Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Vietnam and India: Legends of Tet and Onam
I had a wonderful holiday in Vietnam last year but could not communicate effectively with the locals in Vung Tau, in the south. The pretty beach resort is full of Buddhist temples and India is venerated as the land of the Buddha, but it was impossible for the monks in the temple to have a conversation on Buddhist legends and their origins in India.
Believe it or not, my attempts to understand the culture of the Vietnamese people received a boost when I borrowed a book from the Alliance Francaise de Bombay. The English title of the book has been translated as "Learning True Love." Sister Chan Khong, one of the bravest and most compassionate women ever born in Asia, wrote about growing up in Vietnam during the French colonization and the war years.
I was captivated when she described the Vietnamese beliefs about the festival of Tet. I quote Sister Chan Khong:
"At one time, the Kingdom of Viet was disturbed regularly by the evil doings of Mara the tempter. There was much struggle and it seemed that nothing could stop this interminable conflict. Then one day, the suffering of the people touched the compassion of the Buddha and he decided directly to speak with Mara to find a peaceful solution.
'You can have our land' said the Buddha, 'to do as you wish. But can you leave one small spot where we can live in tranquility? This spot can have very clear boundaries, and as long as we stay within them, you will agree to leave us alone. In turn, we will not violate any of your new territory.'
'How much do you want?' asked Mara. 'Only a piece large enough to stretch my yellow robe over, said the Buddha.' Hearing so easy a proposition, Mara accepted and solemnly promised not to touch the spot of land, covered by the Buddha's robe. But when the Buddha stretched out his robe, it extended miraculously far and covered all the land, that was habitable and arable. The people's houses, farmland and cattle were all under the protection of the yellow robe. Frightened by the Buddha's supernatural powers, Mara fled into the forest. The Buddha advised the Viet people to plant a tall bamboo in front of each house, and each year, to hang from it, a banner of yellow cloth, to remind Mara that this is the Buddha's land and Buddha cannot enter."
There are definitely some similarities to the story of Onam from Kerala. Of course, in the story of Onam, Lord Vishnu is the bad guy. According to http://www.onamfestival.org/, a very inforrmative website,
"Kerala was once ruled by an Asura (demon) king, Mahabali. The King was greatly respected in his kingdom and was considered to be wise, judicious and extremely generous. It is said that Kerala witnessed its golden era in the reign of King Mahabali. Everybody was happy in the kingdom, there was no discrimination on the basis of caste or class. Rich and poor were equally treated. There was neither crime, nor corruption. People did not even lock their doors, as there were no thieves in that kingdom. There was no poverty, sorrow or disease in the reign of King Mahabali and everybody was happy and content.
Looking at the growing popularity and fame of King Mahabali, the Gods became extremely concerned and jealous. They felt threatened about their own supremacy and began to think of a strategy to get rid of the dilemma.
To curb the growing reign of Mahabali and maintain their own supremacy, Aditi, the mother of Gods seeked help of Lord Vishnu (the preserver in the Hindu trinity) whom Mahabali worshiped.
It was said Mahabali was very generous and charitable. Whenever anybody approached him for help or requested for anything he always granted. To test the King, Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a dwarf and a poor Brahmin called Vamana. He came to the Kingdom of Mahabali, just after Mahabali performed his morning prayers and was preparing to grant boons to Brahmins.
Disguised as Vamana, Vishnu said he was a poor Brahmin and asked for a piece of land. The generous King said, he could have as much land as he wanted. The Brahmin said that he just wanted as much land as could be covered by his three steps. The King was surprised to hear but agreed.
A learned adviser of the King, Shukracharya sensed that Vamana was not an ordinary person and warned the King against making the promise. But, the generous King replied that it would be a sin for a King to back on his words and asked the Brahmin to take the land. The King could not imagine that the dwarf Brahmin was Lord Vishnu himself.
Just as King Mahabali agreed to grant the land, Vamana began to expand and eventually increased himself to the size of cosmic proportions. With his first step the Brahmin boy covered the whole of earth and with the other step he covered the whole of the skies. He then asked King Mahabali where is the space for him to keep his third foot.
The King realised that he was no ordinary Brahmin and his third step will destroy the earth. Mahabali with folded hands bowed before Vamana and asked him to place his last step on his head so that he could keep the promise. The Brahmin placed his foot on the head of the King, which pushed him to patala, the nether world. There the King requested the Brahmin to reveal his true identity. Lord Vishnu then appeared before the King in his person. The Lord told the King that he came to test him and the King won the test. King Mahabali was pleased to see his lord. Lord Vishnu also granted a boon to the King.
The King was so much attached with his Kingdom and people that he requested that he be allowed to visit Kerala once in a year. Lord Vishnu was moved by the Kings nobility and was pleased to grant the wish. He also blessed the King and said even after losing all his worldly possessions, the King would always be loved by Lord Vishnu and his people."
I guess the stories, which has a common root, define the difference between the humbler and more innocent Vietnamese soul, vis-a-vis, the Keralite soul, which I don't think any Malayali understands clearly. Yes, both the Buddha and Vishnu used trickery to get what they wanted, but the Vietnamese believed even more in the nobility of Buddha, whereas Keralites, always ready to rebel against much-accepted views, love the demon king and deplore what Vishnu did.
I would love to know when the story of Buddha and Mara spread to Vietnam. There's a Hindu tribe in Viietnam known as the Chams. I wonder if they believe in the story of Mahabali and Vishnu and talk about it before the Tet festival?
Believe it or not, my attempts to understand the culture of the Vietnamese people received a boost when I borrowed a book from the Alliance Francaise de Bombay. The English title of the book has been translated as "Learning True Love." Sister Chan Khong, one of the bravest and most compassionate women ever born in Asia, wrote about growing up in Vietnam during the French colonization and the war years.
I was captivated when she described the Vietnamese beliefs about the festival of Tet. I quote Sister Chan Khong:
"At one time, the Kingdom of Viet was disturbed regularly by the evil doings of Mara the tempter. There was much struggle and it seemed that nothing could stop this interminable conflict. Then one day, the suffering of the people touched the compassion of the Buddha and he decided directly to speak with Mara to find a peaceful solution.
'You can have our land' said the Buddha, 'to do as you wish. But can you leave one small spot where we can live in tranquility? This spot can have very clear boundaries, and as long as we stay within them, you will agree to leave us alone. In turn, we will not violate any of your new territory.'
'How much do you want?' asked Mara. 'Only a piece large enough to stretch my yellow robe over, said the Buddha.' Hearing so easy a proposition, Mara accepted and solemnly promised not to touch the spot of land, covered by the Buddha's robe. But when the Buddha stretched out his robe, it extended miraculously far and covered all the land, that was habitable and arable. The people's houses, farmland and cattle were all under the protection of the yellow robe. Frightened by the Buddha's supernatural powers, Mara fled into the forest. The Buddha advised the Viet people to plant a tall bamboo in front of each house, and each year, to hang from it, a banner of yellow cloth, to remind Mara that this is the Buddha's land and Buddha cannot enter."
There are definitely some similarities to the story of Onam from Kerala. Of course, in the story of Onam, Lord Vishnu is the bad guy. According to http://www.onamfestival.org/, a very inforrmative website,
"Kerala was once ruled by an Asura (demon) king, Mahabali. The King was greatly respected in his kingdom and was considered to be wise, judicious and extremely generous. It is said that Kerala witnessed its golden era in the reign of King Mahabali. Everybody was happy in the kingdom, there was no discrimination on the basis of caste or class. Rich and poor were equally treated. There was neither crime, nor corruption. People did not even lock their doors, as there were no thieves in that kingdom. There was no poverty, sorrow or disease in the reign of King Mahabali and everybody was happy and content.
Looking at the growing popularity and fame of King Mahabali, the Gods became extremely concerned and jealous. They felt threatened about their own supremacy and began to think of a strategy to get rid of the dilemma.
To curb the growing reign of Mahabali and maintain their own supremacy, Aditi, the mother of Gods seeked help of Lord Vishnu (the preserver in the Hindu trinity) whom Mahabali worshiped.
It was said Mahabali was very generous and charitable. Whenever anybody approached him for help or requested for anything he always granted. To test the King, Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a dwarf and a poor Brahmin called Vamana. He came to the Kingdom of Mahabali, just after Mahabali performed his morning prayers and was preparing to grant boons to Brahmins.
Disguised as Vamana, Vishnu said he was a poor Brahmin and asked for a piece of land. The generous King said, he could have as much land as he wanted. The Brahmin said that he just wanted as much land as could be covered by his three steps. The King was surprised to hear but agreed.
A learned adviser of the King, Shukracharya sensed that Vamana was not an ordinary person and warned the King against making the promise. But, the generous King replied that it would be a sin for a King to back on his words and asked the Brahmin to take the land. The King could not imagine that the dwarf Brahmin was Lord Vishnu himself.
Just as King Mahabali agreed to grant the land, Vamana began to expand and eventually increased himself to the size of cosmic proportions. With his first step the Brahmin boy covered the whole of earth and with the other step he covered the whole of the skies. He then asked King Mahabali where is the space for him to keep his third foot.
The King realised that he was no ordinary Brahmin and his third step will destroy the earth. Mahabali with folded hands bowed before Vamana and asked him to place his last step on his head so that he could keep the promise. The Brahmin placed his foot on the head of the King, which pushed him to patala, the nether world. There the King requested the Brahmin to reveal his true identity. Lord Vishnu then appeared before the King in his person. The Lord told the King that he came to test him and the King won the test. King Mahabali was pleased to see his lord. Lord Vishnu also granted a boon to the King.
The King was so much attached with his Kingdom and people that he requested that he be allowed to visit Kerala once in a year. Lord Vishnu was moved by the Kings nobility and was pleased to grant the wish. He also blessed the King and said even after losing all his worldly possessions, the King would always be loved by Lord Vishnu and his people."
I guess the stories, which has a common root, define the difference between the humbler and more innocent Vietnamese soul, vis-a-vis, the Keralite soul, which I don't think any Malayali understands clearly. Yes, both the Buddha and Vishnu used trickery to get what they wanted, but the Vietnamese believed even more in the nobility of Buddha, whereas Keralites, always ready to rebel against much-accepted views, love the demon king and deplore what Vishnu did.
I would love to know when the story of Buddha and Mara spread to Vietnam. There's a Hindu tribe in Viietnam known as the Chams. I wonder if they believe in the story of Mahabali and Vishnu and talk about it before the Tet festival?
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