Uncle Harold was born today many, many years ago. Not quite so many years ago, our world was rocked with the explosion of the Challenger. Today, monks continue their March for Peace. I can only pray that they will receive a courteous and sincere welcome when they reach DC.
Because I can stick my head in the sand of “vacation”, I will continue… despite the ache in the pit of my stomach…
We had a hard time figuring out where to go today. We talked to our lady at our hotel but she didn't know where we'd been already and she kept pushing us to go to tombs. We were insistence -- no more tombs and no more old pagodas. Wed already been there. We finally settled on Huyền Không Sơn Thượng Monastery, about 40 minutes outside of town, renowned for its fabulous landscape. This monastery belongs to Theravada Buddhism and was built 1989. The monetary is built on the side of a mountain in piney woods. There are many small ponds and lanterns and buddhas at every turn. There are lots of areas for sitting to meditate or to just take in the beauty of the surroundings. The monks have water lilies and orchids to go with the ferns and pines, cypress trees and so many more. It’s easy to imagine lay Buddhists and monks discussing the Buddha's teachings in this majestic space.
We literally tripped across another monastery on the way back to town. Our driver was kind enough to stop at this unplanned location. Chia Huyen Khong. The monks were chanting as we entered the grounds. Shortly afterwards they were attending to plans and the grounds. What a nice bit of serendipity to just see this facility and have the time to stop… karma?
