Vietnamese people are friendly yet hurried:  Wendy Gaudin, a history professor at An American history professor, who is also a devout Buddhist, is impressed by the unique Vietnamese culture, Buddhism and amiable Vietnamese people, whom she also finds to be always in a hurry. Wendy Gaudin, a history professor at This is Gaudin’s third visit to the Southeast Asian country since 2010, where she has always stayed at the Phuoc Vien Pagoda in During her stay, she has visited many pagodas, attended services, done chanting and meditation and helped the nuns with classes in public speaking and English grammar. Intriguing Vietnamese Buddhism Gaudin shared that she used to ride past a Vietnamese temple in her hometown of There she met a Vietnamese monk, who had just moved to the “Since I began practicing mediation, I have felt that my mind became clearer and I can concentrate on whatever I’m doing. I have a very difficult son and Buddhism and meditation help me become less hard on him, feel calmer as a parent and be more compassionate and forgiving toward others,” Gaudin said. A Buddhist for seven or eight years, the American professor observed a few differences between pagodas in the In American temples, where the focus is on mediation, there is very little chanting, and sometimes no chanting at all. A few monks or nuns stay in the temples, doing physical work, studying Buddha teachings and sometimes working outside of their pagodas to earn money as the community cannot support them. Meanwhile, in Vietnamese pagodas, the clergy and Buddhists do a lot of chanting and little mediation. Amicable Vietnamese people Gaudin is also impressed with the cheery, hospitable Vietnamese people. She visited and stayed for a few days with the family of a Vietnamese friend in “His family was very welcoming. At the beginning I thought his parents, who are working for the government, might have prejudice against an American like me, but there was none at all. They were very happy to have me with them,” she said. The American professor also observed that though Vietnamese people are curious just like those in many Asian countries, they are friendly and lovable. “For example, in Vietnamese people always in a hurry Gaudin remarked that Vietnamese people tend to be in a hurry all the time. People tend to ride their bikes carelessly, but are too hasty to say sorry whenever a minor collision happens. Some also cut queues and do not care about how others feel about that, she elaborated. “In one of my charity trips to pagodas in She also noticed that a number of Vietnamese people are quite pessimistic about their lives and country. “When I first came here, I was quite shocked by the traffic and the way people drive, but now I see some kind of order in the way people drive. Streets in Before she first came to “I haven't seen any negative things here so far. When I go back to the Tuoi tre news |
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