Where was I in Vietnam or Laos?

March 30, 2012 5:51 AM

Five years ago, while either in Vietnam or Laos (memory is hazy), I was taken out to a remote working Buddhist monastery. We went by taxi and walked into the monastery at night. I managed to snap this picture before we went in. Can anyone tell me where I was?
posted by vacapinta to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

Stood by the taxi! Ho, ho, erk.
I can read the Buddhist couplet in Chinese characters by the main door, "緣慈悟脫于彼岸先登", but Googling that only turns up a list of such paired verses on a Vietnamese Buddhist website. Not much help I realise, but perhaps suggests it was Vietnam rather than Laos?
posted by Abiezer at 6:49 AM on March 30, 2012

Response by poster: Ok that helps, thanks! I was hoping the characters might be the name of the monastery, but at least know I know its in Vietnam!
posted by vacapinta at 7:20 AM on March 30, 2012

I wouldn't say that's 100% guaranteed to be Vietnam, as Chinese seems to get used in East Asian Buddhism a bit like Latin in the Western church, but IIRC Laotian Buddhism is Theravada (and a quick image search suggest the architecture's more in the southern traditon) so the Mahayana phrasing of the couplet (in context of the others at that page) would strongly suggest Vietnam.
posted by Abiezer at 7:31 AM on March 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

If it was in Vietnam do you know what cities it might be near, or how long the drive was?
posted by gubo at 11:12 AM on March 30, 2012

Best answer: Vacapinta

I was there with you. Its Thich Nhat Hahn's root temple just outside of Hue.

Its called Từ Hiếu Temple. Here are more pictures.

Best,

Zia
(why didn't you just ask me :P ?)
posted by zia at 12:24 PM on March 30, 2012 [17 favorites]

This is a quite excellent and chucklesome resolution!
posted by Abiezer at 12:53 PM on March 30, 2012 [3 favorites]

Too much silliness.
posted by lucia__is__dada at 7:48 AM on April 1, 2012