Notes from Vietnam and the Loving Work Retreat

First, I want to express my appreciation for the amazing support provided for my Loving Work Retreat in Vietnam this last month.  My sangha (plus a few other people who contributed) came up with more money than any other sangha represented --- the organizers were so happy!  The money was used to buy academic supplies for four schools, paint two murals on school walls for the children, arrange for healthy lunches for one school for the entire year, provide art supplies for three schools, and build a playground. In addition, we were able to contribute financially to PeaceTrees and Project Renew, both joint US-Vietnam NGO's which clear land mines and then go in to plant crops and trees. We also planted a field of avocado trees one afternoon for PeaceTrees and helped clean the walls of a public school recently built on cleared land for Project Renew.  We also cleared land for a playground, brought in and spread three inches of gravel and laid turf at a school for the handicapped (all with only four buckets and two rusty wheelbarrows -- and considerable perseverance!).

The work was fun and joyful, with fourteen participants working together, and we were able to learn about the various projects and meet some amazing, inspiring Vietnamese.  Many of the projects were founded by or have continuing support from members of the Plum Village tradition; Tam Binh, the school for the handicapped, is run by a Vietnamese Order member and she and her amazing staff help the children with mindfulness and rituals like touching the earth, inviting the bell and loving speech.  Our own group observed mindful eating, morning and evening sittings, dharma sharing and other practices. Two of our participants received the Five Mindfulness Trainings one morning as we sat outside by the Perfume River in Hue, watching the sun rise over the gardens. We felt ourselves growing into a real sangha, and plan to keep in touch. Over half of the participants had been on previous work retreats, and it's clear why they continue to come back each year. 

We were also able to visit our teacher Thich Nhat Hanh's root temple three different days, one of which was the elaborate death celebration of his own teacher.  Unfortunately Thay did not feel well enough that day to greet us -- "us" being about four or five hundred people hoping to see him and pay their respects, including two gentlemen from the original social work group organized by Thay during the early years of the war.  Brother Phap Dang was there and invited our little retreat group into the courtyard of Thay's residence, hopefully so he could be aware that we were there.  Sister Chan Khong came out and spoke with us, explaining that Thay was not feeling well.  Brother Phap Dang invited us to lunch but unfortunately we had a work project appointment but thanked him for the invitation.  The following week we returned to the nunnery next door for a day of mindfulness, and were surprised to find Sister D visiting.  We were all quite thrilled to meet up, and Sr. D seemed particularly pleased to find us there. She had just come from breakfast with Thay and said he looked well. She gave the dharma talk that day on 'how to be a soulmate to yourself,' and as usual her words were wise and heartfelt.  After her talk, Sr. Chan Khong met with us in the tea pavilion for about an hour, answering questions and sharing some thoughts on relationships and her learnings from her time in prison.  We may not have literally seen Thay, but we certainly heard him speak through his 'continuations'.

I've come home with such an abundance of beautiful feelings and experiences; not only did I once again see how deep and wonderful our practice is, but I also learned much about modern Vietnam and was able to ameliorate some of my long-held regrets and negative emotions about the American (Vietnam) War. No one could visit there and not be overcome by the stupidity of that, and every other, war.  I encourage others to do this retreat -- it was fun, comfortable, inspiring, and deeply moving;  for information please go to the website, lovingworkretreats.org.

Again, thank you all so much for the generous contributions to this project. I wish you all could have met and danced with the children and their loving teachers.

This post was written by:

Nancy Lee Koschmann (Member of the Order of Interbeing and the Cedar Cabin Sangha in Ithaca, NY)

** Coming soon: Photos from the retreat