Week 4 - Tony Tran

I feel that the len dong ritual has changed. According to our reading, “We have len dong too” by Karen Fjelstad, the practice has spread beyond the borders of Vietnam into places like Silicon Valley in California. However, many critical people think that len dong rituals in California are less spiritual and more materialistic, thus less authentic. However, I want to critique that Vietnamese Americans practicing this religion are trying to satisfy their spiritual needs locally. Not everyone has the money, time, or political freedom to go back to Vietnam to make a pilgrimage to a temple and participate in a len dong ritual over there. Additionally, the seemingly materialistic drive of temples in America can be understandable. Because they are not in Vietnam, there is a need to make the temples express an environment that makes its followers spiritually feel like they are in Vietnam or going back to their roots. As an immigrant, refugee, and minority in the US, going to a temple in the US that is decorated in Vietnamese ornaments and patterns is the only place that they can feel like they are in their homeland before they die in a foreign land.

But my issue is as len dong integrates into modern society, the essence of the practice of entracing with the spirit must still be the priority of the temple. Because it is easy to get wrapped in getting “better or more authentic ritual goods” or helping wealthier followers, a religion such as dao mao must be performed professionally and wholeheartedly for people of all classes that are willing to accept the beliefs.

As for the second reading, “We Are Not Alone” The Shamans Of The World Tell Us, it reminds people that life is not just simply body and mind, but also spirit. How I think of it is two college students may be roughly the same in body and mind, but some get through the same midterm fine while others have died internally (aka. me most of the time). The difference? Their spirit. I believe each person’s spirit is influenced by their external environment. In the case of shamans, they are more open to influence of external spirits. Although shamans are purposed to use spiritual practices for a particular reason, I feel that everyday people like me are unknowingly influenced by spirits. For example, I can pose the question of why people go take hikes. I can reason that people take hikes so that they can be completely exposed to an external environment that is comprised of positive spirits. Spirits in the forest are able to be free and thrive. And why do students hate being in a lecture classroom? Everything surrounding them is still and does not have any positive spirits. That is why we often look out at the window because there are spirits that are free to do what they want. This is my modern interpretation of the spiritual world.

Question: Although it is somewhat rhetorical, why does it seem that elite-class or well-off families that have no issues seem to not practice these religions or practices? What I am trying to get to is if these people are surrounded by positive spirits already and don’t need the attention of religious practices or shamans to balance physical, mental, and spiritual health because everything is already good.

caption: I slightly edited the picture if you can see it but I had to leave it as a phone screenshot.

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