"The Way" in the @ era

On the 15th and 1st days of each lunar month, and occasionally even on ordinary days, I have seen many young, beautiful, and polite men and women—intellectuals, students, teachers, etc.—diligently attending temple ceremonies, shrines, and even Christian church services.

They burn large bundles of incense, dividing them and placing them in incense burners and pedestals in front of the main hall, porch, courtyard, and ancient and newly built towers. In Christian churches, they don't burn incense, but only offer fresh flowers, white lilies, and white gladioli at the foot of the statues of the saints and at the church entrance. They wear jeans and pullovers, with both black and dyed hair... they don't chant prayers for hours like the older women and middle-aged people. They only murmur prayers, their words unclear, but very sincere and devout.

And coincidentally, one day at Can Linh Pagoda, I saw a young man, around 20 years old, standing solemnly with his hands clasped in the shape of a lotus flower, murmuring prayers. Suddenly, he stopped, pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket, dialed a number, and spoke to someone. After a few sentences, he turned the phone, which was hanging around his neck, and I could hear the incoming calls. And coincidentally, I met him again in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary at Cau Ram Parish. Actually, Can Linh Pagoda is quite close to Cau Ram Parish Church, but I wondered why one person, on the same morning, would ask for blessings from both Buddha and the Mother of God?

I knew that this generation of young people hadn't given much thought to religious beliefs. They simply followed what the majority did, but in reality, they didn't follow any religion. They hadn't taken refuge in Buddhism, nor had they received baptism or any Christian sacraments. The young man's unusual way of praying naturally puzzled me. He was worshipping Buddha, yet his attention was diverted to worshipping God? Praying while talking on his mobile phone? Why? I thought this to myself, but observing his sincere demeanor, my negative thoughts vanished. I mustered the courage to follow him and ask directly for clarification. He smiled gently, took my hand, and confided in me:

- There's nothing mysterious about it, Uncle! It's just that I have a friend who's been bedridden for months after a traffic accident. He was a healthy, agile, intelligent, and resourceful young man, and now he's confined to bed day after day, month after month. He's clearly very depressed and disappointed. The kind words of comfort and encouragement from friends and relatives, though sincere, haven't helped. I've prayed at temples and churches, both for myself and for my friend.

I told my friend about it, and he thanked me but then fell silent, feeling dejected and hopeless. I came up with this idea: every morning and evening, when he received my message, he would turn on his phone and sincerely and directly communicate with Buddha and the Virgin Mary. The prayers from my phone would be transmitted to his, and he would hear my prayers in their entirety. After a few times, he started praying directly through the phone... Both of us felt our souls becoming lighter, and our previous pessimistic feelings were gradually dissipating.

"Oh, I see!" I blurted out, interrupting him. "That's great! I've been to temples and Christian churches, heard about miracles, but I've never seen one. Your experience has enlightened me; miracles truly do exist."

Some young Vietnamese people are experiencing conflicts between spirituality and secularism; between religious and secular life; between structured and unstructured systems. Traditional cultural values, age-old values, are fading into oblivion, while new values ​​have yet to emerge or penetrate their consciousness, becoming ingrained in their very being.

Separating the good from the bad is no easy task! Therefore, even in modern life, where the trend towards spirituality is increasingly flourishing, religious practices are no longer the same as before, but have been protected and cherished in our national culture for millennia. The way of living religion has changed; there are no longer the immutable doctrines of the past. Faith is now evolving; simultaneously, a person and a belief system may worship multiple deities.

The multifaceted, multidimensional, and multi-layered culture of this era is no longer as rigid and extreme as before. The doctrinal and faith cultures of different religions are increasingly being harmonized. Is this perhaps a manifestation of human evolution?

Tran Anh Thuan