Unsightly images at temples and pagodas at the beginning of the year
In early spring, people and tourists from all over the country often have the habit of going to temples and pagodas in the province. However, besides the cultural beauty, these places still have unsightly behaviors that affect the solemnity.
Spend millions on offerings and burning votive paper
Ong Hoang Muoi Temple in Hung Nguyen district is a famous cultural, religious and spiritual destination in Nghe An. During the first days of the new year of At Ty, this place attracts visitors from all over the country to visit and pray for peace, luck and fortune.
However, there are still some unsightly images at this temple. According to the reporter's records, when visitors entered the temple area, many local people rushed out into the middle of the road to solicit visitors to park their vehicles, buy offerings, and write prayers to ward off bad luck...
In front of the Ong Hoang Muoi Temple and around the temple, there are dozens of places selling incense offerings. Each tray of ready-made offerings costs from several hundred thousand dong to millions of dong. There are even trays of offerings worth 2-3 million dong, which are expensive but still have customers choosing to buy them because they believe that the higher and more offerings, the more fortune they will receive.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai in Vinh City said: Every year I go to Ong Hoang Muoi Temple, however, I usually sincerely buy offerings at home, mainly fruits, tea and cakes. Making them myself shows my respect, and the price is reasonable compared to buying them at the temple door, which is usually 2-3 times more expensive than in the market.
In addition to the expensive spending on offerings, the burning of votive paper at Ong Hoang Muoi Temple still occurs even though the departments and localities have previously issued many recommendations to limit the burning of votive paper, which not only affects the environment but also poses a potential risk of fire and explosion.
According to the reporter's records at noon on February 12, the full moon of the first lunar month, instead of a civilized, economical and environmentally friendly form of worship, there were still trays of offerings filled with votive paper and billowing incense, large carts of votive paper were pushed into the temple, especially many paper horses, lined up in front of the altar and then taken away to burn the votive paper. It is known that each paper horse has a size of 1m - 2m with a price of 200,000 - 300,000 VND.
Besides, at this temple, according to the reporter's records, there is still a state of jostling and chaos, many people fight for seats and places to place offerings, people hire priests to perform popular ceremonies to ward off bad luck, potentially harboring superstitions and heresies.
Beggars appear a lot
Diec Pagoda, located in Quang Trung Ward, is an ancient pagoda in the heart of Vinh City. During the first days of the new year, the pagoda always welcomes thousands of people and tourists to come to the pagoda to worship and enjoy the scenery.
However, recently, many beggars have appeared right in front of Diec Pagoda's gate, affecting the image of the pagoda as well as the urban beauty.
Every time someone finishes a ceremony in the temple, when they come out, these people ask for money, making many people uncomfortable.
Having just finished praying at Diec Pagoda, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Ha was harassed by beggars in front of Diec Pagoda's gate asking for money. Ms. Ha said: Sitting together and competing to beg for money in such a sacred place with beautiful scenery is not good at all, it makes the temple gate look shabby.
In fact, to solve the problem of homeless people begging for food and money in recent years, the city has issued many directives. However, through monitoring, some wards and communes have not implemented the directives effectively. Propaganda and inspection work has not been regular. Mainly, only measures have been used to expel them from the area. Approaching, verifying the circumstances, relatives, classifying subjects to coordinate with relevant agencies and units to handle them thoroughly is still very little.
Arbitrary increase in parking ticket prices
Due to the large number of people going to pagodas to worship and enjoy the New Year, the accompanying services are also very bustling. However, at some pagodas, the situation of not posting prices and increasing parking fees still occurs.
Co Am Pagoda is the largest pagoda in Dien Chau district. In the first days of the year, the pagoda welcomed thousands of visitors from all over the country. The unclear parking fee situation around this pagoda continued to recur in the beginning of this year.
According to the reporter's records, every time a visitor enters the temple, many households living around the temple spill out onto the street, waving their hands to entice visitors to park their vehicles, posing a potential risk of traffic accidents. In addition, the fares here are almost never listed, each household charges differently. The fare for motorbikes is up to 10,000 VND/ticket, for cars from 30,000 - 40,000 VND/ticket, both higher than the general regulations.
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Ms. Phan Thi Loan, Cong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district said: I go to Co Am pagoda all year round, on normal days the motorbike ticket is only 3,000 VND, but now during Tet, households have arbitrarily charged 10,000 VND/ticket. When I asked why the ticket price was so high, the owner said that it was more expensive during Tet. Although I was very upset, I still agreed to pay.
Going to the pagoda at the beginning of the year is a religious custom and a spiritual need, but unsightly behaviors and images need to be minimized and limited to ensure a civilized lifestyle, urban aesthetics, and new cultural beauty.
