Today was our last day in Vietnam. We taxied to the University and met with our professors there before setting out to visit a couple of pagodas. The first was sort of like the Doi Sutep of the Hanoi area, with the temple complex being the largest and highest in the area. No elephants expiring on the site though. Bummer. Ian, Patricia and I got harassed for not purchasing snacks at one of the auxilliary temples. Vietnamese Buddhism could use a Jesus-in-the-temple figure; just about everyone we've visited has had a bunch of vendor stalls near, if not inside, it.
The second pagoda we visited was much smaller, but we spent our entire visit with the abbott, who was fantastic. They made us a vegetarian meal for lunch. Most were very surprised because it was the best meal we had in Vietnam. No joke. After lunch we had question and answer time with the Abbott. This was so amazing, despite the copious amounts of translating (interpreting) that had to occur. We had been to monk chats and such in Thailand, and spoke with many Thai people (who have a better handle on their Buddhism than Vietnamese, since VN Buddhism really combines a bunch of other practices for most people), but this was the first time we were able to ask our questions to a learned monk, who had dedicated his life to learning about and practicing Buddhism. In Vietnam they practice a form of Mahayana Buddhism, versus the Theravada Buddhism practiced in Thailand. While Mahayana swears off meat entirely (and not really in VN...), where they are allowed to eat meat given certain requirements are met in Theravada Buddhism, in all other manners, Mahayana seems to be less strict than Theravada Buddhism. For example, in Thailand, monks could not take or give something directly from or to a woman. This is not the case in Vietnam or apparently Mahayana Buddhism in general. In the same vein, while in Thailand novice monks can participate in monk chats and just talk with people about Buddhism, fully ordained monks cannot - it's seen as fun or frivolous. So this was the first time we had been able to talk with a monk who was fully versed in Buddhist belief and teaching. I'm not certain about others, but I definitely got clearer answers to some of my questions about Buddhism today.
After Q & A, the Abbott made us prayer scroll things. These are a Chinese influence, I believe, but basically they are a sort of prayer or blessing written for each individual in traditional Vietnamese characters. Each has a main character or message in the center in large characters, and a secondary message or explanation on the right in smaller characters. On the left, the monk who writes it signs his name. Then a buddha image gets stamped at the very top. My prayer reads:
"May your wisdom be as wide as the sea.
May you teach your students with unending enthusiasm."
Each of the Vietnamese people translated the characters a little differently, so I feel the exact translation is a little loose or cloudy, but this pieces together my favorite translations. I can't wait to get it back home and framed and hung somewhere. :)
I also keep finding the most adorable puppies in Vietnam that I want to bring home to North Carolina with me. But that's still a ways off in the future, and I would have a hard time sneaking one through customs.
Leaving bright and early (5 a.m.) tomorrow for Cambodia!
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