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28
year old Nguyen Thi
Thanh is a regular visi-
tor of Lang pagoda on
Chua Lang street, Ha-
noi. She visits twice a month, on the first
and fifteen day of the lunar calendar. “I
prepare some simple offerings for each
visit. I find serenity here and I hope
my wishes are being listened to,” Thanh
says. Since a break up two years ago, she
has not fallen in love again, and she also
has not been promoted. She therefore
prays for a better career and for love and
marriage, alongside good health.
At temples, teenagers are a com-
mon site; they can be seen burning
incense and praying, before enjoying
the peaceful pagoda grounds with
friends. Many are students from near-
by universities.
Tran Thuy, also in Hanoi, has a full
life with good health, a happy family
and wealth. She and her husband have
invested about VND10 billion in the stock
market and real estate. “Investment is a
risky business, so I usually go to the pa-
goda to pray for luck. In years of unlucky
stars, we will go to pagoda to try and
neutralise the bad luck,” Thuy says.
Those who are praying for love
head to a number of pagodas which
are believed to be especially sacred for
this purpose, including Ha pagoda in
Cau Giay district, Hanoi. On the 1st or
15th of the lunar month, this temple
is a hive of activity, with crowds and
many people selling offerings out front.
A set of offerings usually includes fruits,
incense, votive papers, a petition paper,
a plate of betel leaf and areca-nut and
a rose. Thanh Huyen, a third year stu-
dent, says she visits the temples to find
lasting love having been through three
unsuccessful relationships. Couples also
visit in order to pray to maintain their
good relationships.
Still others come to take part in pre-
destined affinity cutting ceremonies. In
Vietnam, predestined affinity refers to
spirits that prevent love. The ceremony
to counter this can cost several million
dong. 30 year old Ngoc Lan is undergo-
ing the rite for the sake of her mother.
“I do not know about its effectiveness,
but at least my parents feel there is a
load off their mind if I do it,” she says.
LIFE BALANCE
Due to the increasing number of
young people heading to pagodas,
some have opened courses for stu-
dents to experience a monk’s life for
several days. Last summer, Bang pa-
goda in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi ran
such a course and 400 people from 13
to 22 applied to join. Their parents and
volunteers prepared vegetarian meals
for them. Nguyen Thi Hanh, whose son
joined the free course, says: “My son
became calmer after the course. I hope
that the course will help him to avoid
the temptations of modern life and
remain good.”
Tran Minh Trang, a Hanoi bank
worker, says that joining helped her
balance her life and improved her self-
control. Another young person, Hanh,
says his life was drifting and he was
totally dependent on his parents until
he went to the Bang pagoda.
Thich Truc Thong Thanh of the
Hanoi Union of Buddhists says: “Each
person has a different reason to go
to the pagoda. Some simply want to
find serenity, some want to give up
bad habits and others are just curious.
But, through Buddhism’s theories and
meditation, they will all find peace of
mind, learn a moderate way of living
and improve their health.”
Traditionally seen as places for the elderly,
Vietnam’s pagodas are beginning to attract
growing numbers of the young.
PRAYERS
OF THE YOUTH
CUTURAL WINDOW
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