Sadness and joy in sacred places

(Baonghean) - After the traditional Lunar New Year, it's time for the annual temple visit. During this period, the number of visitors to temples and pagodas in the province is very large, leading to a boom in services, stalls, beggars, fortune tellers, etc., with a hundred joys and sorrows.

Standing discreetly by the temple gate, 14-year-old Nguyen Thi Hoa from Quynh Phuong ward (Hoang Mai town) diligently offers bundles of incense to visitors. Seeing her young age and polite manner, many people stop to buy. She earns a few thousand dong profit per bundle, and if she's lucky enough to sell them all in a day, she can earn a few tens of thousands of dong to help her parents with clothes and school supplies. Talking to us, she said: “During Tet, I really wanted to go out and play, but seeing my parents work so hard, worrying about the family all year round, I decided to sell some incense here. Being at the temple gate allows me to earn money and also play, watching people go by, so I don't feel deprived anymore.” Sitting opposite Hoa is Le Thi Phuong. This year, Phuong is only 13 years old and in the 4th grade. Her family is large, and her parents work in the fishing industry, struggling to provide for their four children's education. Every year at the beginning of the year, Phuong's mother buys her some incense and prayer papers to sell in front of the temple gate. Compared to the elaborate stalls, Phuong's goods look small, but in return, people visiting the temple feel sorry for the child selling goods and stop to buy. After each festival season, Phuong carefully saves enough money to buy books, clothes, and other necessities.

Rice paper stalls in front of Cờn Temple (Hoàng Mai Town).

Located just a few dozen steps from Cờn Temple, there are stalls selling drinks and food for visitors to rest. Besides green tea, the indispensable items are the simple, traditional dishes brought by the local people. For example, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Coi, every year at the beginning of spring, diligently carries a basket of rice crackers down to the temple to bake them. The charcoal fire glows red, and the sesame-coated rice crackers, flipped over and over by her hands, emit a pleasant aroma. Many children, brought to the temple by their parents, gather around her to enjoy the hot, crispy rice crackers.

Stopping her betel chewing, Mrs. Coi confided, "Every year after Tet (Lunar New Year), Cờn Temple is bustling and lively. Sitting here grilling rice crackers and selling them to visitors from all over makes us happy too." Cờn Temple also features a seafood specialty: eel, which is fragrant, fatty, inexpensive, and rustic. The owners of these stalls are women from the Quỳnh Phương fishing village, taking advantage of the crowded Cờn Temple to sell their goods and earn extra income. Ms. Hồ Thị Thoa, a vendor here, said, "Fishermen in the coastal area work hard all year round, never resting. But during festivals and temple visits like this, being able to serve visitors from all over and earn a little money for good luck at the beginning of the year makes us very happy."

At Can Linh Pagoda, long-time visitors know the vegetarian noodle and spring roll stall located opposite the pagoda gate. This is perhaps the only pagoda in Nghe An that serves vegetarian food to its patrons, and the stall only opens two days a month: the 15th and 1st of the lunar month. Ms. Hanh, who has been selling vegetarian noodles for nearly twenty years, said: "I don't know exactly what led me to open this stall, but perhaps it was because back then, there were many visitors to the pagoda, and those who had taken vows often had the habit of eating vegetarian food on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. So, a few of us in the neighborhood decided to open a vegetarian noodle stall to serve the pagoda's patrons."

Temple and pagoda entrances also have their hidden corners, namely beggars. Among them, not a few take advantage of the temple gates and the generosity of visitors to beg and pester, creating an unpleasant scene. If you visit the Ông Hoàng Mười Temple in Hưng Thịnh commune (Hưng Nguyên district) during the New Year, you'll see dozens of beggars waiting right from the entrance. The sight of beggars lying down or sitting, dressed in rags and dirt, is very offensive. At Cờn Temple, even though Lieutenant Colonel Dương Phúc Định – Head of Quỳnh Phương Ward Police (Hoàng Mai Town) – has affirmed that this year they will resolutely prohibit beggars from entering the temple area, it's still easy to find rows of beggars scattered around the area in front of the temple, and many even deliberately pester tourists, causing annoyance and being extremely offensive.

Then there's the issue of fortune-telling and divination at the temple gates. Each time a visitor draws a fortune slip, they have to pay between 30,000 and 50,000 VND. What's concerning is that this is done openly, yet no one from the temple management seems to intervene. Or perhaps people are turning a blind eye, allowing the fortune tellers to operate freely. Similarly, at the Hoang Muoi Temple, signs advertising "fortune-telling" are erected all along the road leading to the temple gate, clearly considered a public activity. Even after midnight, the temple is still bustling with people seeking fortune-telling. Ms. Hue, from Cua Nam ward, who once sought fortune-telling at the Hoang Muoi Temple, expressed her concern: "Talking about fortune-telling and then questioning the money seems unnatural and makes me distrust the fortune teller, but I think fortune-telling nowadays has become too much of a business, a service. For example, when asking for divination, the fortune teller holds up a plate and you have to put money in, even though you already paid when registering."

Visitors to the temple in early spring, hoping for a peaceful setting, are also annoyed by the stalls encroaching on the temple grounds, with people haggling over prices and others using foul language, detracting from its inherent sacredness. The unsightly scene, resembling a seafood market near Cờn Temple, also detracts from the temple's beauty. Many people suggest that a separate service area should be planned, ending the scene of people standing and sitting, some lighting incense and praying, others eating and drinking. The temple entrance will also no longer be serene when the occasional pungent smell of fish and smoke mixes with the incense. Sharing the difficulties in managing security, order, and aesthetics at Hoàng Mười Temple, Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Thủy, Head of the Culture and Information Department of Hưng Nguyên District, said: The district has repeatedly instructed the temple management board and the Hưng Thịnh commune government to develop a plan to manage the business activities at the temple. However, currently, because there are no regulations to address this issue, and the local authorities are hesitant and reluctant to take action because most of the vendors at the temple are locals, while the beggars come from elsewhere, this situation recurs continuously year after year…

During the festival season, the pilgrimage season returns with the recurring "ancillary" activities, yet no decisive measures have been taken to address them. Perhaps the cultural sector and local authorities haven't been strict enough in this matter? Perhaps there's a need for stricter inspections and penalties to correct those who violate the rules. When will the people and visitors finally be able to enjoy a peaceful and complete pilgrimage atmosphere? When will the scenes of stalls crowding around temples finally end? The answers await the relevant authorities.

Text and photosMy Ha - Trieu Duong