Young coconut water. From Brazil. At what cost....?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
A Revival
"A woman who tried to nurture herself exclusively on ideas, Rand would live and die subject to the dynamics of her own philosophy. The clash between her romantic and rational sides makes this not a tale of triumph, but a tragedy of sorts."
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tet Holiday
The Lunar New Year, "Tet", is probably the biggest holiday of the year here and we spent it with the remaining kids and Duc Son. About half of the children's parents are still living, but can't support them or they have extended family who they can visit for a few days on this holiday which is centered around family. The rest of the kids who don't have any family beyond that at Duc Son "an tet" at the orphanage. Hue is a fairly conservative/traditional city and most local businesses close for anywhere from two days to two weeks to spend time at home with family and friends.
We were invited to join the Duc Son family in the Buddha Hall at 4 am on New Years Day, so we decided to forgoe the downtown/firework celebration of the eve, it being cold and rainy didn't make it any more difficult to decide to stay at home, we've been suffering a sort of perpetual cold since the wintry misery set in. We rode alone on the dark streets that morning, with only a few stirring, some getting up, some going to bed. When we got to Duc Son a few nuns were preparing the altar and wrapping themselves in their golden ceremonial robes. Looking from the front steps at Duc Son, beyond the gardens, the lights of a nearby Pagoda are reflected in the grid of pools in the rice paddies below. Gold is also the color of Tet, a symbol of prosperity for the new year. A week before Tet, flower and other assorted vegetation vendors line the streets and the square in front of the citadel. Their "Christmas Tree" is a squat potted beautiful bonzai looking tree with small yellow blossoms.
The nuns, led by Su Minh Tu and Su Minh Duc prostrate to the Buddha altar, then begin chanting the ceremonial rites. The Hall is open to the children and they wander in as they wake, boys on the left, girls on the right, standing with hands pressed palm to palm in prayer. It felt a lot like church to me, with more clergy. The nuns carrying out the rites and chanting teachings not understood, the parishioners trickle in, being poked and postitioned by the older, senior residents. I took my place next to Loc, the oldest male living there, he's in his mid 20's and serves a hybrid care-reciever/care-giver role, helping with operations and child management wherever he can. We stand and chant, sit, prostrate, then the nuns lead a walking chant circumambulating the room, all the while accompanied by several percussion instruments, wood knocker, metal clanker, large alloy bowl. We return to sit and the nuns take turns reading from a text, the boys sitting around me are loudly prodding me with questions and comments, most of which stem from the tet celebration compared to america, my happiness level,or my beard. Thankfully the disruption is met only with smiles from the nuns.
Then they sat US in front of the book and we are asked to open it, the passage on that page opened is read as a sort of "fortune" for the new year--mine was something like cultivating merit and success in helping others. (all of the fortunes have a compassionate Buddhist theme) With formalities aside, laughing and clapping fill the room as more fortunes are read, with the periodic chorus, as the kids sing together. (insert a few local solos plus the grimacing guest performance by yours truly).
Oh, then Minh Tu gives out "li xi" (lucky money). A small red envelope, inside a fresh 5,000 or 10,000 VND note. (about 30 or 60 cents respectively, or the price of a road side meal and half a (motorbike)-tank of gas, respectively). Its a ceremonial (yet practical) gift also meant to represent the recieval of prosperity in the coming year.
A few lay practicers joined us from the surrounding area. The first to arrive, an old wiry man. The marks on his worn and whithered face were matched with holes in his socks. It brought a sobering sense of devotion into the room as he silently stepped out of the dark morning and into the bright hall, between the nuns to the center aisle of the Buddha Hall to offer his respects.
We are slowing learning of the greater role that Minh Tu and the "ministry" of Duc Son plays in the community. The day before we delivered instant noodles and SUPER SEASONING (the ever-abundantly used MSG) to a shelter that serves the blind in the city. We also met a Duc Son alum, a young mother who works as a hair/nail person, husband does 6 month tours in Laos as a lumber driver, struggling to make ends meet, receives help from Minh Tu. A couple times a year they go to some of the more remote mountain areas to deliver rice and necessary supplies.
The rest of the day we accompanied the nuns as they visited some of the nearby pagodas (tet is one part Christmas, one part Halloween, mix one cup Buddhism, add lots of family, cook until jubilant and season with light rain). First we visit the pagoda where Minh Tu spent her early years. We arrive and greet the nuns ( we sort of bob all day, hinging at the waist in greeting or in respectful praise).
Everywhere we went there's candy. some good, some not. Like the one shaped like a corn cob? no good. however, the one that looks like a dirt clod rolled in dry grass? surprisingly delicious. You just never know. On to the Buddha Hall for prostrations and prayer, finish up with some fortunes with the head nun and getting some "li xi". (strange to go to a pagoda and recieve money.) We repeat this process twice more, we walk to a neighboring pagoda past ornamental pools and vegetable gardens. then ride to another pagoda that takes care of the elderly. Being with Minh Tu is very comforting, she's constantly making jokes but the next minute she's quietly sincere. We were all 10 steps behind as she excitedly scurries around the grounds visiting with the nuns, leaving smiles and laughter in her wake. Minh Tu was sure to bring us to the front after their prayer and teaching so that we could pay our respects, given that we stand out a bit, even though we donned the Buddhist layman's grey robes. Me being a head and shoulders above everyone else doesn't help either. (funny picture to come). We would prostrate three times to the headmaster of the pagoda as everyone else looked on, slightly nervewracking, but feeling incredibly honored personally as we honor these teachers, having been permitted to join such a special celebration.
The next day we took a "field trip" with the kids to Da Nang, 2hr by van, one for boys, one for girls. We visited a pagoda there where they are erecting a giant figure of Lady Buddha, we had a picnic and went to the beach to put our feet in the freezing water. We stopped several times both ways, the grass by the roadside is speckled with squatting children, going potty? no, they're all car sick. On the way home everytime i turned around someone else had their face buried in a plastic bag. It was really a sad sight, is it worth it to go for a picnic? I was wondering, but it all comes down to doing something special with your family, however mundane, or awkward or miserable. . .. .or joyous. This is the only family they know, on one of the only trips they make all year, it was a really special day.
(Sorry about my lack of brevity, tet is a very busy time here.)
-Quang Tan (Paul)
We were invited to join the Duc Son family in the Buddha Hall at 4 am on New Years Day, so we decided to forgoe the downtown/firework celebration of the eve, it being cold and rainy didn't make it any more difficult to decide to stay at home, we've been suffering a sort of perpetual cold since the wintry misery set in. We rode alone on the dark streets that morning, with only a few stirring, some getting up, some going to bed. When we got to Duc Son a few nuns were preparing the altar and wrapping themselves in their golden ceremonial robes. Looking from the front steps at Duc Son, beyond the gardens, the lights of a nearby Pagoda are reflected in the grid of pools in the rice paddies below. Gold is also the color of Tet, a symbol of prosperity for the new year. A week before Tet, flower and other assorted vegetation vendors line the streets and the square in front of the citadel. Their "Christmas Tree" is a squat potted beautiful bonzai looking tree with small yellow blossoms.
The nuns, led by Su Minh Tu and Su Minh Duc prostrate to the Buddha altar, then begin chanting the ceremonial rites. The Hall is open to the children and they wander in as they wake, boys on the left, girls on the right, standing with hands pressed palm to palm in prayer. It felt a lot like church to me, with more clergy. The nuns carrying out the rites and chanting teachings not understood, the parishioners trickle in, being poked and postitioned by the older, senior residents. I took my place next to Loc, the oldest male living there, he's in his mid 20's and serves a hybrid care-reciever/care-giver role, helping with operations and child management wherever he can. We stand and chant, sit, prostrate, then the nuns lead a walking chant circumambulating the room, all the while accompanied by several percussion instruments, wood knocker, metal clanker, large alloy bowl. We return to sit and the nuns take turns reading from a text, the boys sitting around me are loudly prodding me with questions and comments, most of which stem from the tet celebration compared to america, my happiness level,or my beard. Thankfully the disruption is met only with smiles from the nuns.
Then they sat US in front of the book and we are asked to open it, the passage on that page opened is read as a sort of "fortune" for the new year--mine was something like cultivating merit and success in helping others. (all of the fortunes have a compassionate Buddhist theme) With formalities aside, laughing and clapping fill the room as more fortunes are read, with the periodic chorus, as the kids sing together. (insert a few local solos plus the grimacing guest performance by yours truly).
Oh, then Minh Tu gives out "li xi" (lucky money). A small red envelope, inside a fresh 5,000 or 10,000 VND note. (about 30 or 60 cents respectively, or the price of a road side meal and half a (motorbike)-tank of gas, respectively). Its a ceremonial (yet practical) gift also meant to represent the recieval of prosperity in the coming year.
A few lay practicers joined us from the surrounding area. The first to arrive, an old wiry man. The marks on his worn and whithered face were matched with holes in his socks. It brought a sobering sense of devotion into the room as he silently stepped out of the dark morning and into the bright hall, between the nuns to the center aisle of the Buddha Hall to offer his respects.
We are slowing learning of the greater role that Minh Tu and the "ministry" of Duc Son plays in the community. The day before we delivered instant noodles and SUPER SEASONING (the ever-abundantly used MSG) to a shelter that serves the blind in the city. We also met a Duc Son alum, a young mother who works as a hair/nail person, husband does 6 month tours in Laos as a lumber driver, struggling to make ends meet, receives help from Minh Tu. A couple times a year they go to some of the more remote mountain areas to deliver rice and necessary supplies.
The rest of the day we accompanied the nuns as they visited some of the nearby pagodas (tet is one part Christmas, one part Halloween, mix one cup Buddhism, add lots of family, cook until jubilant and season with light rain). First we visit the pagoda where Minh Tu spent her early years. We arrive and greet the nuns ( we sort of bob all day, hinging at the waist in greeting or in respectful praise).
Everywhere we went there's candy. some good, some not. Like the one shaped like a corn cob? no good. however, the one that looks like a dirt clod rolled in dry grass? surprisingly delicious. You just never know. On to the Buddha Hall for prostrations and prayer, finish up with some fortunes with the head nun and getting some "li xi". (strange to go to a pagoda and recieve money.) We repeat this process twice more, we walk to a neighboring pagoda past ornamental pools and vegetable gardens. then ride to another pagoda that takes care of the elderly. Being with Minh Tu is very comforting, she's constantly making jokes but the next minute she's quietly sincere. We were all 10 steps behind as she excitedly scurries around the grounds visiting with the nuns, leaving smiles and laughter in her wake. Minh Tu was sure to bring us to the front after their prayer and teaching so that we could pay our respects, given that we stand out a bit, even though we donned the Buddhist layman's grey robes. Me being a head and shoulders above everyone else doesn't help either. (funny picture to come). We would prostrate three times to the headmaster of the pagoda as everyone else looked on, slightly nervewracking, but feeling incredibly honored personally as we honor these teachers, having been permitted to join such a special celebration.
The next day we took a "field trip" with the kids to Da Nang, 2hr by van, one for boys, one for girls. We visited a pagoda there where they are erecting a giant figure of Lady Buddha, we had a picnic and went to the beach to put our feet in the freezing water. We stopped several times both ways, the grass by the roadside is speckled with squatting children, going potty? no, they're all car sick. On the way home everytime i turned around someone else had their face buried in a plastic bag. It was really a sad sight, is it worth it to go for a picnic? I was wondering, but it all comes down to doing something special with your family, however mundane, or awkward or miserable. . .. .or joyous. This is the only family they know, on one of the only trips they make all year, it was a really special day.
(Sorry about my lack of brevity, tet is a very busy time here.)
-Quang Tan (Paul)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Heart of Healing Presents "Duc Son-A Study of Love"
On the 7th of February 2008, The first day of the Lunar calendar, there was an exhibit of photographs from Duc Son.
This exhibit was held at the gallery of Dr. Christi Bonds.
Christi is an MD who is also keenly interested in Eastern practices.
She is also an acupuncturist.
She moved to Paducah a little over a year ago and is now opening her own
practice in our Lower Town Arts District. This is her first showing
in her new gallery space.
The following is the text we presented. I hope this offers insight into our current work. We wanted it to be in Minh Tu's voice as much as possible.
TATC:
"Think About the Children" is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization that was founded by Professor and Vietnam veteran, Dr. Thomas Murray. After serving in the Vietnam War, Dr. Murray felt the need to return to Vietnam to try and neutralize some of the effects of the war by working to help children break the poverty cycle through education.
THE PARTNERSHIP OF TATC AND AHIMSA PHOTO FOR "A STUDY OF LOVE':
Over the past month, working with Think About the Children, we have brought food, shoes, reusable diapers, blankets and scarves to Duc Son to alleviate some of their daily needs and help offer a bit of comfort during the coldest days of winter.
We have been spending each day with the Nuns and children of Duc Son. During this time we are developing strong bonds as we play with the kids, help the Nuns, and simply spend time with the Duc Son family. The lessons being learned from these interactions are coming together in the forms of stories, conversations, recorded interviews and photographs to form the project "A Study of Love."
Artist Statement:
[I was told by a teacher in the past that one's heart needs to break in order to open further and truly be compassionate, increasing our capacity to love all. It has been one month now since we began coming to the orphanage daily. Being there is sobering, but invigorating. Each time I leave, I feel my heart breaking open. "A Study of Love" is only beginning as we continue to build trust with the Nuns and children. All of them are our teachers, educating us with lessons of their quiet, humble work. Over time, I hope that we can share the voices of Duc Son with the same level of honesty, humility and clarity that they exhibit and for "A Study of Love" to serve as a way to unite us all in a common mission to break our hearts open, help heal and yes, love.]
...................
When greeting the Nuns at Duc Son Pagoda, bring your hands together in prayer, bow your head and in a gentle, melodic voice say, "A di da phat" (ah dee da fur)
Then look up, make eye contact, and smile.
You have just shared the greeting between Buddhists in Vietnam. "A di da phat" translates similarly to "Namaste" in Hindu and yogic tradition, meaning the spirit in me greets the spirit in you. In this case, my heart greets your heart, both of which are following the path of the Buddha.
Twenty Buddhist Nuns live at Duc Son Pagoda. Each day they awake at 3:30 am. At four o'clock in the morning they chant sutras and pray until five, when they wake the children. Their lives are devoted to service, all of them have chosen to live at Duc Son to help their Headmaster, Thich Nu Minh Tu. Through their devotion and practice to the teachings of the Buddha, they learn to quiet their minds and open their hearts. Minh Tu became a Nun after growing up during the war and feeling compelled to help all those who are suffering. She began her monastic life, or Sangha, with the vision of being in a peaceful setting of a Pagoda in pursuit of a fresh mind. As her studies deepened, she realized that her pursuit of inner peace must be paired with direct action to extend that peace beyond herself.
"I grew up during a very violent time during the war"
When she was young, she was exposed to scenes of bloodshed and death---she recalls that daily, in front of her eyes the bodies of the dead--and the mourning remainder of the families they left behind--mourning: kids for parents, parents for kids, wives for husbands, etc.
At that time Vietnam was divided into North and South. She was reluctant to marry because she could not give her loyalty to a man fighting for either side of a broken whole. She wished to pray for peace, for the men of the north and the south, both of whom belong to families. She endured the conflict as a nurse, working to heal the victims and help the homeless.
"I feel that much of that time I was learning how to love. . .getting familiar with loving people"
At that time she wished to go to the pagoda and pray for the country. She was twenty years old. Fourty three years later, Minh Tu is now the head nun, caretaker, and "mother" of 207 children living under her roof at Duc Son Pagoda.
“I am the water, the children are flowers, you are the sunshine to help the flower smile”
Her youngest are 8 weeks old twins and her oldest is about 24. They come from villages all over Viet Nam. Their parents are poor, sick, handicapped, or dead. Minh Tu has dedicated her life to giving them the tools they need to shed the circumsatances of their birth, break the cycle of poverty, and give them the oppurtunity for a better future. She does this by providing them with love, food, education and shelter.
Love—flowing freely from the devoted and attentive nuns and volunteers. There is also a special sentiment shared among the children. Minh Tu explained that an adoption agency approached Duc Son willing to support the entire orphanage in exchange for the right to find the children new homes. Minh Tu organized a ‘family’ meeting where adoption was discussed openly—the children cried in fear for the next week at the idea of leaving Duc Son.
Food—Meals are prepared at 6, 11, and 5. Local farmers occasionaly occasionally bring edible donations, but surplus food, money, or time remains scarce. The majority of their budget comes from inconsistent dontation form individuals, and the spontaneous giving of foreign tourists who stop to visit with a local tour company, on their way to a nearby monument. Working with wood stoves to fill over 200 hungry bellies makes the task nearly continuous throughout the day.
Education—A small wing of Duc Son functions as a preschool for the youngest children at Duc Son and doubles as a daycare for the community, allowing local parents to work away from home during the day. The rest of the children all have the oppurtunity to go to local schools and the possibility of going to college.
They provide vocatoinal programs in wood work and tailoring, but enrollment has been minimal as the kids continue to succeed in school.
Shelter—An open but drafty building unfortunately located on a flood plain, more unfortunately in a region where it regularly floods 10 times a year. At its worst the water drowns the 2nd story. The 200+ residents must wait for the waters recession in the few rooms spared by the water, and on the roof. With limited supervision, the nuns are forced to keep the smallest children confined to protect them. By far, the flood time poses the greatest threat to the children and represents their greatest fear.
“Our highest demand right now is a sustainable place to stay”
We are working now to help Minh Tu build a new home for her ever growing family. It will serve as a permanent home and safe haven for the younger children, and a refuge for the older students during the flood time.
We believe that providing Duc Son with a building safe form the floods, is the best way to enable Minh Tu and the other nuns to continue their work of caring for and raising these children.
Today there is a lot of talk about sustainability and resource consumption. We want to help Minh Tu in her mission to refine a resource more valuable and powerful than the most precious ore—the human resource.
Duc Son is actively rescuing these children from a life of certain struggle and hardship, and building a better future not only for the children but for the community and the country. Many students after graduation leave Duc Son to return to their communities or go on to work in cities all over Viet Nam.
Minh Tu often emphasizes that her work is quiet. She encourages us to speak out about the needs at Duc Son, and although we work differently, we work throught the same heart and with the same purpose. We want to give Minh Tu’s voice a greater audience, so that the job at Dus Son can remain focused on raising and education the children.
“While waiting for the new house building, we are being patient. The slowness here is not somehting bad for a person, but it only makes the steps forward much stronger”
Although we are only beginning to get to know nuns and children that live and work at Duc Son, we wanted to begin to engage with people in the U.S. to create a dynamic dialogue spanning national, cultural, and linguistic divisions to connect people to a greater sense of global community.
We believe that creating an intimate and direct connection between people is very potent in bringing understanding and very powerful in moving the spirit of giving. We wish to develop a lasting relationship so that we can most efficiently and effectively help Duc Son build a better future for these children.
“That is the greatest happiness in the world, that giving your hand to help each other. For someone to live and just think about themselves is not really living. I believe that people cannot stop giving love to each other. . .When we live in the world and we know how to share love and how to give love, life becomes sweet and comfortable.”
The modern world has broght with it the need, the oppurtunity, and the ability to reach a helping hand further than every before. Minh Tu speaks of the children as having a hole in their hearts. Just like a hole in the road, she says, you can fill it with sand or stones. Imagine it take 3, 4, or 1,000 stones to fill it. For most of these kids, she is the first one to throw a stone into that hole, and she wishes for everyone to follow her to help fill that hole in their hearts.
“If we mention the world, it sounds like a very huge place, but it is nothing outside of the individual heart”
This exhibit was held at the gallery of Dr. Christi Bonds.
Christi is an MD who is also keenly interested in Eastern practices.
She is also an acupuncturist.
She moved to Paducah a little over a year ago and is now opening her own
practice in our Lower Town Arts District. This is her first showing
in her new gallery space.
The following is the text we presented. I hope this offers insight into our current work. We wanted it to be in Minh Tu's voice as much as possible.
TATC:
"Think About the Children" is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization that was founded by Professor and Vietnam veteran, Dr. Thomas Murray. After serving in the Vietnam War, Dr. Murray felt the need to return to Vietnam to try and neutralize some of the effects of the war by working to help children break the poverty cycle through education.
THE PARTNERSHIP OF TATC AND AHIMSA PHOTO FOR "A STUDY OF LOVE':
Over the past month, working with Think About the Children, we have brought food, shoes, reusable diapers, blankets and scarves to Duc Son to alleviate some of their daily needs and help offer a bit of comfort during the coldest days of winter.
We have been spending each day with the Nuns and children of Duc Son. During this time we are developing strong bonds as we play with the kids, help the Nuns, and simply spend time with the Duc Son family. The lessons being learned from these interactions are coming together in the forms of stories, conversations, recorded interviews and photographs to form the project "A Study of Love."
Artist Statement:
[I was told by a teacher in the past that one's heart needs to break in order to open further and truly be compassionate, increasing our capacity to love all. It has been one month now since we began coming to the orphanage daily. Being there is sobering, but invigorating. Each time I leave, I feel my heart breaking open. "A Study of Love" is only beginning as we continue to build trust with the Nuns and children. All of them are our teachers, educating us with lessons of their quiet, humble work. Over time, I hope that we can share the voices of Duc Son with the same level of honesty, humility and clarity that they exhibit and for "A Study of Love" to serve as a way to unite us all in a common mission to break our hearts open, help heal and yes, love.]
...................
When greeting the Nuns at Duc Son Pagoda, bring your hands together in prayer, bow your head and in a gentle, melodic voice say, "A di da phat" (ah dee da fur)
Then look up, make eye contact, and smile.
You have just shared the greeting between Buddhists in Vietnam. "A di da phat" translates similarly to "Namaste" in Hindu and yogic tradition, meaning the spirit in me greets the spirit in you. In this case, my heart greets your heart, both of which are following the path of the Buddha.
Twenty Buddhist Nuns live at Duc Son Pagoda. Each day they awake at 3:30 am. At four o'clock in the morning they chant sutras and pray until five, when they wake the children. Their lives are devoted to service, all of them have chosen to live at Duc Son to help their Headmaster, Thich Nu Minh Tu. Through their devotion and practice to the teachings of the Buddha, they learn to quiet their minds and open their hearts. Minh Tu became a Nun after growing up during the war and feeling compelled to help all those who are suffering. She began her monastic life, or Sangha, with the vision of being in a peaceful setting of a Pagoda in pursuit of a fresh mind. As her studies deepened, she realized that her pursuit of inner peace must be paired with direct action to extend that peace beyond herself.
"I grew up during a very violent time during the war"
When she was young, she was exposed to scenes of bloodshed and death---she recalls that daily, in front of her eyes the bodies of the dead--and the mourning remainder of the families they left behind--mourning: kids for parents, parents for kids, wives for husbands, etc.
At that time Vietnam was divided into North and South. She was reluctant to marry because she could not give her loyalty to a man fighting for either side of a broken whole. She wished to pray for peace, for the men of the north and the south, both of whom belong to families. She endured the conflict as a nurse, working to heal the victims and help the homeless.
"I feel that much of that time I was learning how to love. . .getting familiar with loving people"
At that time she wished to go to the pagoda and pray for the country. She was twenty years old. Fourty three years later, Minh Tu is now the head nun, caretaker, and "mother" of 207 children living under her roof at Duc Son Pagoda.
“I am the water, the children are flowers, you are the sunshine to help the flower smile”
Her youngest are 8 weeks old twins and her oldest is about 24. They come from villages all over Viet Nam. Their parents are poor, sick, handicapped, or dead. Minh Tu has dedicated her life to giving them the tools they need to shed the circumsatances of their birth, break the cycle of poverty, and give them the oppurtunity for a better future. She does this by providing them with love, food, education and shelter.
Love—flowing freely from the devoted and attentive nuns and volunteers. There is also a special sentiment shared among the children. Minh Tu explained that an adoption agency approached Duc Son willing to support the entire orphanage in exchange for the right to find the children new homes. Minh Tu organized a ‘family’ meeting where adoption was discussed openly—the children cried in fear for the next week at the idea of leaving Duc Son.
Food—Meals are prepared at 6, 11, and 5. Local farmers occasionaly occasionally bring edible donations, but surplus food, money, or time remains scarce. The majority of their budget comes from inconsistent dontation form individuals, and the spontaneous giving of foreign tourists who stop to visit with a local tour company, on their way to a nearby monument. Working with wood stoves to fill over 200 hungry bellies makes the task nearly continuous throughout the day.
Education—A small wing of Duc Son functions as a preschool for the youngest children at Duc Son and doubles as a daycare for the community, allowing local parents to work away from home during the day. The rest of the children all have the oppurtunity to go to local schools and the possibility of going to college.
They provide vocatoinal programs in wood work and tailoring, but enrollment has been minimal as the kids continue to succeed in school.
Shelter—An open but drafty building unfortunately located on a flood plain, more unfortunately in a region where it regularly floods 10 times a year. At its worst the water drowns the 2nd story. The 200+ residents must wait for the waters recession in the few rooms spared by the water, and on the roof. With limited supervision, the nuns are forced to keep the smallest children confined to protect them. By far, the flood time poses the greatest threat to the children and represents their greatest fear.
“Our highest demand right now is a sustainable place to stay”
We are working now to help Minh Tu build a new home for her ever growing family. It will serve as a permanent home and safe haven for the younger children, and a refuge for the older students during the flood time.
We believe that providing Duc Son with a building safe form the floods, is the best way to enable Minh Tu and the other nuns to continue their work of caring for and raising these children.
Today there is a lot of talk about sustainability and resource consumption. We want to help Minh Tu in her mission to refine a resource more valuable and powerful than the most precious ore—the human resource.
Duc Son is actively rescuing these children from a life of certain struggle and hardship, and building a better future not only for the children but for the community and the country. Many students after graduation leave Duc Son to return to their communities or go on to work in cities all over Viet Nam.
Minh Tu often emphasizes that her work is quiet. She encourages us to speak out about the needs at Duc Son, and although we work differently, we work throught the same heart and with the same purpose. We want to give Minh Tu’s voice a greater audience, so that the job at Dus Son can remain focused on raising and education the children.
“While waiting for the new house building, we are being patient. The slowness here is not somehting bad for a person, but it only makes the steps forward much stronger”
Although we are only beginning to get to know nuns and children that live and work at Duc Son, we wanted to begin to engage with people in the U.S. to create a dynamic dialogue spanning national, cultural, and linguistic divisions to connect people to a greater sense of global community.
We believe that creating an intimate and direct connection between people is very potent in bringing understanding and very powerful in moving the spirit of giving. We wish to develop a lasting relationship so that we can most efficiently and effectively help Duc Son build a better future for these children.
“That is the greatest happiness in the world, that giving your hand to help each other. For someone to live and just think about themselves is not really living. I believe that people cannot stop giving love to each other. . .When we live in the world and we know how to share love and how to give love, life becomes sweet and comfortable.”
The modern world has broght with it the need, the oppurtunity, and the ability to reach a helping hand further than every before. Minh Tu speaks of the children as having a hole in their hearts. Just like a hole in the road, she says, you can fill it with sand or stones. Imagine it take 3, 4, or 1,000 stones to fill it. For most of these kids, she is the first one to throw a stone into that hole, and she wishes for everyone to follow her to help fill that hole in their hearts.
“If we mention the world, it sounds like a very huge place, but it is nothing outside of the individual heart”
Friday, January 11, 2008
an offering
"Our world is at a very interesting age. In the West, people are studying yoga, karate, meditation-Eastern things. In the East, people are studying science, business, Western art and philosophy-Western things. This is now the time when Yin and Yang are changing very quickly. So if you are holding on to any idea-of what is Eastern, what is Western, how things are, how things ought to be-holding any idea, any opinion at all, then you have a problem; you cannot connect with this world. But, if you lay it all down, all your ideas, all opinions, then the truth is right in front of your eyes."
-Zen Master Seung Sahn
Since the new year began, a portion of each day has been spent at Duc Son Pagoda and Orphanage. 20 Buddhist Nuns, 10 volunteers and 207 children are the members of this great family.
Since the new year began, I have been trying to orchestrate some prose to do any bit of justice to the experience of being at Duc Son. Each time I sit before this computer-it becomes more and more difficult.
So for right now, what I can say is this...
When I ride my bike down the hill from Duc Son's front gate...my heart has broken open a little bit more. As Minh Tu says, "this is quiet work, the children are the flowers, we (nuns) are the water and you are the sun... There are three kinds of nourishment that these flowers need to develop- phyisical nourishment from food, mental nourishment from an education, and nourishment for the soul that comes with giving love and affection. These children are all missing a piece of their heart without love from their parents. There is a hole, like a hole in the ground. But we can all work together to fill that hole. I (Minh Tu) am the first to throw a rock into that hole with the love that I give. If we all bring forth some love, if we all throw rocks into the hole as well, then we can fill the empty space that exists."
The other night we were following our friend, Lien Chien. She was on her motorbike a 50 CC supercub. We were on our newly purchased motorbike, weaving through concrete paths in a small area off the main road. It was dark, the only light was the warm glow from our headlights and some stray rays coming out of houses along the path. as we turned one corner there was a crippled man unevenly walking with a crutch. In an instant, there was Lien Chien, donned in the grey/blue robes of a Buddhist nun poised on her smoothly running motorbike, juxtaposed with the man on the side of the street-slowly making his way, with much effort. In that instant I thought of the stories of the Buddha experiencing suffering for the first time-because at that moment there was a stark contrast between the clean robes of the nun- the clarity, peace and detachment of monastic life against the rough edges of the path, the dirty clothes of the man, the worldly pain of the long walk home.
Being here, there are many questions about how to help effectively. Buzz-words easily slide off the tongue when talking about what should be done in Vietnam...development, self-sustainability, NGO work...
Duc Son is an entity that does not generate its own income, but has been and will continue to take great care of their children by working off of donations and support that comes from the outside. Their existence is a sort of homage to the relationship of lay practitioners giving alms to the dhudanga. Our hope is to be able to assist them with what they need to facilitate the continuation of what they are doing now.
I asked Chuong (a 13 year old at Duc Son) what she thought was the most important thing in the world, she said "love."
here is an offering for love, for unity, for compassion.
here is an offering for putting theory into action-to do whatever you can to work towards filling holes in hearts.
As long as space endures
As long as sentient beings remain
May I too live
To dispel the miseries of the world.
Minh Tu has given us Dharma names...
Paul is now Quang Tan which means, one who is quick to help and bring many people happiness.
I am Quang Tam or big heart that sees everything as equal.
I hope we live up to them.
-Zen Master Seung Sahn
Since the new year began, a portion of each day has been spent at Duc Son Pagoda and Orphanage. 20 Buddhist Nuns, 10 volunteers and 207 children are the members of this great family.
Since the new year began, I have been trying to orchestrate some prose to do any bit of justice to the experience of being at Duc Son. Each time I sit before this computer-it becomes more and more difficult.
So for right now, what I can say is this...
When I ride my bike down the hill from Duc Son's front gate...my heart has broken open a little bit more. As Minh Tu says, "this is quiet work, the children are the flowers, we (nuns) are the water and you are the sun... There are three kinds of nourishment that these flowers need to develop- phyisical nourishment from food, mental nourishment from an education, and nourishment for the soul that comes with giving love and affection. These children are all missing a piece of their heart without love from their parents. There is a hole, like a hole in the ground. But we can all work together to fill that hole. I (Minh Tu) am the first to throw a rock into that hole with the love that I give. If we all bring forth some love, if we all throw rocks into the hole as well, then we can fill the empty space that exists."
The other night we were following our friend, Lien Chien. She was on her motorbike a 50 CC supercub. We were on our newly purchased motorbike, weaving through concrete paths in a small area off the main road. It was dark, the only light was the warm glow from our headlights and some stray rays coming out of houses along the path. as we turned one corner there was a crippled man unevenly walking with a crutch. In an instant, there was Lien Chien, donned in the grey/blue robes of a Buddhist nun poised on her smoothly running motorbike, juxtaposed with the man on the side of the street-slowly making his way, with much effort. In that instant I thought of the stories of the Buddha experiencing suffering for the first time-because at that moment there was a stark contrast between the clean robes of the nun- the clarity, peace and detachment of monastic life against the rough edges of the path, the dirty clothes of the man, the worldly pain of the long walk home.
Being here, there are many questions about how to help effectively. Buzz-words easily slide off the tongue when talking about what should be done in Vietnam...development, self-sustainability, NGO work...
Duc Son is an entity that does not generate its own income, but has been and will continue to take great care of their children by working off of donations and support that comes from the outside. Their existence is a sort of homage to the relationship of lay practitioners giving alms to the dhudanga. Our hope is to be able to assist them with what they need to facilitate the continuation of what they are doing now.
I asked Chuong (a 13 year old at Duc Son) what she thought was the most important thing in the world, she said "love."
here is an offering for love, for unity, for compassion.
here is an offering for putting theory into action-to do whatever you can to work towards filling holes in hearts.
As long as space endures
As long as sentient beings remain
May I too live
To dispel the miseries of the world.
Minh Tu has given us Dharma names...
Paul is now Quang Tan which means, one who is quick to help and bring many people happiness.
I am Quang Tam or big heart that sees everything as equal.
I hope we live up to them.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Cycles
On a rainy afternoon a few days ago, Paul and I went into a cafe. I was seeking out wireless connection so that I could upload images and he settled with a magazine at a table nearby. After unsuccessful attempts to get on the internet, I came over to where he was and he showed me this article. It is from "The Guide" which is a Vietnamese Magazine. I found it an important piece and would like to share it with you.
"Life as it is"
Nguyen Ngoc Tu wrote a story about an old man in Ca Mau Province who became angry with tour operators and travel companies because they wanted him to stay in his weather-beaten old thatched cottage at the southernmost tip of the country so they could bring tourists to take photographs of him.
In other words, the tourism sector tried to keep him in as humble a way of life as long as possible. The old man was angry because he wanted to be able to enjoy the same benefits of civilisation as everyone else.
Life keeps moving foward and modernisation is surely changing everything, including traditional cultural values. But the changes are not just one way. They are full of parodoxes. As change is natural and beyond our power to resist, there is no way to prevent it even if we wanted to. On the other hand, change can create new and special things.
I have a French friend, Boris Lojkine, who is both a professor of philosophy and a talented producer of documentaries. Recently, he came to Vietnam to make a film about ethnic minorities in Central Vietnam. I went with him on a survey in the highlands of Quang Nam Province.
He was very disappointed because the picture in his mind of the special cultural features of minority people have changed. Stilt houses have become bungalows; thatched roofs have become metal; forests and mountains have been destroyed and the land is barren and terribly hot; the young men roar their motorbikes along the rough mountain paths like maniacs (without wearing helmets).
I spent a night sitting and talking with him. And finally, we realised one thing: the changes are entirely natural, and such is life-life that struggles with change every day, trying to find a way to move foward while still trying, with great difficulty, to preserve itself as it is but at the same time trying to avoid being left too far behind.
It seems that man is nostalgic by nature. But beauty exists in the constant movement of life. I mention this story because I was wondering whether we really want to introduce tourists ot a tourism "product" in the Mekong Delta that is a false copy of a natural feature that is disappearing naturally. It is just something intended to decieve tourists.
I wonder whether we should take international tourists to see and understand how hard it is for a culture to experience natural changes, and how brave people in the Mekong Delta are in their struggle to remain what they really are-typical of the area, but also at to be as modern people in other places.
Of course, their are are successes and failures everywhere. Both are significant, and I believe that it is important to take tourists to see and understand reality. I believe the people of the Mekong Delta, who are naturally simple and quiet, know how to find their own way to move forward on the road of modernisation.
There will be a new and unique type of culture in the Mekong Delta. It will be no less special than it was in the past. Tourism, as always, is about culture and cultural exchange.
It should find out about change and the formation of a new culture in this area. It is necessary to find a new way. And in my opinion, this should be the direction of culture in its most profound sense as well as its more contemporary features.
-Ngyuen Ngoc
I think the message of this article is a very imporant one. Being here as a foreign photographer, I find myself constantly thinking about what is being portrayed by the images that are made. Clearly, it is vital to be an honest witness-not assuming to understand what is being observed, nor to over-glorify a certain way because it is novel to what we are conditioned to see or experience. I must admit, that when I first arrived to Ho Chi Minh, I was eager to get out of the city as soon as possible. Not only because I don't consider myself a big-city kind of girl, but because I was eager to see the "real Vietnam." I wanted to see the "simple" (poor) farmers, rice paddies and open spaces. But in truth, the "real Vietnam" is all of it-from the motor-bike chaos and lit up billboards of HCM to the dirt roads and thatched structures along the beach in Phu Hai where we delivered food. This country is quickly devolping, and it is clear that people want change. Just as the use of the word "primitive" can be problematic, so is the use of the word "traditional." To assume that people are living in certain circumstances because of "tradtion" is unfair. Many of the families we spoke with in Phu Hai live there because they have nowhere else to go. The land is sand. Nothing grows. They live along the water in structures that need to be rebuilt several times each year as they cannot withstand the winds and flooding of the rainy season's typhoons. School cannot be afforded until families have enough to eat, but education is vital for changes in the community. Litter is everywhere and as we walked in Phu Hai, we passed a huge landfill nestled in the dunes of the beach. This is not tradtional. People did not choose to live here based on thier cultural practices, they are living here because they have no other option.
I am reading a book right now called "The Real Environmental Crisis," by Jack M. Hollander. It is timely to read this now. Hollander's central argument for the book is that "essential prerequisites for a sustainable environmental future are a global transition from poverty to affluence, coupled with a transition to freedom and democracy..."
To be an "environmentalist" can be viewed at as a luxury that can be afforded since basic necessities are taken care of...
"People living in poverty perceive the environment very differently from the affluent. To the world's poor-several billion people- the principle environmental problems are local, not global. They are not the stuff of media headlines or complicated scientific theories. They are mundane, pervasive and painfully obvious:
-Hunger-chronic undernourishment of a billion children and adults caused not only by scarcity of food resources but by poverty, war, and government tyranny and incompetence.
-Contaminated water supplies-a major cause of chronic disease and mortality in the third world.
-Diseases-rampant in the poorest countries. Most could be readily eradicated by modern medicine, while others, including the AIDS epidemic in Africa, could be mitigated by effective public health programs and drug treatments available to the affluent.
-Scarcity-insufficient local supplies o fuelwood and other resources, owing not to intrinsic scarcity but to generations of overexploitation and underreplenishment as part of the constant struggle for survival.
-Lack of education and social inequality, especially of women-lack of education resulting in high birthrates and increasing the difficulty for families to escape fromt he dungeons of poverty."
Hollander suggests that by breaking the poverty cycle, the self-perpetuating cylce of environmental degredation will break as well. He says there is a human obligation that must be recognized by people everywhere to lift the poor out of poverty-to to catapault every person into a level of affluence that is focused on consumerism and excess, but to realize that all people are entitled basic human rights in terms of access to adequate housing, enough food and water, and education.
I am probably preaching to the choir. But I found the article and the message of the book to both be good reminders that change is a constant and given that it is inevitable, why don't we work to make mindfull, compassionate change.
I hope that the work we are doing here can have some lasting impact, even if for only one family, one child.
love, eva
"Life as it is"
Nguyen Ngoc Tu wrote a story about an old man in Ca Mau Province who became angry with tour operators and travel companies because they wanted him to stay in his weather-beaten old thatched cottage at the southernmost tip of the country so they could bring tourists to take photographs of him.
In other words, the tourism sector tried to keep him in as humble a way of life as long as possible. The old man was angry because he wanted to be able to enjoy the same benefits of civilisation as everyone else.
Life keeps moving foward and modernisation is surely changing everything, including traditional cultural values. But the changes are not just one way. They are full of parodoxes. As change is natural and beyond our power to resist, there is no way to prevent it even if we wanted to. On the other hand, change can create new and special things.
I have a French friend, Boris Lojkine, who is both a professor of philosophy and a talented producer of documentaries. Recently, he came to Vietnam to make a film about ethnic minorities in Central Vietnam. I went with him on a survey in the highlands of Quang Nam Province.
He was very disappointed because the picture in his mind of the special cultural features of minority people have changed. Stilt houses have become bungalows; thatched roofs have become metal; forests and mountains have been destroyed and the land is barren and terribly hot; the young men roar their motorbikes along the rough mountain paths like maniacs (without wearing helmets).
I spent a night sitting and talking with him. And finally, we realised one thing: the changes are entirely natural, and such is life-life that struggles with change every day, trying to find a way to move foward while still trying, with great difficulty, to preserve itself as it is but at the same time trying to avoid being left too far behind.
It seems that man is nostalgic by nature. But beauty exists in the constant movement of life. I mention this story because I was wondering whether we really want to introduce tourists ot a tourism "product" in the Mekong Delta that is a false copy of a natural feature that is disappearing naturally. It is just something intended to decieve tourists.
I wonder whether we should take international tourists to see and understand how hard it is for a culture to experience natural changes, and how brave people in the Mekong Delta are in their struggle to remain what they really are-typical of the area, but also at to be as modern people in other places.
Of course, their are are successes and failures everywhere. Both are significant, and I believe that it is important to take tourists to see and understand reality. I believe the people of the Mekong Delta, who are naturally simple and quiet, know how to find their own way to move forward on the road of modernisation.
There will be a new and unique type of culture in the Mekong Delta. It will be no less special than it was in the past. Tourism, as always, is about culture and cultural exchange.
It should find out about change and the formation of a new culture in this area. It is necessary to find a new way. And in my opinion, this should be the direction of culture in its most profound sense as well as its more contemporary features.
-Ngyuen Ngoc
I think the message of this article is a very imporant one. Being here as a foreign photographer, I find myself constantly thinking about what is being portrayed by the images that are made. Clearly, it is vital to be an honest witness-not assuming to understand what is being observed, nor to over-glorify a certain way because it is novel to what we are conditioned to see or experience. I must admit, that when I first arrived to Ho Chi Minh, I was eager to get out of the city as soon as possible. Not only because I don't consider myself a big-city kind of girl, but because I was eager to see the "real Vietnam." I wanted to see the "simple" (poor) farmers, rice paddies and open spaces. But in truth, the "real Vietnam" is all of it-from the motor-bike chaos and lit up billboards of HCM to the dirt roads and thatched structures along the beach in Phu Hai where we delivered food. This country is quickly devolping, and it is clear that people want change. Just as the use of the word "primitive" can be problematic, so is the use of the word "traditional." To assume that people are living in certain circumstances because of "tradtion" is unfair. Many of the families we spoke with in Phu Hai live there because they have nowhere else to go. The land is sand. Nothing grows. They live along the water in structures that need to be rebuilt several times each year as they cannot withstand the winds and flooding of the rainy season's typhoons. School cannot be afforded until families have enough to eat, but education is vital for changes in the community. Litter is everywhere and as we walked in Phu Hai, we passed a huge landfill nestled in the dunes of the beach. This is not tradtional. People did not choose to live here based on thier cultural practices, they are living here because they have no other option.
I am reading a book right now called "The Real Environmental Crisis," by Jack M. Hollander. It is timely to read this now. Hollander's central argument for the book is that "essential prerequisites for a sustainable environmental future are a global transition from poverty to affluence, coupled with a transition to freedom and democracy..."
To be an "environmentalist" can be viewed at as a luxury that can be afforded since basic necessities are taken care of...
"People living in poverty perceive the environment very differently from the affluent. To the world's poor-several billion people- the principle environmental problems are local, not global. They are not the stuff of media headlines or complicated scientific theories. They are mundane, pervasive and painfully obvious:
-Hunger-chronic undernourishment of a billion children and adults caused not only by scarcity of food resources but by poverty, war, and government tyranny and incompetence.
-Contaminated water supplies-a major cause of chronic disease and mortality in the third world.
-Diseases-rampant in the poorest countries. Most could be readily eradicated by modern medicine, while others, including the AIDS epidemic in Africa, could be mitigated by effective public health programs and drug treatments available to the affluent.
-Scarcity-insufficient local supplies o fuelwood and other resources, owing not to intrinsic scarcity but to generations of overexploitation and underreplenishment as part of the constant struggle for survival.
-Lack of education and social inequality, especially of women-lack of education resulting in high birthrates and increasing the difficulty for families to escape fromt he dungeons of poverty."
Hollander suggests that by breaking the poverty cycle, the self-perpetuating cylce of environmental degredation will break as well. He says there is a human obligation that must be recognized by people everywhere to lift the poor out of poverty-to to catapault every person into a level of affluence that is focused on consumerism and excess, but to realize that all people are entitled basic human rights in terms of access to adequate housing, enough food and water, and education.
I am probably preaching to the choir. But I found the article and the message of the book to both be good reminders that change is a constant and given that it is inevitable, why don't we work to make mindfull, compassionate change.
I hope that the work we are doing here can have some lasting impact, even if for only one family, one child.
love, eva
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)