Đêm Nhạc Thiền - Tôi Đang Lắng Nghe

Happy New Year to all! I've been taking some time off to relax, rest and believe it or not, I dived into a couple of hongkong movie series that for so long I've tried to stay away from. I really enjoyed that mini break. Those of you who has watched those movies before, they are on your list of #1 addiction enemy, so try to stay away. Now back to photo work!

We started our New Year with a meditation session with Thay Minh Niem. It's been so long I haven't been to the sessions and it felt like home to come back to listen to his lecture with old and new faces. This meditation session had a twist for something different, it was formulated through a theme of musical lyrics interpretation. Đêm Nhạc Thiền với tựa đề, "Tôi Đang Lắng Nghe" - translated Meditate via Musical Lyrics to achieve the state of "Listening Deeply."

One of the greatest Vietnamese composer, musician, painter and singer-songwriter was Trinh Cong Son. Our teacher has chosen his songs, and lyrics to elaborate and study for this evening. With songs such as, "Mỗi Ngày Tôi Chọn Một Niềm Vui" (I seek one happiness each day), to "Tôi Ơi, Đừng Tuyệt Vọng" (Oh Dear I shall not lose hope), etc. All of these songs remind us of the fact that if we can Feel and see then we are living in the presence. Yet, we must not allow our sight to overpower our listening, because simply seeing will cause us to overlook the deep meaning.

How many times do we try to listen to others? It may not sound too surprising since I think we more likely find in ourselves a greater inability to listen. How many times have we mis-communicated simply because we didn't listen carefully? How many times have we judged a person before we actually engaged in a conversation and afterward found ourselves living with wrong perceptions and interpretations toward the person. Listening is an art and by practicing it, we will help people release their worries, fear, and misery.

So next time when you feel you are not being heard, patiently ask, "Have you listened to me deeply?"

This session was the first to be held at a place where our Cherry Blossom sangha friends greatly contributed their time and effort to renovate and have it turned to the center to hold more sessions to come.

Here are some photos of Thiền Đường Tĩnh Lặng, translated as "Still Meditation Hall".


Everyone had complimented the way everything is laid out, the color coordination, the paint color on the wall, together bring the mood we should achieve. Every little details was put together by Thay and the sangha. Notice the photo and the writing on the wall:





Entertainment group who sang the songs we studied on:



There was even a skit that's related to our studies:

A group photos of those who stayed for a post-event discussion session:


There is another event to celebrate the Lunar New Year so please contact us for details if you're interested.
Ref: Our Blog for more photos