Today, a Dragon Boat Cruise on the Perfume River to get to the Thien My Pagoda. (Also known as the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady. Built in 1601, it has held up well through weather and war. Seven stories tall. We learned the difference between a Buddhist Temple and Pagoda. the Pagoda has a Buddha inside, a Temple does not. This one had a very nice gold one.
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| One of our tour group is a Buddhist, she spent some time meditating. |
It also has the car of Thich Quang Duc inside. Again, a brief history. In 1963, before the American involvement in Vietnam, the Catholic country leadership were beating up on the Buddhists. Go figure. In protest, Thich Quang Duc was driven to an intersection in Saigon and dowsed himself in gasoline and committed suicide in protest to the way Buddhists were being treated.
The photo below is famous in its horror and result. The world, for the first time, saw what was happening in this small country in the name of intolerance. The cascade began, resulting in the US-assisted assassination of the president of South Vietnam and the southern sweep of the Chinese and North Vietnamese Communists. The rest, as they say, is history.
Below is Thinh, our guide explaining to us how the Nazi's stole the Swastka from the Eurasian cultures of divinity and spirituality and turned it into one of antisemitism and terror.
For lunch, we went to a Buddhist Temple for a Vegan lunch. Excellent, simple food. Afterwards, we were introduced to a 15-year-old novice nun. She answered many questions from us. She asked her parents if she could join the Temple when she was 11, they approved and she has been here for four years. When asked about her hair, she said that she will cut it all off at the next level she attains. Sweet gal, she really enjoys what she is doing.
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