Adjust Ourselves

Customs and traditions are important channels for the learning and sharing of human experiences in any community. The dilemma that we face in an ever changing world is whether to live with or break with the past. There will always be a 'generation gap' between the old and the young because of different perceptions of changing circumstances and values. The older generation fears that the young people may lose their heritage while the young people worry that an ancient past may become a stumbling block in modern living. Change must always be considered carefully.

Popular culture creates momentary idols and folk heroes who portray images of conflicting lifestyles. The mass media hepls to reinforce this and young minds are prones to accept everything that the mass media propagate. There may be political or social messages in movements such as the Hippie or Yuppie movements but it is vital for the young to have the wisdom of the older generation to separate the good from the bad. The time tested and proven good old values do not change. Values such as thrift, honesty, liberality and hard work for dignified living remain fresh in any community.

In an Asian setting, the customs and traditions associated with marriages and funerals are very important. The question is whether we should spend so much money and time to carry out these customs and traditions in the modern world. Are they really necessary? There is no better advice than what the Buddha gave in the Kalama Sutta:-

"When you know yourselves that these ideas are unprofitable, liable to censure, condemned by the wise, and if they are being adopted and put into effect, they would lead to harm and suffering, then you should abandon them... When you know yourselves that these things are wholesome, blameless, commended by the wise, and if they are being adopted and put into effect, they would lead to welfare and happiness, then you should practise them and abide by them."

Every man is a creature of the universe. So long as man is concerned with making our society more humane and re-ordering the world for the better, time will always bridge the gap between the young and the old. Worry and fear over the direction of change will lose their grip. The older people only have to remember how their own parents had objected to certain ways of living that were considered modern at the time when they were young. Tolerance to differences on an issue is a virtue. An open attitude can only be a happy one