Blessings on a flash sale
In recent years, I have seen a downward trend for the two largest religions in Vietnam, and, namely, the one that I have my eyes on, Buddhism.
Scandals after scandals burst into the public forum. Accusations of monks at a famous Buddhist temple secretly consuming lavish meat dishes, a pagoda spent millions of supporters' money on a strand of hair that was claimed to be of an enlightened, 2,600 years ago, and teachings surfacing online that blatantly go against the core of Buddhism. Backlash hit when the investigation brought the public attention to the day-to-day function of a Buddhist temple, which functions more like a company with a specialized finance committee that processes donations, which often blew up to hundreds of millions.
It was not a new problem, but these events, one after another, were the last straw that broke the camel's back. Criticisms over wrongdoings justified in the eyes of religion have been a smoldering fire, waiting to become a burning flame that flashes through, bringing the eyes to scrutiny to every monastic when the right condition hits. Buddhists believe that they can do good deeds or accumulate virtue by releasing caged birds or fish. So on big religious celebrations, they would go buy caged birds and fish and release them, so they can be freed and, thus, a good deed. However, because of the rising demand for caged birds and those events, bird hunting has become a seasonal occupation. Hunters would go hunt those birds just for them to be released again by Buddhist. Pictures would surface online about how fish were found inside a plastic bag floating in a river, because that is already "releasing them into the wild." Moments like that make me want to take a peek into their brains to see how they think before doing that. During the World Cup seasons (or any popular football league), gamblers would flock to the temple, kneeling in front of a Bodhisattva, praying that they would win the bet because it would save their lives from poverty or suffering.
If you have problems in your life, go to a temple, pay for incense and religious items to offer them to the gods, or "donate" to the temple, and a monk will go bless you. Your problems will disappear, somehow.
It did not stop in the newspaper, but found it ways into my everyday life. I once had a heated argument with my mother over meat-eating. One of the arguments was that what people are buying in the supermarket is a meat product, people do not see, hear, or do the actual slaughtering, so it does not incur any karma. The disconnection from the food people consume had me appalled. Unfortunately, my discussion stopped right there, because she refused to discuss it any further. It is more cozy and familiar inside a bubble of not "seeing, hearing, or speaking." She is still a Buddha's student, but is fine with eating meat after all.
This has made me ponder the two sides of Buddhism, the religious and the philosophical aspects. The philosophical aspect of Buddhism is more well-known under Thich Nhat Hanh's lead. I was surprised to see Buddhism without most of the mystical elements of the Buddha's life, and more of the practice and focus on mindfulness. To me, it is like a breeze of fresh air from the religious side that I have seen and experienced most of my life.
My grandfather was a Buddhist monk and opened a monastery, so my entire mother's side of the family supported the monastery. Every new year, we would gather and listen to him guide us through the story of the Buddha. "Where was the Buddha born?" he asked. "Under the Sal tree," my mother answered. My family knows every detail, from how the Sal tree grew out its branches downwards to help the bearing mother, to how it grew sweet fruits to provide nutrients, but they never ask: "Why?" The question of my 8-year-old self, "Is the story of the Buddha even real?" was brushed under the rug by another question and an order: "Why are you asking that? Stop asking questions."
It is easier to preach the religion, because sometimes you don't even have the answer to some history that happened more than 2,600 years ago, and it's easier to make up some magical story to explain things. I believe that there are two sides to the coin: the religious side, and the way of life-thinking side. If my 8-year-old self had not been exposed to that not-so-beautiful side, would I even make known the mindfulness aspect of Buddhism now? Without the preaching, the system of virtues is too difficult to spread among the people. But if the preaching outweighs the other side, blessings will go on sales, again.