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CULTURAL WINDOW
A
t the beginning of the year Vi-
etnam’s banking staff face the
huge task of counting billions
of dong deposited in small de-
nominations at temples and pagodas.
During last year’s festival period, Huong
Pagoda amassed VND22 billion which
filled 1,200 bags and needed 15 ar-
mored trucks to transfer it to the bank.
“The notes are thrown carelessly and
become rumpled, so it is hard to count
them using a machine,” says Le Thi Hoa,
formerly of Agribank in Hanoi.
At well-managed pagodas and tem-
ples, such as Tao Sach pagoda and Van
Nien pagoda on Hanoi’s Lac Long Quan
street, visitors have to obey rules about
leaving shoes at the door, not burning
incense inside, not talking and laughing
loudly, and putting money in the right
place – on trays or in charity boxes.
At these temples, anyone who vio-
lates the rules will be reprimanded. Even
at smaller local pagodas and temples
where there may be just one guardian,
people respect the sacred atmosphere.
However, it is not always so. At
many famous traditional festivals in
the spring there are much less orderly
scenes. For example, at the Lim Festival
in Bac Ninh province, people jostle to
cram small money into the fingers of
the statue of Quan Am. The situation at
Bai Dinh pagoda, the largest in South-
east Asia, was even worse. Small notes
were stuffed everywhere.
Each year, the seal opening cer-
emony of the Tran temple festival in
Nam Dinh province draws thousands
of people, especially for the main pal-
anquin procession. People clamour to
leave money inside the palanquin and
those who cannot reach it roll money
into balls and throw them. This leaves
a carpet of money on the ground and
detracts from the atmosphere.
It is undeniable that this behaviour
is creating an eyesore. “Scattering small
money everywhere at pagodas and tem-
ples creates the mish-mash which has
just occurred in modern times,” says
Prof. Dr. Tran Lam Bien, a folk culture
researcher.
Professor Ngo Duc Thinh, director
of the Center for Cultural Religion Con-
servation says that leaving small money
in pagodas and temples is a long stand-
ing custom of Vietnamese people. He
explained that such money is called
tien
giot dau
and that it was long given in
the correct spirit; however, the way it
is given now represents a deal with the
saints, not a true donation.
Do Minh Huong, a lecturer at the
Hanoi University of Culture feels the
same: “They think they can use the
money to buy their position, fame or
good fortune. It leads to bad ways of be-
having - people allow themselves to do
bad things in real life then ask for a par-
don in their religious and spiritual life.”
45 year old Dao Quang Thang
complains: “It reminds me of the bribes
you see everywhere in Vietnam: hos-
pitals, schools and many companies.
We call it a lubricating fee – it makes
things go more smoothly. The way I
see it, the money given at pagodas
and temples today amounts to bribing
saints and Buddhists.”
This is still happening widely, de-
spite many strong warnings. Deputy
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism,
Dang Thi Bich Lien, has said that the
ministry is concentrating on managing
loose change and offerings. She asked
the local authorities of the provinces to
pay attention to this matter and instruct
people carefully on how to give their
charity money.
The State Bank of Vietnam this year
also decided not to print new small val-
ue notes from VND500-2,000. Howev-
er, the moves seem to have had no im-
pact. Illegal money exchanging services
are doing a brisk trade. Some change
money at a rate of VND100,000 for
VND80,000 or 70,000 in small notes.
The rate is simply more shocking this
year due to the scarcity of small notes.
At festivals in Hanoi and Bac Ninh peo-
ple have been paying VND100,000 for
just VND50,000 in small change.
Ngo Duc Thinh believes that no
matter how many measures are put
in place, nothing will change until
people’s mindsets shift: “We have to
change people’s thoughts and aware-
ness before changing their behavior.
Otherwise, spiritual and religious val-
ues will disappear.”
The first three months of the Lunar New Year see
huge crowds at spring festivals. People attend to
pray for luck, peace and wealth, but often there are
chaotic scenes which seem utterly at odds with the
tenets of Buddhism. By
Hong Nhung
Prayers
payments?
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