Buddhas and Bars
The use of Buddhist icons in bars is becoming trendy. While the vogue is open to interpretations, the assay has deep arching upshots – some petite, some staid and many minting the consciousness.
The sudden increase in the use of Buddhist icons in bars and hotels is becoming a hot topic in Thimphu. Some consider it as artistic license, while others see it as desecration of sacred symbols and a lowering of Bhutanese values. Perhaps now is an appropriate time to explore the issue of sacred and its broader implications to society as a whole.
In a religious context, sacred is something that links the mundane with a higher consciousness, though of course connotations vary depending on the person.
Take, for example, the hypothetical ituation of a man who was born in a place with many monasteries such as Jakar. As a youth he may regularly have been exposed to the smoke of certain herbs being burnt as offerings, and as a result that fragrance is always associated with religious ceremonies nd higher ideals. Later, if this man moved to Thimphu, he might bring some of these herbs with him and burn them when undertaking religious practice or perhaps when just feeling lonely. Immediately, the aroma evokes the feelings of his youth and the religious sentiments of his community. For him, these herbs have a sacred value.
To a young guy in Thimphu, the music that he heard when he met his first girlfriend is sacred. He keeps a CD, and plays it when feeling down or under pressure. Instantly, he is reminded of his carefree days.
To continue the stories, imagine that a meat shop near the apartment of the guy from Jakar begins to burn the same “sacred” herbs to discourage flies. Also, the hotel where our young friend works starts to play the music that he loves through the toilet audio system. Slowly, the association these people had with the smell and sound are lost. They no longer evoke the same emotions. In short, they have lost their sacredness. In religion, this is called desecration.
Of course, it is unreasonable to expect society to adapt to individual ensitivities. In the context of our stories, for example, it would be inappropriate for the young guy to ask others not to play “his” music in toilets or for the guy from Jakar to request meat shops in Thimphu to stop burning specific herbs. However, it is certainly not unreasonable to expect others to preserve the sanctity of things that are respected and held as sacred by the community at large. For example, most people in Bhutan consider the symbols of Buddhism as worthy of deep respect, and therefore they are always placed in high and clean places. Such expressions of piety are the norm in Bhutan and are supported by society as a whole. However, if a few people begin to use Dharma symbols for commercial purposes or to depict them in disrespectful ways, the symbols are slowly deprived of their power to evoke a sense of reverence or the sacred. They are rendered ineffective, and as a result society looses something of great valuable.
Still, those with strong views about the subject should not lose the plot and become emotional. Instead it is better to investigate why symbols are sacred and consider the issue from all angles. We are not the Taleban, and it is not part of Buddhist culture to over-react to such matters. Yet, at the same time, those who use religious icons merely out of commercial or artistic interests should reflect on the disservice and harm they are doing to society, of which they are an integral part and will feel the repercussions when values depreciate.
In the past, such matters did not need to be discussed. People naturally respected teachers and religious symbols, but times are changing. Young people are exposed to greater outside influences, so maybe now is the time to investigate the situation. Buddhist icons and symbols have been used for centuries as a means to raise the view from the mundane to the sacred.
Therefore, they should not be disguarded lightly, but instead protected as a national treasure and the population
educated on their value. In this regard, I sincerely hope this humble contribution can initiate some deep refection by those who are using Buddhist icons in a way that does not accord with the reverence that they are afforded by the majority of Bhutanese people.
By Shenphen Zangpo (Bhutan Observer)