled with warmth and happiness,
Our work smooth, our children diligent and respectful,
Our elders strong, and our home full of joy and abundance.

Please continue to guide and protect us,
Lighting the way with compassion and good fortune.

With deepest reverence,
We offer this prayer.

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật! 

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật! 

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật!

Reflecting on Our Actions as a Family

Throughout the year, when we make offerings to Tao Quan, we can take a few minutes to reflect on the wholesome and unwholesome actions of the family during the past year, without judgement. And we can rejoice and share in the joy of all the wholesome actions of our family. And if we become aware of unwholesome actions that have causes us or our family to suffer, we can practice Beginning Anew in the spirit of Tao Quan to form the glue of connection, togetherness, love, acceptance, and harmony for the whole family.

Beginning Anew

The Essence of Tao Quan

To begin anew is to look deeply and honestly at ourselves, our past actions, speech and thoughts and to create a fresh beginning within ourselves and in our relationships with others. At the practice center we practice Beginning Anew as a community every two weeks and individually as often as we like.

We practice Beginning Anew to clear our mind and keep our practice fresh. When a difficulty arises in our relationships with fellow practitioners and one of us feels resentment or hurt, we know it is time to Begin Anew. The following is a description of the four-part process of Beginning Anew as used in a formal setting. One person speaks at a time and is not interrupted during his or her turn. The other practitioners practice deep listening and following their breath.

Flower watering – This is a chance to share our appreciation for the other person. We may mention specific instances that the other person said or did something that we had admired. This is an opportunity to shine light on the other’s strengths and contributions to the family and to encourage the growth of his or her positive qualities.

Sharing regrets – We may mention any unskillfulness in our actions, speech or thoughts that we have not yet had an opportunity to apologize for.

Expressing a hurt – We may share how we felt hurt by an interaction with another practitioner, due to his or her actions, speech or thoughts. (To express a hurt we should first water the other person’s flower by sharing two positive qualities that we have trully observed in him or her. Expressing a hurt is often performed one on one with another practitioner rather than in the group setting. You may ask for a third party that you both trust and respect to be present, if desired.)

Sharing a long-term difficulty & asking for support- At times we each have difficulties and pain arise from our past that surface in the present. When we share an issue that we are dealing with we can let the people around us understand us better and offer the support that we really need.

The practice of Beginning Anew helps us develop our kind speech and compassionate listening. Begin Anew is a practice of recognition and appreciation of the positive elements within our family. For instance, we may notice that our roommate is generous in sharing her insights, and another friend is caring towards plants.

Recognizing others positive traits allows us to see our own good qualities as well.

Along with these good traits, we each have areas of weakness, such as talking out of our anger or being caught in our misperceptions. When we practice “flower watering” we support the development of good qualities in each other and at the same time we help to weaken the difficulties in the other person. As in a garden, when we “water the flowers” of loving kindness and compassion in each other, we also take energy away from the weeds of anger, jealousy and misperception.

We can practice Beginning Anew everyday by expressing our appreciation for our fellow family members and apologizing right away when we do or say something that hurts them. We can politely let others know when we have been hurt as well. The health and happiness of the whole community depends on the harmony, peace and joy that exists between every member in the family.

The Story of Ông Táo

How Three Became One

Known in English as the Kitchen God, Ong Tao is a pretty eccentric character. He sticks strictly to rubber boots and shorts under his áo dài, and in the final week of the lunar year, he rides a carp to heaven to report the news from earth.

For all his oddities, the story of this venerated figure is not so lighthearted. In fact, Ong Tao himself is the amalgamation of three separate figures – Tho Dia, Tho Cong and Tho Ky – who oversee matters of the family, business and kitchen, respectively.

There are several versions of this legend, according to Doi Song & Phap Luat, but the basic plot is generally agreed upon: once upon a time, there was a poor couple who often struggled to make ends meet. The husband, a woodcutter, grew bitter about their circumstances and took up drinking to ease his sorrow and later began to beat his wife.

Fearing for her safety, the woodcutter’s wife fled the house, wandering aimlessly through the forest until she came upon the house of a hunter. The man took her in and gave her a place to stay. Over time, the two became husband and wife. They lived together happily, and the wife was glad to be rid of her former husband.

Meanwhile, the woodcutter regretted his actions. Depressed and alone, he set out in search of his wife to make amends.

One day, on the 23rd of the final lunar month, the wife was burning votive paper in the front yard when a beggar turned up, asking for food. In no time at all, the wife recognized her former husband, who had lost everything. Taking pity upon him, she brought him some rice and money but, fearful of what her new husband might think, tried to conceal this from the hunter.

When the hunter came home, however, this did not go over well. Jealous and angry, he began to give his wife a hard time and she, overcome with grief at the state of her former husband and depressed by her current husband’s response, committed suicide by jumping into the kitchen fire.

Devastated at having caused this mess, the woodcutter soon followed, and the hunter, realizing he might have overreacted to the situation, also killed himself. For their faithfulness, the trio was thus assigned to oversee affairs of the home, business and kitchen; it is for this reason that traditional Vietnamese clay stoves have three prongs upon which to set cooking pots and pans.

Over time, the three gods, collectively known as Tao Quan, were fused into Ong Tao, a single figure in red with a winged hat. The reason for the carp is that this fish is believed to transform into a dragon, which will take Ong Tao skyward.

The Six Mantras of Ông Táo's True Presence

The Six Mantras are ways to express love and compassion. They can be very effective in transforming suffering and producing happiness in a relationship with a loved one, a friend, or a family member. Children can practice them too. You may start by first practicing the Six Mantras with yourself, because you can only love and understand another when you have practiced love and understanding for yourself.

            A mantra is a magic formula. Every time you pronounce a mantra you can transform the situation right away; you don’t have to wait. Learn it so you can recite it when the time is appropriate. What makes the mantra effective is your mindfulness and concentration. If you aren’t mindful and concentrated when you recite the mantra, it won’t work. We are all capable of being mindful and concentrated.