Greed and mob mentality have created problems with overcrowding at local pagodas and festivals during spring in recent years, according to cultural experts.

West Lake Temple crowded

Nguyen Chi Thanh, head of management board of Huong Son (Perfume Mountain) area, said 39,000 people visited the Perfumed Pagoda on the third day on lunar calendar. This number rose to 50,000 on the next day.

During the six days of the Tet Holiday, the Yen Tu area received 110,500 people. Overcrowding led to lack of parking space and caused congestion on Highway 18.

Ngo Duc Thinh, director of the Vietnam Centre for Research and Conservation of Culture and Belief, raised concerns about adverse impact that come with crowded places, such as thieves, overcharging, littering and fire safety.

Huong Tich Cave packed with people

He said the high numbers reflected the interest people had in visiting religious destinations. However, many people went to pagodas just because of mob mentality, they lacked sincerity and only try to come up with offerings to show off and pray for wealth and prosperity.

"Many people pray at pagodas but then they don’t actually work hard, they just idly wait for luck," Thinh said. "It's delusional that many people spent millions of VND on offerings to pray for so many things. It's greed and untrue to the culture and tradition. If you have sincerity then light one incense, as old saying goes."

Some people believe that their prayers would come true if they go to well-known pagodas, that's why small pagodas are empty while several big pagodas are packed in spring.

Burning offerings

Professor Nguyen Lan Dung agreed and said, "Just work hard and be a good people then you'll be blessed without going to pagodas. It may be a way to ease overcrowding problem."

Dung went on to say that Nguyen Cong Tieu, the first Vietnamese member of the Indochina Scientific Research Association, actually opposed the burning of offerings as a tradition even prior to the August Revolution in 1945.

Dung and other cultural experts think that because the authorities have not been aggressive enough in raising public awareness, the situation has worsened, with in some cases businesses even buying a whole truck full of offerings to be burnt in the hope it would be good for business.

Dtinews