No Shoes in the Dharma Hall

An example of religious difference that I've often encountered is at the Buddhist temple I often attend. One of the rituals for the English-speaking congregation is that one removes one's shoes before entering the dharma hall, the place where services are held. It often happens that newcomers and children do not take their shoes off before entering the dharma hall. I've observed an interesting phenomenon when this breach occurs: on numerous occasions, a child will eagerly run up to the altar to play with the big bell or the various ritual implements sitting on the altar. When he or she is wearing shoes, the mother or father, as well as those American members who have been attending services for a while, all run after the child to prevent him or her from getting to the altar. Native Korean members and ministers typically do not make any attempt to impede the child. I find it interesting that the ones for whom the tradition is most natural do not attempt to prevent the child's "infraction" upon the focal point of the temple.

There does seem to be less of a rush to stop the child if she isn't wearing shoes. I think it is especially interesting to note that during the Korean congregation's services, all of the members (children included) typically stand in the altar area with their shoes on: their shoes are touching the gorgeous wood paneling that the children's shoes are forbidden from standing upon.

There are innumerable social and religious rituals mixing in here, and I don't know that I could break them all down. What fundamentally seems to be happening is that the American members see the altar as a sacred space that will be somehow violated by a child's footwear and behavior. It is not a place for shoes and play. The Koreans and ministers do not seem to think that the presence of footwear is a violation. I am uncertain if they believe the altar to be more sacred than the rest of the dharma hall, but I would imagine they do to some degree.