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In Au Lac poetry and music, there has been a relatively large number of poems from spiritual practitioners praising the Buddha and Jesus Christ, but no one has ever read their love poems. Any verses with even a hint at a love story are usually prohibited by religions. Supreme Master Ching Hai has stepped outside of this tradition. Recently, in the summer of 1996, She officially allowed the recitation, printing and publishing of more than 60 poems including both love and spiritual poems, which She wrote before and while actively pursuing spiritual practice. These poems are contained in five separate collections accompanied by five CDs: " Vo Tu I |
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Musician Pham Duy's Impressions On Supreme Master Ching Hai's Poetry
Pham Duy is one of the most few well known musicians in the Au Lac's
world of music. As one of the special guests at the "Evening of Music and
Poetry -- Traces of the Previous Life and Love Songs", he expressed his viewpoints
concerning Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry. At the same time, he introduced two of his newly
composed songs, using lyrics from two of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems -- "A Lonesome Night"
(which he changed to "Lonesome") and "Existence and Nothingness". After the
concert, Pham Duy was also interviewed by Vietnam Performing Arts Radio in relation
to his two newly composed songs.
Following is his introduction of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry and the two songs at the
"Evening of Music and Poetry".
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Since the introduction of modern music about half a century ago, Au Lac people have staged many different kinds concerts, both inside Au Lac and abroad. First, there was the concert of love songs where we can praise the sentimental, passionate and sensual aspects of love. Then, there was the concert of heroic music in which we can express our patriotism for our homeland and countrymen. If there was ever a solemn concert about our country's history, then there would also be a concert with humorous music. Evidently, we know how to use music to nourish mankind through the depiction of emotions like happiness, anger, love and hatred. However, up to now, we've rarely had the kind of concert with the main theme being spiritual, just like the one we had today. As a person who often composes spirtual music, as well as love songs and popular music, I sincerely thank the organizing staff for inviting me to participate in this concert and to say a few words about the journey of those who have guided us in the search for the land of eternity... Today, I am glad to enter the world of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry. I'm not going to repeat what my friend Tran Van An already highlighted. Supreme Master Ching Hai's poetry represents a mixture between worldly love and the purity of spirtual practice. For me, Her poetry is not just a breaking of preconceived ideas of a spiritual practitioner, It's also the poetry of the spiritual journey, the journey of human life on the wave of the spiritual path. The "baggage" is an open heart, the destiny is the realization of Self and inner peace. It is the turning away with no binding; it is the turning back very carefree. It is the kind of poem called "Listening to the story of our past". I also believe that Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems are very worldly and yet also very spiritual, such as "I Feel Sorry For Him", "Like The Clouds Up In The Sky", "Passing By His House", "The Man Who Recreated Eden", et cetera. My colleagues, musicians and composers like Le Dinh, Nhat Ngan, and Phuong Vu carefully put these to music, and these musically improvised poems will be presented to you through the magnificent voices of Khanh Ly, Mai Huong, Le Thu, Duy Khanh, et cetera. | For myself, I've chosen one of Supreme Master ching Hai's traditional spiritual songs from "Traces of a Previous Life," called "Lonesome" to compose music:
I felt lonely as I've never been so lonely We Au Lac people who have been away from our homeland for over twenty years, we are the "birds" who have twice been "lost in the middst of an immense space" because not only are we lonely in our fate as human beings, but we are also very lonely being "a stranger in a foreign land". Supreme Master Ching Hai has extended Her open arms, and I'm really not surprise at all to learn that She has disciples all over the world. Indeed, in this rendezvous such as tonight, in this musical gathering, even though She has not preached anything, She is already with us on the journey back to our youth; back to the legendary land as mentioned in the poems. You have heard Kieu Loan reciting this poem in the beautiful traditional recital style. Now, you are going to hear Duy Quang present this poem. Modern music has the advantage over traditional poem recital in the sense that modern musical melody is more flexible than the fixed form of poetry recital. It can transform the atmosphere from "the loneliness of the vast open sky" to "the happiness of holding hand in hand in the night" much easier. Ladies and gentlemen, on this last day of the old year, and in the warm atmosphere of this "Evening of spiritual Music Performance", I would like to invite you to listen to the song "Lonesome": written by Supreme Master Ching Hai, music by Pham Duy, and presented by Duy Quang. Ladies and gentlemen: Duy Quang!... I used to think that a human life is an endless journey, but with every departure there is a return. With Supreme Master Ching Hai, Nirvana is not a place of refuge, and with Luu Nguyen, the Holy Land cannot make one forget his way home, therfore:
"One step forward we return to the original state For me, Supreme Master Ching Hai is always "turning away with no binding", and always "turning back very carefree". With the same ideal of harmonizing society and the individual human being, I have written music for the poem "Existence and Nothingness" by Supreme Master Ching Hai. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, Duy Quang!...¡¹ |
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An Interview Between Vietnam Performing Arts Radio and Musician Pham Duy, January 7, 1997 | Q: Thuy Trinh and Khanh Hoang would like to welcome you. PD: Good morning. Q: Recently, Khanh Hoang and I, as well as many listeners, have seen you in meetings with poet Supreme Master Ching Hai. I heard that you have recently used Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems in your music. Please explain if your composing style is leaning toward a transition into spirituality. Is this true? PD: spiritual music is more exact. You must understand that I started writing pop songs, songs for the country of Vietnam in the midst of its struggle for freedom and independence. Thereafter, I switched to writing love songs; and of course, at an older age, I turned to writing spiritual songs. They are no longer songs that deal with society or romantic love, but rather the inner humanity. Thus, it is called spiritual music; and on the path of searching the right poems for the songs that you've just mentioned, I met poet Supreme Master Ching Hai. Q: Oh! Was it a coincidence then? PD: No, no it was not a coincidence at all. I have researched, wanting to find people who are on the same spiritual path as I am, who have poems, paintings or music which could be a perfect match. Q: Isn't poet Supreme Master Ching Hai the first one whose poems you've put to music? PD: She is not the first one. If we talk about spiritual poetry, it has been around since the 11th century, over such a long period of time. Even in the 21st century, or 20th to be exact, there have been many poets who wrote spiritual poems. However, since we've always lived in such a state...The country of Vietnam has always lived through chaos. Therefore, no one ever had time to catch a glimpse of these poems which I think are true poems. For instance, the poem "The Cave Of The Golden Flowers" by Pham Thien Thu, or the ten poems which I've composed into ten spiritual songs. Even today, the people back in our country -- the musical artists, writers, poets -- now tired of the war, also turned to spiritual music. I want to refer to even the Communist party members who also have written spiritual poems, Tram Manh Hao for example; or a poet from the south, Nguyen Duc Son, whose pen name is Sao Tren Rung (Star in the Forest), he also writes many good spiritual poems. Then many such poems have been written abroad. In the recent days particularly, I have followed the activities of an organization with many members, Supreme Master Ching Hai's. She has a lot of paintings that I like very much. I have seen the inner beauty in her paintings. And of course, I have read the collection of her poems, and it seems that these poems have also been released in the forms of CDs and cassettes. Q: So what were your impressions when you used Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems to compose your spiritual music? PD: I would like to also point out that I am not the only one who uses Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems for their music. My colleagues, Mr. Nhat Ngan, Mr. Phuong Vu, also use her poems to compose music. Q: From the newspaper, I know that there is also musician Thu Ho. PD: Yes, not to mention Le Dinh. Myself, I have composed two songs. Q: What are the names of these two songs? PD: One is entitled "A Lonesome Night" which I apologize for changing the name to "Lonesome". The second song is "Existence and Nothingness." Perhaps you can introduce "A Lonesome Night" to the listeners. This song will be sung by my son, Duy Quang, the music written by myself. There are two songs; it could be Existence and Nothingness, it could be A Lonesome Night or Lonesome. Let's listen to one of them. Q: We would like to invite you to listen to a spiritual song
composed by Pham Duy, lyrics from a poem by Supreme Master Ching Hai...
I felt lonely as I've never been so lonely My love O my love, please drop by for a visit My love O my love, lull me please into a dream Tonight there is only the Muse and I You have just listened to the song "Lonesome". One of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems composes into music by Pham Duy. Now we would like to come back to Pham Duy. Will you let our listeners know if you are inclining toward composing spiritual songs from now on? PD: Yes, I think an old man like me should not write love songs anymore. Secondly, as for pop music, I feel that I am fairly incompetent in dealing with the nowadays situations. Politically speaking, I would not dare to write songs with a political nature anymore. It should be left to the youth, the nowadays heroes. | Q: So, is spiritual music reserved only for the elderly or religious people? PD: No, I feel that it is not just for the elderly. Even the younger generation are able to see the inner spiritual beauty. In my time, for example, the younger generation were dragged along by the current of life. If they didn't participate in the resistance, they would not have any ideals. Today's youths are living in a time of peace. In such a materialistic society as America, there are many young people who also want to find something more beautiful than just the society of "Dollars". I think it is not just for the elderly. When I said elderly, I was only referring to myself. Q: Oh, no! What I meant was I enjoyed listening to the song very much, but it was difficult to understand. And then the second song which you referred to as "Existence and Nothingness," truly I did not understand what is meant by "Existence and nothingness". I don't know if you have time to elaborated on this song? PD: It would be redundant if I elaborate on its meaning. Just listening to its lyrics we will understand. But I would like to talk more about Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems which I've used to compose music, as a result of which I have been able to see clearly that...for example, the poem only talks of life in front of our eyes. But the poet looks at it in a very spiritual way -- that if we step one step forward, or only one small step backward, then our life would be changed. Now, let's listen to that song. Then I will explain it later, only the musical aspect, not the spiritual one which I would not dare at all. Q: Yes, before listening to the second song, may I ask you one more question about your opinion of spiritual poetry abroad as opposed to those in the years prior to 1975? PD: It can be said that spiritual poetry has not changed. The spiritual songs that have been written since the 9th, 10th or 19th, 20th centuries are the same, whether the spiritual poems in those times were sung by the people or only recited by them. For example, in the poem " Existence and Nothingness " by poet Supreme Master Ching Hai, I could see the philosophies of the poets from 5th to the 7th century. Therefore, if after hearing to the song "Existence and Nothingness" which you listen to shortly, you are not moved, then it means that I have succeeded. Listening to music, especially Vietnamese music, one feels sad or frustrated. Therefore, we then have to "Vow to quarter the body and drink the blood of the enemy," or we have to love each other, to love intimately. But by listening to spiritual songs that have been composed from the poems of a spiritual nature you will not be induced into the emotional tie. It will take us completely into a state of existence-nothingness, nothingness-existence. That's it! Explaining Zen should be like that. Q: Existence means nothingness, nothingness means existence. PD: Something like that. Therefore, it can't be explained by logic; nor can its songs be listened by society oriented people. Now, please listen to the following song "Existence and Nothingness." Q: While we wait, I would like to ask another question. According to you, what is the trend of music being created by the people living abroad? PD: In my opinion, I am sure that it is not 'in the country' or 'out of the country,' the modern music has had over fifty years to take shape and to evolve already. For other composers, potentially there has always been three trends which I've already mentioned. Whereas the others who compose or not compose spiritual music, I don't know much about them because I myself do not have to research. If I do, it's just for myself without having any information about the other musical works.
Q: Following is the song entitled "Existence and Nothingness".
We would like to invite our audience to listen to it -- lyrics
by Supreme Master Ching Hai, musical composition by Pham Duy...
One step forward we return to the original state
Such was the concept of Nirvana in my mind Now I know the reason for Buddha's forty years of silence Then in the future where could I go for my liberation You've just listened to the voice of Duy Quang in the song "Existence and Nothingness" with lyrics taken from Supreme Master Ching Hai's poem, composed into music by Pham Duy. We'd like to come back to Pham Duy. Please let us know if the two songs you've just allowed us to listen to, which were "Existence and Nothingness" and "Lonesome," have already been released in CDs or cassettes? PD: These two songs have already been recorded along with the songs of other musical artists who also used Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems as lyrics for their songs. I am sure that in about one month, those ten songs, the ten spiritual songs, will be released. Q: Therefore, in the future the trend of Pham Duy is to transform spiritual poems into music. Hence, we will have a chance to continue listening to poems and spiritual songs in the form of musical creation by Pham Duy. Thank you for coming here and sharing with us the poetic creations of poet Supreme Master Ching Hai as well as the musical creations of Pham Duy. On behalf of the radio station, we'd like to first wish you abundant wealth, a happy and healthy life with your children and grandchildren, and your continuation in creating beautiful music that will always be treasured in the music circle. PD: Yes, thank you, Thuy Trinh. Thank you, the station, and thank you, all listeners.
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Hong Kong Daily News November 12, 1996
BRAVE BLIND DOG SAVES DROWNING GIRL
Dogs are considered a human being's best friend. This was proved when a blind dog saved the life of his owner -- a teenager girl -- from the angry sea. This heartwarming story has become the talk of the small seaside town in Oregon, USA, where a family of four, together with their blind dog, Roman, went to the coast for a day of fun. The parents allowed their two children to only play on the beach, while they went swimming. However, noticing that their parents had moved out of sight, the two teenagers stole into the shallow water to play. The tide comes in twice each day, and the water is known to rise from several inches to several feet deep very quickly. | While the two teenagers were playing in the water, a huge wave suddenly swept in. Joe, the younger boy was washed ashore but his elder sister, Lisa, was pulled out to sea. When Lisa's parents heard her panicky shrieks, it was already too late for them to save her. Amazingly, Roman dashed straight down the beach into the sea and swam frantically towards his screaming owner. When he finally reached her she was on the verge of drowning. He grabbed her shirt collar with his teeth, and then desperately pulled her back to shore. When Roman came ashore Lisa's face was already blue, so she was immediately rushed to a doctor. According to the doctor, she would have died if she had not arrive when she did. Understandably, Lisa's family were extremely grateful to their marvelous dog. To repay him for his act of courage, they searched everywhere for a veterinarian who could restore his sight. Unfortunately, they discovered that Roman's blindness is incurable. So, the only thing that the family could do for their life-saver was to treat him even better.¡¹ |
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Banana Power Beats The Best
By Sheree Dudenhoeffer
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