Buddhism
Today was the most educational for me as we explored Buddhism and different perspectives of the Vietnam War. Growing up Catholic, I wasn’t really exposed to many religions, so learning about Buddhist philosophy and its origins was intriguing. What I find interesting is that Buddhism doesn’t revolve around a god or gods, rather centering on understanding and overcoming suffering caused by attachment and desire, with the ultimate goal of achieving Enlightenment, or Nirvana. Although there is more to its philosophy and the ways in which Buddhists worship, I found this basic understanding to expand my perspective. It is similar to Catholicism in the sense that there are morally “right” paths to follow (the Eightfold Path), which reminded me of the Ten Commandments Catholics are meant to follow. However, in Buddhism, life after death is another life (reincarnation), rather than the idea of eternal life.
I could go on about my perspectives on religion for hours, but what stood out to me in our visit to the Ngoc Hoang Pagoda was the difference between the inside and outside of the temple. The outside was peaceful and made me feel connected to nature, which reminded me of Bodh Gaya, where Siddhartha Gautama (Buddhism’s founder) meditated throughout the night. In my understanding, it reflected Buddhism’s origins and prepared visitors to be connected to its roots. At the front of the temple, there was a place to burn incense, which connected the people to Buddha.
Although the outside was meant as a place to connect, I was expecting the inside to feel even more welcoming. However, it felt more like I was being pulled in — surrounded by figures and even a market. With more of an understanding of Buddhism and the complexities of the religion, I think I would have appreciated the temple much more. Even though a picture would help me explain what it felt like, photography was prohibited. That said, I remember it as the inside and outside having a stark contrast: light to dark, open to closed, peaceful to busy. In a way, it made me lose sight of how Buddhist philosophy is meant to help better understand life.
Vietnamese and American History
Between Sunday’s visit to the Cu Chi tunnels and today’s visit to the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace, I have genuinely learned more than I knew my heart could carry. To preface, I understand that war in general has dated back to the beginning of humanity, but I have never really understood its purpose, and it is something I feel I could never morally support. Again, there is still so much I have to learn, but today’s visit to the War Remnants Museum opened my eyes to how much I don’t know.
Starting with the visit to the Cu Chi tunnels, I gained so much respect for the Vietnamese soldiers because of both their intelligence and their resilience. To not only engineer these intricate tunnel systems and trust their durability is an amazing feat in itself, but having to survive in them is something I can’t even wrap my mind around. Crouching through the tunnels, my legs could barely hold me up — and I’m a fairly petite person. Imagining a grown man or woman running stealthily, avoiding American or Australian tunnel rats, all while carrying on a mission, is just crazy to think about.
What impacted me the most was reading about the committed war crimes. With the little understanding I had of the Vietnam War going into this trip, I was already disheartened by what had been done. Looking at pictures and learning their backstories left me deeply disturbed and moved to tears. Throughout my journey in the different exhibits, I took photos of what had spoken to me the most; if I shared all of them here, I would be writing for ages. With that said, I’ll just share some of the things that stood out to me most.
The first section we visited was about the prisoners. Various cruel torturing tactics were used, most of them being so inhumane that I didn’t even know they were possible. Yet, I read through this list and found myself at a loss for words. One of the ones on the list was crucifying, even using 8-centimeter-long nails through the skull.
The list of disturbing torture tactics.
A quote by Paul Meadlo made me wonder how many drafted soldiers were just getting through day-by-day, hoping to survive, never even thinking about hurting another human being. Then they are forced to take a life, or two, or many, and it is justified because of the war. Seeing those bodies in the picture — helpless, becoming cold — I wondered what each one was like: Who were they? What was their personality? When was the last time they had laughed or felt anything other than fear? Who would they have been if they lived longer than that day?
A picture of innocent women and children before they were killed.
While I was holding back tears throughout the first exhibits, seeing the pictures in the Agent Orange exhibit was just so heartbreaking. On Sunday, we visited a center where they help disabled Agent Orange victims find purpose through art, by teaching them to make pieces using crushed eggshells and seashells. We were even given a chance to try it ourselves, with the artists allowing us to work on our pieces with them.
I had the opportunity to try crushing eggshell to make a piece of art! Despite how different our worlds are, this moment reminded me that connection isn’t about similarity, but about presence and empathy.
Since I had this experience, I was all the more touched as I looked at the photographs of these victims. I can’t even begin to imagine how life is with how drastic some of their disabilities are — not to mention that they are living in a country with significantly fewer medical resources than the United States. I also thought of their caretakers — how mentally draining it must be to love your child so much, but have so much physical exhaustion from keeping up with their needs.
All of this and more moved me. When I was younger, I remember getting made fun of for crying so easily at things like this. But walking through the museum today, the very least I could do for these victims was shed a tear. I know there is no way of changing the past, but it makes me wonder how I can contribute to the future to ensure that things like this don’t happen again. I understand that things are more complicated than they seem, but moving through these experiences has inspired me to work towards more peaceful solutions. I am so lucky to have been born where I was, to have been given a fortunate path full of opportunities. There’s so much more I could say, but to close, I truly hope everyone gets the opportunity to visit the museum and reflect on its impact.