Another new horizon to me…
To be honest, I’m not a really patient person, and I have never expected to have a chance to work with such a nice and patient colleague as Ms. Phuong. She has taught me a lot though she doesn’t talk much, and today, she led me to a special “school”, to learn and to broaden my own horizon.
Initially, she just offered me an opportunity to attend some kind of “meditation session” at Phap Van Pagoda. I have seen this pagoda quite a few times before as it is on my way home.
Our journey to the pagoda was pretty tough as the weather wasn’t so fine for a motor trip. It was freaking cold. Anyway, we traveled to and fro the venue safe and sound, to feel and to learn a lot.
My first impression is that this is a huge pagoda. And it is also very crowded. There are approximately thousands of people there. OMG, even though I didn’t expect anything, I was stunned at how packed it was there. Besides, the way people address each other is another brand new thing to me: “huynh đệ” – “con” in general for the same level people, and “tỷ/hynh”-“muội/đệ” for superior-inferior relationships. Those are for the Buddhists among themselves, and of course, for the masters and the ordinary Buddhists, we often use “thầy”-“con” as I have already known.
But what shocked me the most was my today’s outfit. I should have thought about the posture while meditating in order to choose a more comfy pair of trousers. I wore a pair of jeans instead, so I suffered during the time I had to sit for a while. “A while” means about half an hour, and it was being tortured to me. But still, I made it!
Despite the annoying feeling when I had to sit still without changing my posture, I completed the “lesson” quite successfully. However, my mind wasn’t any calmer since it was like a moving body of water. It was fully occupied by busy thoughts, and I tried in vain to get away from it. Maybe it’s my karma.
After the meditation sessions, Ms. Phuong took me around, introducing interesting things and people to me. We talked for a few minutes before I bought some snacks from the local people selling their own organic products. I went hungry rather quickly, and she told me to wait for the vegan dinner – yayyy.
The food was delicious and we attended online lecture afterwards. I was really sleepy as the fatigue took control of me. Ms. Phuong drove me home, ending a cold but gold day.
And this is a simple picture I took at the pagoda:
brillbro 