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.