Our morning today focused on Buddhism. It was peaceful and very interesting to hear about Buddhism’s influence in Vietnam. We visited a Buddhist temple after our class on Buddhism. Our afternoon however, was bloody and deformed. We visited the Independence Palace, which was incredible to see and walk through such historical halls. After the Independence Palace, we went to the War Remnants Museum. As the Buddhist temple was a place of peace, this was quite exactly the opposite. I couldn’t imagine a starker contrast from Nirvana to napalm.
The Buddhist philosophy is largely evident in Vietnamese society today. Virtues like respect and behavioral disciplines are especially apparent. Other aspects of Buddhism, like female subservience, are somewhat less common in Vietnam. My understanding of the three sects of Buddhism was definitely expanded today, as Arius (UEF Student) helped associate each one with different Christian denominations.
After visiting the temple, we walked through the Independence Palace. It served as an excellent introduction to life in Vietnam during the war. Here are some pictures, but I think writing about the War Remnants museum is more important.
The museum has Huey helicopters, Chinooks, tanks, and jets out front. I thought it would be more of a military equipment-focused museum, but I was quickly corrected as the first exhibit we saw was replicas of cages and cells that Vietnamese prisoners were held in. Many were starved and brutally tortured. The museum described some of the torture methods American forces exercised on Vietnamese citizens and prisoners. The level of brutality was shocking. Obviously, war is always a manifestation of many kinds of evil, but seeing pictures of people with nails in their skulls and children incinerated beyond all recognition was more than anything I imagined. The torture and seemingly indiscriminate bombings felt slightly removed from the present, but the effects of Agent Orange are still very real. I knew about AO’s devastation because my Great Uncle has battled countless types of cancer as a result of serving as a marine and encountering AO, but I didn’t understand the impact it still has on Vietnamese generations today. So many children were born missing limbs, conjoined, or deformed with no chance of surviving more than a few days. It makes me wonder how AO ever got through the chain of command. Surely something was known about its dangers. Today was heavy, and left me with a lot to question.
