The 5-day lay retreat was a wonderful gift. I hardly expected such intense practice! And so many people! Upwards of 7,000 Vietnamese retreatants from all around this area. You'd think it would be chaos, right? 7,000 people on a few green acres? How on earth could a couple hundred monks and nuns keep 7,000 people meditative and quiet for five days in 90 degree heat? Good questions, all. But it was incredible. These people are truly devoted. 3,000 people could cram into the meditation hall for Thay's dharma talks, and the rest would sprawl on the steps and the lawn outside. He was so inspiring, so down to earth. He brought the practice of mindfulness and compassion to a real world audience, to people who are very far from him and who need peace more than most. He was very direct. Of course, it was wonderful just to be there with them, experiencing his presence for the first time. We did a lot of communication work, loving speech and deep listening. It's amazing how simple happiness can be. It brought me much deeper in my own awareness, closer to something solid and ready. I don't know if that can be explained, but it's really extraordinary.
Of course, there were other very good and very bad things about the retreat. To start, 7,000 people in close quarters pass colds like wildfire. I was moderately ill with local bacteria/intestinal issues, which are common and unpleasant for westerners arriving in SEAsia, and I battled a cold for a few days. Coughing, sneezing, runny nose, general exhaustion. The days are long! Up at 5:30, maybe a nap after lunch, not home to bed until 8:30 or 9pm. But I've rested since then, today in particular, so no harm done. I got to sleep until 7:30 today! What a gift! ;-)
Good things? My hammock! The Western lay delegation received army surplus hammocks as a gift from the monastics, they're incredible! I love it! Cool, comfortable, portable. Took a little while to learn how to set them up, but I'm a pro now, baby! And the scenery couldn't be better. On a particularly tired day, I bought a mango and a loaf of bread, and had lunch in my hammock next to the waterfall before falling asleep for a few hours. I swear, it's paradise.
Also, for dharma discussion groups, I was lucky enough to be included in a bi-lingual, multi-cultural, youth exchange extravaganza! A large group of monks, nuns, Vietnamese, and westerners under 30 (or so), discussing our experiences and challenges. It was really interesting. The Vietnamese young people were really slow to share at first, really hesitant. They said that "sharing" is not a part of their culture, it's not something they're used to. But after just a few minutes on the first day they were really in it. Allowing us to share their suffering and be a part of their journey. Plus, we played fun energy games and goofy challenges. Stuff I haven't done since summer camp or before, but everyone could shout and laugh, Vietnamese or english. Whoo!
But yesterday!! I can't even begin to describe the joy from yesterday's adventure! Hah! Okay, the plan for the day was: visit schools. Plum Village has funded the construction, staffing, and supplying of 1,000+ schools in the whole of Vietnam. That's a million dollar charity organization. Yesterday, we visited nine of them. These are real schools, with real kids and real teachers. Just single room, no-frills buildings. Some have desks, some have chalkboards. No books, no toys. But they're clean, and they're built! The kids get one fully rounded, nutritious meal per day. They're cared for. Our first stop was a tribal village where most of the inhabitants weren't even speaking Vietnamese. Something else entirely. But we got to interact a little, I ended up playing tag with 40+ six- and seven-year-olds. you should've seen the smiles! It made me so happy, just interacting so closely with them. Not something I got to do for the rest of the day really. It felt like I was playing with my brothers. Completely natural.
We continued to visit small, relatively local schools by bus until lunch when we had to switch to smaller vans. The group shrank a little, but we were off into the bush! Really bumpy dirt road, red and dusty. It was HOT, mid-afternoon, and the drive was long. We saw a few really beautiful pre-schools along the way, such children!
But the real adventure began in the jungle. No more plumbing, no more pavement, no more cars of any kind! Of course, as we’re driving, a nun turns to me and says, “You know, this road gets completely unsurpassable when it rains. Turns into nothing but mud. The tires can’t move at all. Hey, look it’s raining in the distance!” And you should’ve seen the clouds overhead. So, naturally, it rained. Cats and dogs. Torrential, tropical, southeast-asian rain, for about 35 minutes. We were completely frozen in a muddy river the whole time, tucked in our little monastic van. People passed around boiled peanuts and rice cakes and purified water. It was a beautiful storm, and it felt like a fever breaking, the heat and humidity just dropped. As soon as the rain slowed, Sister Chan Khong (the one and only! I mentioned her before. This woman has LIVED!) said “Alright, let’s go, the kids are waiting for us!” Our poor driver got us as far as he could, which was about a kilometer farther than the original location. We left the other two vans behind (poor guys, they waited for us there for two hours! I happened to be on the bus with Sister Chan Khong, luck of the draw…). Sister said, “Can’t drive any further, we walk!” And jumped out the fan. Crazy lady. There were about 12 of us in the van with her, all told. The sky had cleared by this point, and all the dusty vegetation had been rinsed clean and was almost glowing with color. Muddy red earth, big gray sky. It was so beautiful.
So we were off! The walk was long and sticky. I almost lot a shoe at one point, so ended up going barefoot in the red mud. It was cool and fresh. Rain smells like rain everywhere! Local kids in blue and red uniforms were whizzing by us on motorbikes. After a little while, a man on a motorbike came by and asked us if we needed a hand. Sister Chan Khong was all about it! This 80 year old Vietnamese rock star just tucked up her robes and was off. It was FANTASTIC.
The rest of us walked up and down muddy hills, through the Vietnamese brush. It felt like The Things They Carried, In Pharoah’s Army, I’m not kidding. Coffee plants taller than men. Little kids were walking with us by this point, the middle-school aged ones in uniform, and they’d peel off on little tiny paths every so often, presumably to their homes, hidden among the plantlife and mist.
The school was much like the others. It was beautiful though, the people were so grateful to have us there, that we’d come all the wayfrom town. Most of them had never in their lives gone that far. It was the most wonderful group of people. We couldn’t bring the gifts for the children all the way out, they were still in one of the other vans. But a few people had crackers, someone had a brick of cheese, and they were all dumped into one of the cone hats and passed around to the children, who ate with joy. It was really beautiful. One of the poorest areas that Plum Village supports, but these people were happy, functioning people. They don’t need plumbing or cars to live. Not at all. Not even close.
That’s what I’ve learned. The third world is not suffering because it lacks for anything. These populations, tribal cillages, rural communities, are suffering when modern civilizations build gross production factories and pay their staff nothing. When they invade for land and agricultural resources. When they force these peoples to evolve and change, but don’t give them the time or the materials to do so. That’s what causes unhappiness, strife, extinction. It’s terrible, what our world can do. We’re all just people, living differently. I’m learning, anyway.
And today I’ve been thinking back, relaxing, writing postcards. I’ve got enough energy to sustain me, I need a lot less sleep than I did at home. I haven’t figured out why yet, but I think it’s because I’m not dragging myself down with negativity so much anymore. I’m opening up, I’m finding apologies and forgivenesses, I’m breathing deeply.
I do, I love it here.
Until Next Time, "Anger is a mental formation. It is an energy. Mindfulness is also an energy. Think of your anger as a baby that is crying. First, you must hold that baby to calm it down, just take care of its pain. Then, you can look deeply into its source. Your anger is a child. Your mindfulness is its mother
1 comment:
Dear Madeline,
It is very moving experience that you are able to witness,helping with simple, poor people, children and water our seeds of compassion and also to be with some many retreatants who have the taste for the practice of mindfulness and opening our heart.
you are among good friends and of course the good energy of our Teacher.Thank you for going to VN.
Br. Phap Khong
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