Sometimes people change for the sake of changing without knowing why.Change to keep up with the times is fine eg in the technological era you have to change yourself by learning how to use the computer and thus have access to the world of information,change in your lifestyle to cope with the demands of modern day living,the food you eat,the things you do etc.But there are some things which should not change and must not be change and one of them is TRADITION which as defined in the Oxford dictionary means"Opinion or belief or custom handed down,handing down of these from ancestors to posterity especially orally or by practice".
A wonderful definition I must say and a reminder to the younger ones that :1)they should know what these traditions are and 2) upkeep these traditions and 3) value our traditions because they are what make us what we are.
As Chinese we must know where our forefathers came from ,why they came and what were the important things to them.The Chinese always revere their forefathers because of this and this reverence and honour is especially shown on Ching Ming day or ancestor remembrance day where traditionally offerings are made in the belief that the dead can receive them for use in the afterlife.Traditionally as a mark of respect jossticks and candles are burnt at the graves.This is tradition and has nothing to do with religion.But there are some idiots with the "holier than thou" mentality who are confused between the two and refuse to light the jossticks .Pretty ignorant idiots I would say.
Our traditions make us what we are and we must understand and follow these traditions.If we do not then what are we?There are so many traditions amongst the Chinese because we have one of the oldest civilizations and we had a lot of famous Chinese thinkers and philosophers whose teachings and examples are even adopted by the western countries.The teachings of Confucious and Lao Tzu for example are still being analyzed and studied to this very day.
I cannot tolerate the so called Christians who refuse to know what traditions are and try to show that they are more Christian than others and in the process actually show how shallow and ignorant they are.
The Chinese have many good traditions like filial piety,respect for the elders,celebration of festivals ,family responsibility etc all of which if practised and upheld would certainly make us all better persons and the world a better place.
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you were right about all religion is good, and no religion is better than the other because all teachings are good. people confuse tradition and religion. and impose rules that do not exist. the key is to respect tradition and also other religion. it's the people who distorts it, people dont understand that the more you try to recruit others to join their religion, they are further tarnishing the values of that religion. People also forget that religion is a choice, and the choice must be respected. Why would anyone want someone to convert if that person has no faith in your religion?
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