Pagodas of Saigon: An Oasis for the Spirit
In the midst of the frenetic new capitalism that is now Saigon you often need a little time out or a space to hear yourself think. In every neighborhood a pagoda is tucked back in an alley or behind a building away from the noises of the streets, providing a place of solitude, community and often beauty.
Young people, old people, families and yes, travelers, come to the pagodas to find a moment to themselves or to pray. Ask an attendant to help you place a prayer on one of the yellow incense cones hanging overhead and enjoy the sense of freedom you feel as you give your prayers over to float symbolically up to heaven.
Many of the pagodas are very old themselves and have gorgeous carvings. The altars are crowded with historical and religious figures and are intricate in texture and detail.
I loved the incense cones themselves, their modern strong geometries and bright colors contrasting with the deep red and textured browns of the weathered stained and painted woods. They reminded me of how it seems the city itself has one foot in the modern world and one in its traditional culture.
The bright pink prayer flags that line the wall of the pagoda seem to remind me of that too. They are attached to the heavy wood walls but flutter with each gust of wind or each passerby.
The smoke from all the incense spirals and incense sticks creates a sweet but dusky smell. If you sit for long in some of the back rooms you notice the air turns a dramatic, smoky blue as people come in and light more and more incense. Sometimes the swoop, swoop, swoop of the big slow fans are all you can hear as people go about their business in silence and contemplation.
People come to the pagoda for divine help, for a place to think or be alone, or to simply touch a moment of divinity themselves.
Some come to fulfill family obligations or to worship together and remember the many people before them who have prepared the way for them and made their lives better.
I love that while sitting in the pagodas for an afternoon, any afternoon, it seems that all the people of Saigon come and go. Old people, young people, rich people, poor people, families with children, young couples just starting out and older couples with a shared lifetime between them. They all come in together to say prayers, take time to be thankful and to be grateful.
Parents, children and grandparents all come together in their own ways and for their own reasons.
There are many little side alters and chambers where individuals or families go to remember loved ones or religious icons and stories.
Pagodas also house the attendants and their families who take care of the buildings, parishioners and communities. Many pagodas are also the center of community charity, health and welfare programs.
In Vietnam, family and community are all important and pagodas are often the center of many communities.
Though their lives are not materialistically rich, their simplicity and strong family and community ties has a richness of its own.
I love that even in this modern world there are some old traditions that seem to work just as well if not better than ever. Like this hand broom that is practical, functional and highly beautiful even if it is not modern, very much like the Vietnamese themselves.
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