largest Buddha in Vietnam

Here is the largest Buddha in Vietnam in Soc Son. Soc Son is more well known for the legend of a giant warrior whom helped the Vietnamese fight off the Chinese and his footsteps made the lakes and valleys in the mountains. Because of the largest Buddha which weighs thirty tonnes some other people want to make an even larger statue of Giong the warrior. This oneupsmanship is quite interesting I think! Here I am outside one of the many pagodas at Yen Tu mountain. It's a pilgrimage site and the ascent is very very steep! I bravely chickened out before the summit. Even though part of the way was by cable car.... We had an interesting conversation with Tam whom is a Vietnamese practictioner whom does translation with us. She talked about how Westerners like the ideas of Buddhism but only like the fluffy bits - and balk at stopping drinking etc. I guess this applies to me...but I think the more common misunderstanding about Buddhism is about impermanence- people sometimes view non attachment as having no emotions at all and trying to reach nothingness which I don't think is quite correct. It's the concept of interbeing I think that is central to Buddhism. And compassion. And love. Etc. Etc.

curbing loneliness

I have been reading the journals of Thich Nhat Hanh Fragrant Palm Leaves which really provides an insight into how he has had revelatory moments at different times in different places. It also makes me realise how lucky I am to be in Vietnam at a time when the sanghas following him can come out in the open- the one at Dien Quan practiced in secret before his visit here last year.
I miss my husband a lot and the sangha provides me with the emotional support to stay here. To be gentle with yourself and to show yourself compassion is a lesson I have learnt here. I had my own quiet moment of reflection waiting for my Vietnamese class looking into a pool of water. I've been dwelling on impermanence and how everything inter-be that in death we are still part of life and vice versa. I've been thinking of ways to write this into my fiction and finding it rather difficult.
I suppose the interaction I have with ghosts, spirits with humans has this interlaced through it.
This picture is of a gatha carved in rock from the Thay pagoda. I've been told that it is about impermanence and the reflections of life in water.

why i'm not totally buddhist

Because I drink and eat meat. I also have not fully embraced total compassion for all beings.
I cannot extend compassion to rapists - but the teachings of Thay have modified my position on the death penalty.
It takes a great heart to be able to transcend and extend compassion past hatred and I'm not there yet.

dinh quan pagoda

My first excursion with the sangha was to Dinh Quan Pagoda in Hanoi. It is hidden away off the main road from bus 32 or 20, and I was fortunate enough to find my way there with Hannah and Nicholas two British ex pats.
The day began with a dharma teaching by a monk from Hue whose presence was one of strength and calm. He talked about negative feelings and how we need negative feelings like compost to flowers. We need to acknowledge these negative feelings in order to transform them with loving kindness. This is so different from Western psychology which focuses on the elimination of negative thoughts that it is quite liberating.
We then went on a walking meditation of the temple, past the statue of Quan Am, and I saw a snake slithering away into the underbrush. We had a formal lunch where we presented our lunch to the Buddha as an offering and we ate mindfully in silence.
Then we had total relaxation meditation which translated as sleeping meditation!
The dharma discussion then took place which is a space for people to discuss how they experience the practice not through theory but through the heart. I find this one of the most sharing supportive spaces to be in and you learn so much from other people's experiences of the practice.
Then we went home in the pouring rain- stopping for a drink at the tea shop.

to begin

This blog is about my Buddhist discoveries in Vietnam. I am an author and this is not my main blog- it is here for people whom are interested in the dharma, the sangha and matters of the spirit. First I thought I would outline my interest in Buddhism to date and then as my discoveries with the sangha of Hanoi Compassionate Living goes on I will add additional posts.

I was first made forcibly aware of my Buddhist roots when my grandfather died ten years ago. It was the first time I visited a Buddhist temple and my brother and I did a lot of reading around the heart sutra since my brother had to read it at the funeral ceremony. I tried to reach an understanding of ghosts and spirits then- part of my journey is in the play and book - 49 Ghosts which you can access from my website at www.hoapham.net

Since then I had only attended Linh Son temple in Reservoir for special occassions- the anniversary to celebrate the dead, my grandfather's and grandmother's death anniversaries and for Tet.

I had tried to start meditating with the University of Melbourne Buddhist group but found myself falling asleep- the lunchtime schedule just did not suit me!

My father gave me Thich Nhat Hanh books to read and I started investigating Buddhist psychology. A book I highly recommend is Emotional Alchemy which is written by Tara Goldman- the wife of the man whom wrote Emotional Intelligence. This engaged my mind and I started trying to meditate again.

Then I went to Vietnam where I stumbled across the Community for Mindful Living in Hanoi which follows Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings in English! This was a real find for me- not only did it provide me with a network of support and friends which I needed- but also provided me with Thay's teachings in a real live suppportive community space.

So this was the beginning for me and the journey with the sangha begins here.