when thich nhat hanh made a visit home to vietnam last year, he stopped at this pagoda to visit the nuns. the head nun, sister thich hanh chau, is one of his students and has traveled to his monastery in plum village (france) to study with him. we sat and had tea with her and she invited us a special ceremony that morning where she and the other nuns chanted for over an hour. to say it was remarkable, seems like an understatement.
pictures of thich nhat hanh at the entrance to the pagoda
the september 2007 issue of the shambhala sun magazine features a cover story on thich nhat hanh's 2007 journey back to vietnam. below are some excerpts from the article:"in 1966, at the age of forty, thich nhat hanh was exiled from his beloved vietnam. his crime was to see the suffering of the communist and the nationalist, the soldier and the civilian, the victim and the perpetrator as interdependent. he was considered a traitor by the power brokers on both sides for acknowledging the humanity of everyone entangled in that awful web of war. during his four decades of exile...he traveled throughout the world, offering his message of reconciliation and peace. after the vietnam war, he brought together vietnam war vets and vietnamese refugees to help them find reconciliation and healing....finally, in 2005, thich nhat hanh was allowed to go home. he and members of his sangha traveled throughout veitnam, working to reinstate the buddhist monastic tradition that had been fractured by years of war and communist rule. in the spring of 2007, thich nhat hanh brought members of his community with him on a second tour...."
before leaving for his last visit thich nhat hanh said, "the tour is an opportunity to go back to vietnam and practice with the people...for forty years i was unable to offer teaching and practice to the people of vietnam. so my only purpose is to be with the people, to meet with them, and to offer them retreats, days of mindfulness, dharma talks, and walking meditation....we will conduct ceremonies to pray for victims of the war on both sides. this is the first time such ceremonies have been allowed. they are very traditional rites, but they are also like a festival, in a way. the people who are still alive come together and think of the dead people. they pray for them and reconcile. the war has left many wounds within each person, and there has been no chance to reconcile the warring parties. this is a collective practice of healing. if we don't transform the suffering and the wounds now, they will be transmitted to the next generation. they will suffer and they will not understand why. it's better to do something right away to transform the suffering and the injustice that we have experienced."
traditionally, when monks and nuns process, the nuns are to follow behind the last novice monk....when thich nhat hanh led processions in vietnam recently, he insisted that the nuns and monks walk side by side.
kuan yin
we were given fabulous vegetarian temple food for lunch!
that radiant smile says it all!
on the wall of the temple....
excerpts from the september 2007 shambhala sun magazine article titled: "i am home" by filmmaker, velcrow ripper.
1 comment:
Wow! what a blessing. The photos are great.
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