About a thousand years ago, China conquered Vietnam (what is now the very north of Vietnam). Their reign lasted about a thousand years. After numerous revolts, the Vietnamese finally drove China out of Vietnam in the 10th century CE. The Ly dynasty, which later became the Trinh Dynasty, lasted for centuries. Vietnam eventually conquered the Cham people in what is now Central Vietnam, and then later, the Khmer people in what is now Southern Vietnam. Eventually Vietnam became two dynasties - the Trinh in the north, and the Nguyen in the South. In the beginning of the 19th century, Nguyen Anh conquered the Trinh, unifying all of Vietnam and changing his name to Gia Long. His son, Minh Mang, reigned during the golden age of Vietnam. His granson, Tu Duc, was the longest reigning emperor, from 1847 until his death in 1883. During his rule the French defeated Vietnam in 1858 and took the southern section of the country. After his death the French were able to take control of all of Vietnam. Their rule lasted for almost 100 years, ending with a huge military defeat to the communists at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The Geneva conference of 1956 divided Vietnam into two countries - North and South. There was supposed to be an election in 1956 in the south to determine if they wanted to unify with the north. South Vietnam's president Diem, and his ally the United States, knew they would lose the election and thus, canceled it. Both sides claimed the other broke the Geneva accords, beginning the American War. Under President Kennedy the US had only "advisers" in Vietnam - about 15,000 of them. Under President Johnson the first US troops landed in Vietnam in early 1965. Their numbers grew to 550,000 by the beginning of 1969. Under President Nixon a cease fire and withdrawal of US troops was agreed upon in 1973. The civil war lasted 2 years, until the South surrendered in 1975, unifying the nation once again. in 1994 President Clinton normalized relations with Vietnam. It is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Thien Mu Pagoda
An ancient religious symbol, found in Vietnam, Laos, and India, to name a few that I know about
Incense prayer offerings
In 1963, in protest of President Diem's repressive treatment of Buddhism, the monk Thich Quang Duc drove this car from Thien Mu to Saigon, sat in the middle of a busy street in Saigon, and lit himself on fire. Not too long after that, President Diem was assassinated in a military coup.
His car has become a shrine at Thien Mu Pagoda.
I just like this picture, at the exit of the pagoda.The students congregated at the rear of the pagoda and I led the following meditation:
The Dalai Lama, the exiled King and religious leader of Tibet and considered the reincarnation of the God of Compassion, once said, in response to a question about his 50-year exile from Tibet at the hands of the Chinese, (I paraphrase) "The Chinese government has been my greatest teacher. It is easy to feel compassion for those that are like you - your family, your people. How much harder has it been for me to feel compassion for the Chinese government."
Anger, jealousy, pain, frustration, hate - they are all feelings inside of us.
No one else is responsible.
Each one of us is responsible for our own thoughts and feelings.
This doesn't mean that bad things don't happen.
Or when they do happen, it doesn't mean that they are an illusion.
They are real.
But there are many realities that exist side by side.
Some people feel that the only true power each of us has is how we respond to the things that happen to us.
Thich Quang Duc chose how he lived is life, and he chose how he ended his life.
The land mine victims which we will meet tomorrow did not choose what happened to them.
But each of them has chosen how they will live their life.
I hear students say to me all the time, "But this is who I am."
And I cringe inside, for at each moment we have a choice.
I am not denying the power of conditioning, or that we each have propensities and limitations.
But we each have a choice.
Each moment is new.
Each one of us must choose how we will live our life.
Then after a few minutes of quiet meditation, Eli, another trip leader, led us in a "gratitude circle." Here are some of the comments students made about what they were grateful for:
"Being in a supportive environment. Even though I am sick and not feeling well right now, at least I have a body that works and am healthy in general."
"my friends and family"
"to be in the kind of environment that supports me as I am"
"for the opportunity to go to Vietnam"
"for the little things we usually don't notice"
After the orphanage, I am grateful for being able-bodied."
"everyday things like clean clothes and a place to sleep"
"I am thankful for nature, and not being so caught up in electronics on this trip."
"for the Vietnamese who have so many reasons to be angry at us, but aren't"
"for the people I don't know and the opportunity to make new friends"
"I know there are people around the world who need our help, and I am thankful for the opportunity to help them."
"I am thankful for uncomfortable moments, for they help us to appreciate other moments."
Tu Duc MausoleumIt took over 16 years to build this complex, which Tu Duc had completed and could enjoy while he was alive. Tu Duc had over 100 wives, but no children, due to small pox as a boy.
Robbie, Jimmy and Jaclyn
Students listening to a lecture on Tu Duc
I remember last year taking a picture of these doors. They are still attractive to me.
The tiled roof of one of the buildingsThe Evergreen students wrote the guide book that we are using, researching the history and places that we are visiting. The students then become the "expert" on a particular topic. Before each place that we have visited on this trip, all the students would read the report, then the student authors would make presentations to the class about their research topic. I had to cut a day from Hue to add a village stay later in the trip, so there wasn't enough time to see all the impressive sights. Students had to chose what sights they would visit after we left Tu Duc's tomb. We then divided into 8 groups based on student choices, each with one adult and 3 to 4 students. My group decided to go to Minh Mang's tomb next.
On the way, I walked past this beautiful girl selling bananas to the tourists. One student, who was researching education for his NGO project, wondered why she wasn't in school.
Minh Mang's tomb
Fiona, one of my students, looking off into the distance
More doorsOn the way to our next stop, the Citadel (also known as the Forbidden City), two students were feeling sick. I passed my other student on to another group and took these students back to the hotel (for I had already seen the Citadel 5 times, on each of my other trips to Vietnam). I stopped a bicycle rickshaw for my students, and jumped on a motorcycle taxi, who followed behind. Since the rickshaw driver was so slow, the motorcycle taxi man stuck his foot on the fender of the rickshaw to increase its speed. He sang a Mexican song the whole way home, and I joined along. We weren't really singing, it was more like shouting. The student said it was the most fun ride ever.
That evening we went on a Dragon Boat dinner cruise on the Perfume River. The students used this opportunity to wear the clothes they had made in Hoi An at the tailor shops.
The girls
The boys
Spring rolls presented as a chicken
Kyle and Robbie, the King and Queen of the cruise
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