Spiritual insult
Over the past few days, a video clip has been circulating on social networks showing that many people are angrily surrounding the abbot who is clarifying that hundreds of urns of ashes have fallen off their name tags, which are mixed up behind the temple. This monk said that because the jars were too long, they would come off when sprayed with water. That is negligence and not the fault of the monks in the temple.
According to Vietnamese state media, this monk is Venerable Thich Thien Chieu, Abbot Ky Quang 2 Pagoda, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.
On the afternoon of September 3, representatives of the People’s Committee of Ward 17, Go Vap district and the people went to Ky Quang 2 pagoda to tally the number and current status of ashes. According to the working report, the number of ashes at the temple is 883 jars (302 urns in the cellar and 581 urns of white stone outside), of which only 108 are with pictures or tablets.
Dr. Nguyen Xuan Dien, Han Nom Research Institute, said:
“In the Vietnamese conception, ashes are a very important part of spiritual life. Leaving the ashes in such a mess is extremely taboo. It is an unforgivable error of Ky Quang pagoda 2. Here the person responsible for the most is Abbot Thich Thien Chieu.
There is no way to justify or explain this action, since each ashes is labeled with a name.
In terms of spirituality, this is a very heavy insult and there is no opportunity to change or fix it. In terms of the law, this is an infringement of the graves and corpses according to the provisions of the Criminal Code.”
After the incident happened and the government went to work, Ky Quang 2 pagoda side pledged to overcome and arrange the solemn spirit worship before the 15th of August. The jars do not have tablets or images, and the pagoda will coordinate with relatives to examine DNA.
According to experts, although today’s technology for DNA extraction and identification is very advanced, the identification of ash samples is difficult because the DNA structure has been completely destroyed at high temperatures.
Venerable Thich Khong Tanh, from Saigon, said he was very dissatisfied and shocked at the incident:
“I read the news and I felt very shocked and very unhappy. This incident hurts everyone, not just Buddhists. I did not expect such a thing with the monks in a large, famous temple.
I think maybe there is some hand in the act. But with the compassionate mentality of a monk, it is impossible to have such behavior. Heavy discontent for Buddhists. They break the tradition and morality of their ancestors from generations to come.”
Venerable Thich Khong Tanh added that, not knowing how things will be handled, but as a Buddhist, he asked permission to apologize and repent before all the monks, nuns, and Buddhists who let this very painful thing happened.
A Buddhist named Dieu Hanh who practices at a temple in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City states his thoughts:
“In my opinion, someone broke. A master who has been cultivated for a long time, they must know the etiquette and dignity. I think there is a certain monk they know that the abbot uses the money to advertise his nature incorrectly. There are also people who want to destroy Buddhism.
There are those who truly follow the path of the Tathagata, there are those who do not really practice, just borrow the the temple’s robes to take money to donate to the temple. The temple I am practicing myself has such cases. I know but I don’t dare say it.”
Profits
The fact that the large and small temples are set up for business and profit by selling holy spirits is no stranger to domestic Buddhists, typically Bai Dinh, Tam Chuc, Phuc Khanh or Ba Vang pagodas.
In March 2019, the story of Ba Vang pagoda held the ceremony of slander, death, and soul-calling with the proceeds of up to hundred million, attracting attention on social networks as well as the mainstream press.
Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh, the abbot of Ba Vang pagoda, held a talk in front of hundreds of Buddhists to admit that it is real to hold ceremony at the temple. The Buddhists’ donation of money was not requested by the temple, but voluntarily.
Dr. Nguyen Xuan Dien said that such temples are no longer called pagodas but must be called holy places to trade in the Holy Buddha and beat people’s confidence to make a profit. Take advantage of many things, not just money.
Concerning Ky Quang 2 pagoda, VTC News quoted Ms. Minh Thanh, a resident who had to pay bid amount of gold to have two places to deposit ashes: “My husband died in 1999, I took it to Ky Quang 2 pagoda for burial. At that time.”
Venerable Thich Quang Thanh, a monk at this temple, explained that this is an agreement between the family of the person who sends the ashes and the temple.
According to Dr. Nguyen Xuan Dien, this is a lesson for people who over-trust the worshiping facilities by sending the jars of their relatives’ ashes in there for a huge amount of money. He added:
“Even putting it into the temple is unbelievable. The changed object is not known whether it will be kept or not. The spiritual life is disturbed by hundreds of urns containing the ashes of relatives who have put their trust in Ky Quang 2 pagoda in Go Vap.
I suggest the Go Vap police and the police of Ho Chi Minh City to clarify this violation in order to take action.
But no matter what the judgment is, in terms of spirit, if the law of the person does not, then the law of God will handle it, because doing this is a very pressing thing and there is no chance to correct it.”
Crime of insulting corpses and graves remains in Article 319 of the 2015 Penal Code clearly states: “Those who dig, break graves, appropriate objects to stay in tombs, graves or commit other violations against dead bodies, graves or remains shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 2 years or a prison term of between 3 months and 2 years.
If the crime is committed adversely affecting social security, order, and safety, the offenders shall be sentenced to between 2 and 7 years of imprisonment.”
Thoibao.de (Translated)
