While weddings held in chapels or churches are the norm in the West, we generally don’t equate Buddhism with marriage. Recently however 30 new couples sought the blessing of a monk at a Chan (Zen) monastery in Zhejiang. Many netizens question whether such ceremony was considered proper in the context of Buddhism or whether this was just all a spectacle.
From Tiexue:
The afternoon of November 21st, 2009, 30 newly to-be-married couples participated in a mass wedding at the thousand year old Chan (Zen) Temple located at Zhujiwuxie Scenic Area in Zhejiang Province. The newly to-be-wed couples prayed in front of the Buddha, and received the highest blessings from the abbot at the Temple.
Comments on KDS:
阿童木:
zzrisme:
Bad custom, I do not know who thought this up.
JIMMY:
It is very expensive for weddings to be held in churches, a temple is probably cheaper.
倒霉的女:
Marriage is sacred [ordained by divinity].
摇摇摆摆:
Buddhist monasteries from its inception strictly regards sex as taboo. From thousands of years until now, have already degenerated to this point, this really is laughable…and a bunch of people together pretending to believe in the Buddha, I’m speechless~
咖啡糖:
This is called socialist temple with Chinese characteristics.
伐要起管一:
The monk is getting married? Putting a ring on that woman?
Comments on Tiexue:
xuqingtx:
Within the gates of the temple is suppose to be immaculate, this is not right.
曾经的一毛二:
The groom devoutly prayed in front of the Buddha: “Mighty Buddha, you must bless me with a wife who is in her original package [a virgin].”
The bride devoutly prayed in front of the Buddha: “Mighty Buddha, you must bless me that my hymen operation was successful.”
hlmmhlmm:
The Bodhisattva despondently said: you walked into the wrong place…the church is a road ahead to the left.
铁血用户高级:
That’s enough, this is just a commercial scheme.
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Someone asked Master Yunmen, “What is the original source?”
The Master said, “Whose donations do you receive?”
“And now.. the group sex!”
Sorry, couldn’t resist adapting this line from sister Zute to this circumstance. I am just curious what’s the fad with these group weddings :s. Are there really that many people in China that you can’t get married in private :\ .
Also, kudos for chosing appropriately matching Buddhist wedding garments.
Interesting garment choice for a wedding… seen that white is a mourning colour in buddhism…
That’s kind of weird… it’s probably less weird if they all wore the Chinese traditional wedding dresses instead.
cause we all know Chinese people wear traditional dress when they get married at the Buddhist temple???
The last picture is kind funny. Everyone in that picture is looking down, only that girl looks back at the camera.
idk what to say. In a sense, the temple prob blessing the couple with this kind of ceremony. On other thought, if the monks received loads of money to do this kind of unusual thing, it is degenerated.
That last photo is great.
“Mighty Buddha, you must bless me that my hymen operation was successful”
ahahaha I thought only Muslims did this
*shrugs* I don’t see what the big deal is, let them get married wherever they want.
Personally, i think it’s ok. You’ve rented the dress for the cheesey photos anyway, so you might as well get some extra use out of it.
BTW the guy in the second picture at the front is looking a bit too cool for school. Show some respect son.
Have to agree with you on that one mate! What’s wrong with his shirt? Looks like he’s about to light a fag!!!
I don;t get it. They still kneel and pray. So what’s wrong? The only difference is their dress, that;s all.
I think it has to do with the imposition of a modern wedding ceremony in a buddhist temple, with “support” for that kind of thing from the buddhists not because of sanctity of marriage – but because of financial donations. It gives the temple the image of being a sellout, which is how many people view temples in China – as sellouts. Nothin says non-materialism and inner peace like a monk wandering in his monk garb, wielding a cell phone in his left and a fist full of hundreds in his right.
Another question along these lines would be, if a wedding is ‘fine’, would it be just as ‘fine’ for me to hold a birthday party at the temple? Blessed by the monks?
How far are you willing to take it?
I think the image most Chinese people have of buddhist temples are heavily influenced by wuxia novel and and movies. Buddhist in the past used money to buy and sell, wrote letters to communicate with people faraway.
It’s a little bizzarre to have a western ceremony in a temple. Also, temple looks fugly on the inside with all the clutter, does not seem very zen (chan) like, but then again my jinyong based knowledge of monks and temples do not conform with reality either.
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If they donate money to the temple and respect it I can’t see a problem. But I’m not Buddhist. I just don’t know why Chinese (and Japanese) etc. want all these Christian/American/Anglo-Saxon or whatever wedding dress and other trappings. I guess it is a nouveau riche kind of thing that might change in another generation. I’m Jewish and my wife is Chinese and we had a secular wedding here in Australia in a nature reserve. She wore a white dress but it was a qipao. I didn’t wear a suit or tie. Went for an all white look too…
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This is completely off topic but i had to share.
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New ground to game ???
I don’t understand what’s wrong marrying in a temple. Marriage is sacred and the law of the land permits; so, do it !!!
Right. You don’t understand Buddhism. At all.
Possibly your knowledge of Buddhism is a bit narrowed and euphemistic. While the monasteries never took the responsibility of registration of the populace such as European Christian churches did (that is the origin of marriage in church and birth registration in church in Europe caused by the illiteracy of feudal rulers) it was well widespread habit that Buddhist monks gave blessings for marriage ceremonies during centuries and longer, not only in China, but as well elsewhere in Asia and beyond.
And it was always habit of clerics to raising funds somehow – the monasteries were and are perfect in that all times (not that any religion and their bureaucracy was ever free from greed, cheating and stealing). When they are doing it now by slightly imitating Christian wedding ceremony, I consider that far less unethical than exploiting slaves and abusing little boys.
Obviously, religions evolve over time and take on roles that they did not originally. The way Buddhism and Christianity treated marriage originally were not particularly different.
Marriage is clearly not at all in line with getting rid of earthly attachments. While the Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians disparages marriage but presents it as a better alternative to sin.
I’m certainly completely inured to Christianity’s transition to a money making endeavor. That started during the Middle Ages and possibly before, so it’s certainly been a while.
I would imagine that Buddhism has a checkered history as well (it certainly has enough branches and schisms to compete with Christianity). Buddhism in China as it exists now is a pretty ugly beast, though. It’s very difficult to square Buddhist thought with openly money-making endeavors. Modern, but pretty distasteful (not unlike a lot of Christianity, but as I said, I’m completely inured to that.)
I don’t have to “understand Buddhism”.What is correct is always correct.
Wow. George Bush has a lot of free time since he left office.
Wow. You are always correct.
It’s strangely appropriate for them to be wearing white to a Buddhist temple, after all, it is a funeral for their sex-life…
Sorry homey not in China. They’ll get the first night over with and then after six months decide that its time to fuck other people.
They need to wear hanfu
ugh I hate group weddings.
Sooooo lame, no matter where they are or what they wear.
Also, a total disaster for the photographer.
Then again, they probably took their wedding photos a few months ago in front of a green screen with multiple cheesy backgrounds cut and pasted in photoshop.
Or on a beach.
No creativity. (That’s the photographer’s fault, not the people’s)
I think its a lovely way to get back to their cultural roots and celebrate them within the holy sanctity of matrimony.
Are there still many buddhists in China? It’s not like Buddhisms is supported by the state, is it?
seems okay, just the choice of dress really clashes with the temple.
Chinese “netizens” are such utterly lame losers, aren’t they?
That last picture of the girl looking back at the camera… Is she thinking ‘where the fuck am I?’ or, ‘oh wait.., I’ve had seconds thoughts!’
Dressed in white? Mourning? How inappropriate. Wedding colour in Chinese culture is red, the poor lost generation here wearing western style dresses and not wearing their veils will bring misfortunes of all sorts. By the way Buddhism is NOT China’s native faith system. Ignorance is astounding . . .
Absolutely looks like a funeral but not a wedding, especially for the last photo. Why don’t they go to a church for the ceremony if they wanna wear western dressing? It is totally weird.
And I bet 80% of them don’t believe in Buddhism at all.
later they all divorce
In Buddhism, only people that dedicate their life to learn about buddhist teaching will become monk and didn’t marry. Ordinary people that didn’t dedicate their life to learn but want to apply the goodness of buddhism in life can still get married. There is nothing wrong to get married and get blessing from monk, it is only wrong when we do evil.
Buddhism and Monks are not Chinese originated. Those come from Nepal. Taoism and Priests are Chinese originated, that is the degree of wrongness where applicable. Also white and black instead of red is culturally wrong as well.