The words Liên Hoa Đăng means the Festival of the Flower Lanterns. Sounds pretty doesn't it? It actually is more than just pretty. It takes your breath away. It normally takes place during the Hungry Ghost Vu Lan season which lasts for about two weeks. It starts on the 15th night of the seventh month... Continue Reading →
"Thần cây đa, ma cây gạo, cú cáo cây đề". Ancient Vietnamese saying: There are gods in the banyan trees, ghosts in the cotton trees, and spirits of owls and foxes in the fig trees. Haunted Trees Sometimes, a tree doesn't just witness huge numbers of death. Oh no. Sometimes, it is USED as part... Continue Reading →
(Continued from Hungry Ghosts 6: Mentally Ill Ghouls) In an attempt to unveil that which is (mostly) invisible to us, I will delve into this subject in detail. This is not because I have a morbid fascination about the afterlife. OK, I do. But that's not the reason why I'm digging into this subject. In... Continue Reading →
The Avalokiteshvara Mantra, with words https://youtu.be/rDKl9GJdQjA Namo Ratna Trayaya, Namo Arya Jnana Sagara, Vairochana, Byuhara Jara Tathagataya, Arahat e , Samyaksam Buddhaya, Namo Sarwa Tathagate Bhyay, Arhata Bhyah, Samyaksam Buddhe Bhyah, Namo Arya Avalokite shoraya Bodhisattvaya, Maha Sattvaya, Maha Karunikaya, Tadyata, Om Dara Dara, Diri Diri, Duru Duru Itte We, Itte Chale Chale, Purachale Purachale,... Continue Reading →
Deep in the tropics of Southeast Asia, there is a colorful, bustling city that hugs the coast of central Vietnam. Its name is Hội An, and it is one of those mystical magical faraway places that you should visit at least once in your life. Hội An's colorful houses and temples and businesses sprawled along... Continue Reading →
Me at the Windsor Plaza Hotel in District 5, Saigon. On my last trip to Vietnam, I noticed something that I had actually never taken into consideration before. It wasn't because I had never seen it. It was because I'd seen it so often that it never registered in my mind how incongruous it was... Continue Reading →
(Continued from Lên Đồng 5: Possession of the Frightful Kind) In my previous posting, Lên Đồng 5: Possession of the Frightful Kind, I talked about the fact that possessions occurred in all areas of the world, to all groups of people, from all walks of life. I also said I was going to talk about the... Continue Reading →
(Continued from Hexagram 18 - Poisonous Dark Sorcery) Cổ Trùng In the ancient world, the word Cổ Trùng include poisonous toads, frogs, snakes, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, as well as various other types of animals we would not normally consider poisonous. This also includes certain types of ticks and butterflies, and even bacteria and viruses. Please... Continue Reading →
To be honest, I never thought that anyone would be interested in how I got started on the Taoist path. It never seemed to be that interesting a process to me, but since I have had several queries by separate individuals asking about my own personal journey, please allow me to share my story with you, my precious... Continue Reading →
So, I met up with the Old Dude again a few nights ago, as I was going through my usual dream life stuff. Now, I know what you're thinking. Sheesh, Taobabe is writing up another one of her boring tall-tale dreamscapes again--but let me hasten to assure you, it's not the usual suspect. Bear up with me here.... Continue Reading →
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