Hue city to host Buddhist Culture Week

LookAtVietnam - The event, which aims to spread awareness of the country's largest religion with a series of exhibitions and seminars on literature, history and culture, will be held at the Lieu Quan Buddhist Cultural Center in the ancient capital city of Hue from May 16-22. 

Buddhism in Vietnam

Phat Tich Pagoda – cradle of Vietnamese Buddhism

Vietnamese pagodas in the lands of Buddhism

The Lieu Quan Buddhist Cultural Center  in Hue City.

During the week that is also aimed at celebrating Buddha's 2554 birthday, a range of events will take place, including an exhibition showcasing close to 100 antiques dating back to the pre-Thang Long period (Dai La), the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties. The artifacts on display were collected by antique collector Tran Dinh Son.

Scholars such as Cao Huy Thuan, Tran Dinh Son, Thai Kim Lai and Ho Tan Phan will deliver speeches related to the royal citadel of Thang Long and Buddhism in Vietnam.  The cultural week also aims to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.

Seminars on art, architecture and education will also be a part of the event.

Crowds curious to see woman with 5 meter-long hair

Around 500 people visit Hue Phuoc pagoda in Ben Tre province daily to see the elderly woman whose hair is over 5 meters long. VietNamNet reporters arrived at the pagoda around 9am on a hot day in late March 2010. When they came, several dozens of visitors had already entered to burn incense and pray. They also hoped to see an old woman named Miss Tu, famous for her long hair.

Residents explained that while this pagoda is new, it attracts a lot of visitors even from the northern and central region because of Miss Tu. Miss Tu is a 73-year-old woman who always sits on a camp-bed, with her hair splayed out for visitors to see, but she doesn’t allow anyone to take her photo or to film her.

Senior monk Thich Chuc Tue, who manages the pagoda, told VietNamNet that, at the beginning, this was a private pagoda named Chua La. Miss Tu and the monk asked the pagoda owner’s permission to live here in 1986. At that time, the monk was a hermit and Miss Tu was a Buddhist nun with very long hair.

Hue Phuoc pagoda, Miss Tu’s home.

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The Long So'N Pagoda in Nha Trang

Another wonderful unexpected discovery with a history of protest, violence and death. But once you climb what seemed to be an interminable staircase, you arrive at the top and nature smiles; bougainvilleas abound. Children play under funerary urns, without giving a thought to their significance. After all, it's a great place to catch some shade. 

The real marvel is hidden from view upon arrival. A word of caution to anyone that cannot climb more than one flight of stairs: do not attempt to go to the top. There are 152 steps to climb, and in hot weather, it can be dangerous for some to undertake the ascent; there is a sign that discourages people with medical conditions from climbing, and it should be heeded. Luck came for us in the way of a bottle of water, which is absolutely necessary, and several rest stops on the way.  The young man at my side was impossible to shake off, no matter how hard I tried. I wondered how many times he had made the climb in order to get a few dong?

A huge, silver replica of a reclining Buddha waits at the top of the stairs (24 meters tall), which for us was a consolation prize for having missed the golden one in Bangkok. The view from the top is spectacular: you can see the entire city, the water, the housing, the shacks and the beautiful flowers. As we were taking photos, some curious young man appeared with shades on, and was ready to pose at a moment's notice. I called him the "little Elvis".

 and here's my Elvis:

Not to do any evil. To perform what is good. To keep one’s own heart pure. These are the teachings of lord Buddha. 

Indeed, these and other teachings are found scripted on the walls of Nha Trang’s largest pagoda in both Vietnamese and English. At any one time here, there are at least seventy students who are future monks, and eighteen orphans who serve as guides and above all, postcard vendors.

Two girls approached us as we were making our way up the stairs to reassure us so as not to worry, that they were not hawkers but rather students, and they wouldn’t be harassing us... except for the postcards. This is the way to make a contribution to this community, as they will not accept cash in any shape or form. There is so much to see here that it was great that a young man decided to serve as our guide.

The Pagoda was first built on Mount Trai Thuy in 1886 and named Dang Long Pagoda. In 1900, the Pagoda was damaged in a storm and was rebuilt down the mountain in its present location. It  was built to commemorate the monks and nuns who died while fighting against the Diem government.

 there is always work to do here; whether renovating or repairing.
Part of the monastery was damaged during the American War. 

Also visible are various buildings which are part of this establishment with their peaceful, tiled roofs, their sculpted ferocious looking dragons, and the prominent inverted yellow swastika which our guide hastens to tell us was a peaceful symbol and has nothing to do with Nazism.

 
By oneself, evil deed is done. By oneself, one is defiled. By oneself, evil deed is not done. By oneself, one becomes purified. Purity and Impurity are done by oneself. No one can purify another.

There are dozens such adages which adorn the walls of the main building, and one cannot help but read them all, and reflect upon their meaning.  The words continue to dance in front of my eyes, and they never quite leave me, as we continue our visit through the main hall: this area has been modernized and rebuilt several times, and serves as a memorial to the Buddhists who gave their lives to support the US-backed Diem regime of the 1960’s.

 The Memorial Building

There are very ornate mosaic symbols and decorations on top of the buildings. The combination of tile and glass is a Vietnamese specialty, which we had already seen in the ancient capital city of Hue.

All tremble in violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill or cause another to kill.

And also:

Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool.

We meet a very old man who seems in contemplation and is glad to engage in some words in English with us. His face breaks into a smile when we tell him we are American. He allows us to enter a very special room where chairs and tables are set in such a way for meetings. Around the room are framed photos of the various heads of the "congregation", and the years of their reigns.

huge white Buddha sits atop a gold pedestal

One does not get a sense of what must have been very turbulent times, when monks martyred themselves against their government. At this elevated haven, there is a serenity and calm, and marvelous views of the city of Nha Trang below.

As one continues to walk along the paths and staircases, there might be a young monk in deep study; or a smiling little girl playing with siblings.  But the special room which is normally not open to the public bears witness to those who died.

The fool worries thinking," I have sons, I have wealth". Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons? whence is wealth?

Another Detour to the Ngoc Huong Pagoda

Our cyclo guides tried their best to give us a flavor of Hue, aside from the Forbidden Purple City. One of the interesting places was the Ngoc Huong Pagoda, and I couldn't tell you where it is, but if you're in Hue, flag a cyclo, and I bet they will know exactly where to take you. The pagoda is recessed from the street, and is surrounded by water, except for a paved alley which led to the main gate that was under lock and chain.

As we rose from our cyclos to make our way to the Pagoda, there was an old man wading in the water, and it wasn't quite clear what he was doing, but perhaps he may have been cleaning the water. He had his hand on a canoe, and the stream was filled with leaves. His other hand held a bucket or basket; he may have been scooping water out of the canoe.

I'd like to add a post scrip to this scenario. This visit was taking place at a time when Viet Nam was at the height of the bird flu scare. We had been avoiding chickens like the plague; and you can imagine my alarm when two men came running toward us with a chicken in their hands (it was not dead). 

I probably scared them with my shrieks of "get away from me with this bird" ; perhaps they had not heard the news. Anyway, it seemed an eternity before anyone came to open the gate. A very regal looking monk, dressed in orange garb, came to unlock the gate and silently disappeared. I guess he realized that we were "tourists". 

We followed our guide into the Pagoda; remember to leave your shoes outside. This was not the first pagoda I had been to; but it would be unfair to compare the temple in Bangkok's Grand Palace grounds, where we chanted to the Emerald Buddha as we sat on the floor. That was a royal treat!! OK, back to Hue. 

A likeness of Buddha sits atop the altar in the center of the Pagoda

The altar onto which the likeness of Buddha rests is in the center. It is elevated, so that the lower levels can be used for offerings which are commonplace when the faithful come for prayers or spiritual guidance. Flowers and fruit are the most usual items to be offered. Before you can pray, or meditate, you must light 2 joss sticks; joss sticks are humongous incense sticks, and they are easily found in markets all over Viet Nam. We brought back a batch of them from the market we visited in Bac Ha . The guide proceeded to light the incense and I watched him, as he put his hands together, and up to his forehead, and bowed 3 times. 

Then it was my turn, and I did the same. I learned during my trip, and by picking up a book on the Viet Namese people while there, that as a rule, Viet Namese people are not religious, but are extremely spiritual. They practice a form of ancestor worship, and go to great lengths to make sure that their ancestor's spirits are taken care of. Cemeteries in Viet Nam are extremely ubiquitous and colorful. 

Typical cemetery shot from the train going from Hue to Nah Trang

We did go around the chamber, and I saw portraits of monks that had died; one of them actually quite famous is pictured here; he had set himself on fire in protest. In front of each framed picture was an abundance of flowers, oranges, and other fruit. Following this cleansing exercise, we quietly walked outside, and headed for the gate. En route, I could see men at work, fixing a roof, and a burian tree with fruit that had apparently rotted. Durian actually don't look this bad. To see how pretty they really are, click on this link to go to theMy Tho Fruit Market .

You really don't want to eat this fruit

Sights and Sounds of Viet Nam

If you've been there, and you watch this wonderful, soothing succession of slides, you'll be nodding in agreement as you recognize all the things you've seen, tasted and experienced. If you haven't been there, you'll want to board the first plane out!
Enjoy...

You'll catch a glimpse of the Museum of Ethnography...have I got a story and pictures for you...coming soon.