FIONA MACLEOD

Life is wonderful and every moment is so rich on this trip. We have arrived safely ; a joy to fly over so many countries and imagine the millions of lives going on down below. Hong Kong airport was big and clean, so clean ! Saigon was dusty and full of people, We got through the diplomatic passport section which must have reduced our waiting by several hours but even so it was not fast. And we were there to greet Thay as he set foot once again on his native land ; but what a hilarious and informal kind of greeting at the airport. The crowds just rushed to offer flowers and fly buddhist flags and all our attempts to get one photo were completly foiled ! But the fun was the best part of it . I saw him with only 3 centimeters on any side walking and smiling to the waiting bus.
Saigon is exactly as the tourist guides say . noisy motorbikes everywhere, people too but the flowers, the heat the smiles the vitality… I love it. I am all eyes and ears and love the foreign-ness and yet being part of Thich Naht Hahn`s delegation means that everywhere we are given vip treatment. At the An Quang pagoda yesterday we were given the most refined traditional meal and small presents and everyone bows to us. It is wonderful to feel the connexion to everyone we meet, their courtesy, their happiness at having us here.
Last night we went to the monastery Thay set up here in order to put into practice his engaged bouddhism. this is the most beautiful pagoda but apparently it was only a small building with thatched roof in Thay`s days, surrounded by rice fields (if you could see the streets, the small vietnamese style shops, the scooters the flowering trees today). Hundreds of people came to the talk, sitting out in the incredibly beautiful gardens to listen because the meditation halls were overflowing ; we the western lay friends sat behind him and it was like he was the bridge the living breathing smiling bridge between east and west, We were all unitied in our love and our respect for him and in our joy in practising awareness in every moment. Living peace.
This is going to be the most fantastic of trips, full of colours full of beauty full of joy and especially full of healing for all our jaded souls releasing our individual and collective past mistakes and learning better ways to be together.
I still haven`t worked out how to put photos on here but i am taking photos and thinking of everyone i love and care for (which is quite a lot of people !)

There is peace everywhere on our paths here and I am sending you some right now.