Relocating foreign mascots in temples and pagodas before Lunar New Year

On the morning of August 22, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dang Thi Bich Lien led a working group to inspect a number of national relics such as Ngoc Son Temple, Gia Quat Pagoda (Long Bien District), and Mo Lao Temple and Communal House and Pagoda (Ha Dong District).

Here, the delegation recorded strange artifacts. Outside the gate of Gia Quat Pagoda, there are a pair of foreign stone lions, and some lanterns of foreign origin. Mo Lao Communal House has worship lamps, vases, a pair of Chinese stone lions... Mo Lao Pagoda has 4 foreign lion statues guarding the gate and in front of the Tam Bao house, and the Quan Am statue.

Buddhist nun Thich Dam Huong, abbot of Gia Quat Pagoda, said that the strange artifacts will be removed from the relic site on August 24. Next week, Long Bien District will also invite leaders of the cultural department and abbots in the area to thoroughly implement the removal of items that are not in accordance with Vietnamese customs and traditions.

Deputy Minister Lien said that the most important issue in the "campaign" to remove foreign mascots from relics is to propagate and mobilize people, especially abbots, to fully understand the meaning and cultural value of Vietnam. From there, they will automatically remove items that are not listed in the ranking records.

"In the plan, from now until the 11th lunar month, cultural departments nationwide will propagate and persuade. By December, they will all launch a campaign to resolutely relocate so that by Tet, there will be a place of worship that fully embodies the values ​​of Vietnamese culture," said the deputy minister.

Ms. Lien also emphasized that the inspection of some relics today is not to make a review report but to survey and grasp the situation and then propagate and guide implementation.

A pair of Chinese stone lions are placed at the Gia Quat Pagoda national relic. Photo: Tra My.

As a locality that the Ministry focused on inspecting in the first phase, Mr. Truong Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that since the beginning of the year, some places have voluntarily removed artifacts that are not in accordance with Vietnamese customs and traditions from relics, temples, pagodas, and public places.

Implementing the Ministry's Official Letter 2662 (dated August 8) on removing foreign mascots from relics, the Department has requested districts to count and report relics with artifacts not listed in the ranking records. From now until the end of the year, the Department will propagate and mobilize, then inspect and resolutely handle places with violations.

According to the Department, there will be instructions to move foreign stone lions out of government agencies and public places to suitable locations such as cemeteries or to destroy them. "This is a cultural and spiritual issue, so it will take time to implement. The most important thing is to help people understand the issue clearly to change their perception," said Mr. Tien.

According to vnexpress.net