Buddhism on Taboos

Most races have their own taboos. In Malaysia perhaps we have more than our fair share of them because the three major ethnic groups have their own animistic beliefs and each is influenced by the others. Because of ignorance, fear and superstition each group tends to accept the beliefs of others rather than studying them rationally and discarding them as being irrelevant to modern society. For example many Asian communities believe that they must not clip their finger nails after dark nor wash their hair on certain days of the week. Some people think that it
is bad luck to see shaven headed religious men the first thing in the morning whilst others will not sweep their houses after dark.

It is even believed to be bad to carry meat around at night for fear that it might attract evil spirits. Some parents advise their children to carry a piece of metal to protect themselves from ghosts. en there are those who believe that howling dogs and hooting owls at night could bring bad luck and that a twitching of the left eye is a bad omen. Some people consider these as very serious issues. But those who ignore them are free from fear and disturbances.

What is the Buddhist attitude towards such beliefs? Where does rational thinking end and superstition begin? All seem to originate in our fear of the unknown. Sometimes
there are practical reasons for observing certain beliefs. For example it is of course inadvisable to cut one’s fingernails in the dark simply because one could cut one’s finger in the process.

As far as evil spirits are concerned the Buddha has said that so long as we practise loving-kindness towards all beings, visible and invisible, so long as we do others no harm by living sensibly and believing in the power of the Dhamma or the Truth as
expounded by the Buddha, and so long as we develop our right understanding by studying his Teachings, nothing can harm us. is again means we have to develop our religious devotion and confidence by visiting the temple regularly, and by having
useful discussions with religious teachers so as to enrich our understanding of the Dhamma. e temple must be a place where people can gain more knowledge and understanding to get rid of superstitious beliefs and to eradicate undue fear in the minds of innocent people.