Christmas in the Pagoda

Not long ago, a Malaysian bhikkhuni who is one our classmates (the writer’s), sent six photos and a short video clip of a scene decorated in a Christmas style. Looking closely, we could see a statue of Amitabha Buddha in the background. Looking even more carefully, we saw that the walls surrounding the Amitabha statue were filled with memorial tablets (photos of the deceased). Based on our observation, this was almost certainly a memorial hall within a pagoda. The short clip began with the words "Fo Guang Cultural and Educational Center – Praise Hymns for the Three-Period Chanting Ceremony" (佛光文教中心- 三時系念讚譜). This was clearly a food-offering ritual according to the Zhongfeng San Shi Xi Nian tradition. So why would a ritual for offering food to wandering spirits be decorated with miniature scenes of Santa Claus made of candy, Christmas trees, wooden cabins, and snow? When I asked the Malaysian nun, she said it was to suit the approaching Christmas season (Dec 24-25).

 That is the whole story, but it left us with a number of concerns. About two weeks ago, a Buddhist laywoman had also organized a Christmas outing for her children and grandchildren and decorated her home with a Christmas tree. Let us respectfully share with the great assembly: she was not an ordinary Buddhist devotee! She is an alumna of Van Hanh University in Saigon before 1975 and is a Buddhist who diligently chants mantras, recites sutras, recites the Buddha's name, and practices meditation. She and her family have participated in many ten-day Vipassanā retreats. Her husband even went to Myanmar for a short-term ordination to cultivate good karma. With such a profound history of practice, she is undoubtedly a devout Buddhist. Yet, every year when Christmas comes, her family decorates the Christmas tree. When asked why, she replied: " Monks shouldn’t be so attached to appearances! All religions are good! It's just for fun, to liven up the house!"

 For more than ten years, I have received many similar answers to the question of "being a Buddhist but celebrating Christmas." We will present some of these answers for the great assembly to know and analyze:

 

 The atmosphere of Christmas is very festive, and it doesn't seem to have a religious color.

All religions guide people towards Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

 When we see friends and family going out to celebrate and they invite us along, we simply join without thinking too deeply about it.

 It’s just a casual outing — we’re not attending Mass nor joining any religious rituals.

 There’s no impact on the faith of a Buddhist just from that.

  Perhaps this issue is an eternal concern for Buddhism. Christmas Day is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which could be seen as equivalent to the Buddha’s Birthday in Buddhism. Our thoughts on this may come from both subjective and objective perspectives.

 

Objectively speaking, Christmas culture has developed in Vietnam for a long time in the form of a festival when everyone in Western societies participates in, which is also a New Year celebration. Vietnam and some other Eastern countries were colonized by Western nations in the 20th century, making cultural and ideological 'invasion' difficult to avoid.

 

Speaking of religious beliefs, if someone says religion is not important, then perhaps this statement should be reconsidered. If religion is not important, then why do US Presidents place their hand on the Bible when taking the oath of office? And this is in America, the world's leading superpower, the most modern nation on earth. Furthermore, the notion that "all religions are good" also needs to be adjusted. On Sunday, March 12, 2000, a week before the pilgrimage to the "holy land" of Jerusalem, during a public holy mass at St. Peter's Basilica before tens of thousands of followers, the shepherd of the flock, Pope John Paul II, representing the Catholic church of nearly one billion believers, including about five million Vietnamese believers, officially "confessed the seven mountains of sin" to the world. In Islam, there are acts of "martyrdom" involving suicide bombings in the Middle East. There are many more examples that the assembly can find in newspapers and on the internet. 

 

Of course, in Buddhism too, there are individuals who have acted wrongly.
However, such misconduct is personal in nature — it does not stem from any “doctrinal edict,” “religious directive,” or official statement from the Buddhist sangha instructing or endorsing such wrongdoing.

 

In over 2,000 years of Buddhist history, there has never been such a case initiated or sanctioned by the Buddhist institution anywhere in the world. 

 

Can the great assembly see the success of Christianity in spreading its culture? The result is that now, people celebrate Christmas "indiscriminately" without realizing they are implicitly supporting one of the most important holidays in Christianity.

 

Subjectively, we indulge in the pleasure of feasting and drinking during Christmas. As an unwritten rule, Christmas must be a day of joy. Who doesn't like fun? So, people freely participate and organize festive activities to celebrate a "Merry Christmas." In public places such as shops, airports, schools, supermarkets, hospitals... everywhere hangs banners and signs saying "Merry Christmas." In our opinion, if that is the case, then to ensure fairness and religious equality, similar banners should also be displayed for other significant religious occasions such as the Buddha’s Birthday, the day Allah was revealed, the birth of the Huynh Founder (Đức Huỳnh Giáo Chủ), and so on.

 In reality, we are perhaps being psychologically manipulated through culture. To be fair, it must also be said that the holidays commemorating the births of the founders of most religions are often spiritual and sacred in nature—in other words, they don't have a very "festive and joyful" color. Therefore, few people respond enthusiastically. I even know many who are Buddhists but never attend "Vesak Day Celebrations" yet go out and promote "Merry Christmas"?!

 

Speaking of cultural assimilation, the phrase "Bing Chilling" (Bīngqílín) recently flooded social media thanks to a famous wrestler, John Cena. When he sat in a car holding an ice cream, he said the phrase containing "Bing Chilling," which means ice cream in Mandarin Chinese. The original sentence was:

• Chinese: 早上好中国 现在我有冰淇淋 我很喜欢冰淇淋
• Vietnamese phonetic: Chảo sảng hảo Trung Của, xiàn zài wǒ yǒu bīng qí lín, wǒ hěn xǐ huān bīng qí lín.
• (Meaning: Good morning, China, right now I have ice cream, I really like ice cream.)

 

Just a simple, friendly sentence from an American wrestler has had a major impact on the consciousness of young people all the way over in Vietnam. Everywhere you go, you hear young people mimicking this Chinese phrase. The youth "follow the trend" for fun. But has anyone asked: if today it's "Bing Chilling," then one day it will be another word, another sentence, and gradually we may become fluent in Chinese without knowing how, isn't that so? Is it because they are skilled, or because we are weak? In my view, we can receive influences, but we must not be assimilated. However, for the sake of fun, we might just be assimilated without even knowing it. Just for fun, a country, a whole nation, could be "lost" without a single bullet being fired!

 

In summary, from organizing Christmas at pagodas, to Buddhists celebrating "Merry Christmas," and even the “Bing Chilling” trend — it all comes down to one word: “fun.” Is that "fun" beneficial or harmful? Knowing when to stop, knowing how to apply things at the right time would make a difference. If we treat that "fun" as normal and inadvertently let it continue "indiscriminately," the future "grand scheme" of Vietnam and Buddhism might be left open to uncertainty without our knowledge.

 

If a small hole in a dike is not covered, over time, that dike will collapse.

 

I hope the great assembly will reflect on this topic that I have shared, deeply and thoroughly.

 

Tâm Cung

 

Translated into English by Huynh Vo Cao Tri