Several days later...

It has been several days since I had reliable Internet access. We travelled to Danang from Hue, settling into a hotel that, while friendly, lacks some of the--shall we say?--modern amenities. In any event, we have been too busy to do much besides sleep outside the sangha schedule.

Each day, we have enjoyed a Dharma talk from Thay. The first two days in Danang were marked by an incredible, indescribable festival at Kwan Um Temple. It you think "carnival," that's about as close as I can come to describing the atmosphere. The first night, the crowd was very lively and talkative. Thay had the monastics do a lot of chanting to try to help calm the crowd.

Thay's talk there, and the several he has given since, are marked by such warmth and compassion. Our Vietnamese Buddhist brothers and sisters practice a devotional form of Buddhism, which has its own beauty and effectiveness, but Thay's hope is to introduce the practice of mindfulness and to begin, ever so gently, to show people the simple forms of meditation that he has developed in his work with Westerners.

We have been to a number of temples here. At each one, on at least our initial visit, we participate in a formal procession with the monastics. Local people line the path, and we walk quietly and mindfully. Part of our role here is to embody the practice of mindfulness as much as possible.

I hope that it's clear from my few entries here how very much Vietnam has affected me. The warmth of the people, their gentleness and good humor, are endearing. As a Buddhist, I feel that the practices that Thay teaches will take root here. The quietness and tranquility are definitely present here. They may be buried under a few layers of "progress," but I do believe they are the nature of the people here.

On the tourist-y side, we did yesterday get a chance to do a little shopping in area of the Marble Mountain of Danang. Marble Mountain, among other things, is the site of a number caves where temples have been established. It isn't called Marble Mountain for nothing. There are many artisans in the area working in marble. We were able to browse in a few shops. I bought a beautiful marble Buddha.

Other than that brief shopping expedition, we did go to the central market in Danang. The markets are always an experience! Here and in Hue, the markets are buildings ringed by stands of people selling various foodstuffs. Inside, there are other vendors and, on the second floor, stalls selling fabric, shoes, and ready-made clothing.

On the cuisine front, we have been very well fed. We often eat at the temples, where the food is, of course, vegetarian. One person commented that the food is very sattvic, and it does feel that way. It is light, soothing, and delicious! In some places, the lay people prepare the food. In others, the nuns do much of the preparation. Always, the food is prepared with a great deal of love and mindfulness, and I know this makes the food taste better!

Tonight, a number of us are going on a boat cruise on the Han River. We'll have dinner and be entertained by musicians performing classical Vietnamese music.

Today has been a "lazy" day, meaning I chose not to accompany the rest of the delegation (120+ lay people and 200 or so monks and nuns) on temple visits and outings to the Cham Museum and beach. Our day yesterday was very, very long, and I needed some time to recuperate. Happily, it's acceptable to take a "lazy" day occasionally.

I will stop now. Rather than let this get too long, I'll try to post another entry in a day or so. I appreciate emails and comments on the blog and if I can't respond to them, know that I do get to read them and enjoy them!