Chua Thay

A couple weeks ago, we went with one of our friends to Chua Thay, the Teacher’s Pagoda, just outside Hanoi.  It’s amazing how quickly the density of the urban cityscape gives way to the open rural rice paddies.  It’s almost as if you’re traveling back in time.  Except, the honking of horns and motorbikes whizzing by constantly reminds you you’re in a decidedly modern setting.

Our friend, the tour guide, knew how to get to Chua Thay.  The driver of the taxi did not.  As with most taxi drivers, the driver did not pay attention to the directions of the people in the car who actually know where they’re going, and instead continued on, missing the road leading to the village and requiring a 10 or so minute detour.  What’s 10 minutes in the big scheme of things?  Nothing, really.  But we have to pay for the pleasure of the driver’s reluctance to take our directions.  When you add up every time a taxi driver has driven you some crazy way to a place you know well, it just get frustrating.

Swiss Town in Vietnam

Lucky for us, the perfect solution to the frustrations of worldly life lay ahead of us in the blissfully serene Chua Thay.  We drove through a rice paddy just off the main highway, past a sign advertising a massive, cookie-cutter development reminiscent of huge housing developments in the US, and into a town with a pond and a limestone mountain in the center.  Our friend and guide told us this place is where the first water puppet show in Vietnam took place.

Toaist Buddha

Walking into the temple, rather than find the quiet respite from a busy world, we found a lively celebration. The temple was not just a museum piece, people actively came to pray to the Buddha, Vietnamese hero deities, and Toaist gods.  Our friend explained the iconography, symbolism, and bits of history about how the Buddhist, Confucian, animist, Toaist, and ancestral spirit worship practices wove themselves into a mutually beneficial religious tapestry.  In this image (on the right), you have a Toaist representation of the various things that happen to you in hell.  But right in the middle are two golden Buddhas.

Mountain Shrine

Moving up the mountain, we saw a few other shrines.  I can’t remember to whom each of the shrines were dedicated, but I do remember thinking about how green and peaceful the place is.  From two spots, you can look out from the hill top into the countryside.  What better place to focus on another world with views of rocks, rice, and life below?

Also in the mountain was a massive cave. Light filtered through a few holes cutting through the darkness and humidity like a laser.  I could see why this cave would be a great place to meditate in the summer time because it was about 10 degrees cooler inside.

Lasers

After we made our way out of the cave, through the town, past the new temple, and back to the taxi, we passed through many different worlds.  There was the spiritual world, the tourist trail, normal village life, and then back to our own lives.  When you’re trapped in your routine, it’s hard to picture another way of living or doing things.  Trips to places like Chua Thay break that routine.  The monks who lived, taught, and died there for hundreds of years worked to create a tranquil environment that could help the mind focus on detachment.  Even though I don’t understand the meaning of the symbols, scenes, and statuary in the pagodas and shrines, I could still benefit from the tranquility.