The saddest thing happened the other day. my friend huu tran’s baby passed away suddenly. his wife lucy is having trouble accepting it, during the funeral she sang to the baby’s body and asked us to wake Vin up because he wasn’t listening to mummy anymore.This is a poem for Vin
Small clamped fistLike a budded [...]

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Talked at the youth conference last week- where I was first after lunch- a bad position to start from. They didn’t stop chatting until I started reading them a story- which I guess shows me what they are more interested in listening to!I have been mentoring another writer Heidi Ch’ng and we have been talking [...]

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Haven’t posted here for a very long time- but have been busy of late. I sold one story “Mara” to Borderlands an Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction journal. Last weekend there was a rehearsed reading of my play “Silence” at La Mama Theatre. The feedback was very interesting- some people wanted the rituals to [...]

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Have been on a 4 day lay retreat with Thay for 6000 people and a 3 day retreat for just the international sangha- the 80 lay people from around the world whom are accompanying him.The four day retreat consisted of walking meditation, a dharma talk, dharma discussion and lots of food for lunch and dinner. [...]

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Went to a chaotic Walt Disney colored temple this afternoon with Monkey characters and Avoliketera above a giant dragon. Then because we finished early Thay opted to go into the centre of Dalat to stop somewhere that is special in his memories. We stopped next to a giant lake and sat on the grass. [...]

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Today went to Chua Linh Son where Thay went after rebelling against his root temple in order to practise engaged Buddhism- which interacts with the community. He talked about taking care of your loved ones and the three reconciliation ceremonies that are taking place in Vietnam to grieve for all those whom have suffered during [...]

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Have spent the first week on tour with Thay. It is like being with a rock star, photographers are everywhere and he is greeted by crowds wherever he goes. We visited Phap Van temple where sixteen monks and nuns whom were killed when part of the SYSS- the social workers movement that Thay started that [...]

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It is my last night in Hanoi before I go to Ho Chi Minh City to go on a three week journey with Thich Nhat Hanh- a famous Vietnamese Zen Monk whom is in exile from Vietnam (Because he supported ending the war). I will be in Saigon, Dalat and then hopefully Bao Loc depending [...]

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A good start to the new year- returned to Hanoi and received notification that an on line journal Arabesques has published an article I wrote on Thich Nhat Hanhhttp://www.arabesquespress.org/journal/war-and-poetry-the-work-of-thich-nhat-hanh-by-hoa-pham-1354202for the link. So if the Chinese superstition holds true I will travel and publish this year.Last night went to the fireworks in Hue and ate ice [...]

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Went to Dong Xuan market today and ate buon (rice vermicelli noodles) and fried prawn cakes very cheaply indeed. A glass of tea was 1000 dong (ten cents) and buon was 5000 dong. This was way off the tourist track and we were the only foreigners there sitting on little plastic seats. Tomorrow am [...]

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