The first day in San Juan del Sur! And in the library!! I can?t believe how much has changed. It doesn?t feel like so long ago that I was here, but in fact it has been a year and a half.… Read the rest
Back at Last
Chu?ng s? quan t?m
(by Patrick)
Working in Hu?, Vi?t Nam is a lesson in mindfulness. Working and living outside your regular patterns and habits leads you to pay attention and assess everything; your diet, your exercise, your perceptions and expectations, your profession and goals in particular.… Read the rest
Thien Mu Wind trigram
The bottom of this great bell has the eight trigrams of the I Ching. This is the Wind Trigram. The Wind Trigram speaks to spontaneous movement: knowing whether to advance, retreat or remain neutral in a situation according to gut feelings.… Read the rest
Thich Nh?t H?nh
Thich Nh?t H?nh, a Zen monk, and native of Hu?; has written on the bell in his monastery:
Body, speech and mind in perfect harmony
I send my heart along with the sound of the bell.
May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness
and transcend all anxiety and sorrow.… Read the rest
Shaping the Nothingness of the bell
So, several weeks later, after the IT Seminar, when we finally had the time, Terry, Pat, Hung, Phuong, Phi and I set out on Saturday morning motorbikes to discover a bronze foundry village in Hu?… Read the rest
Finishing at bell at the foundry
The bell will be cast, in one continuous casting with Buddhist monks saying prayers after which the bell will cool and need to be cleaned up and buffed. They won?t know how it sounds until it is finished.… Read the rest