This trip came as a
surprise to us. We hardly returned to the same country which we travelled to on
the following year. Originally, we planned to visit Nepal in December 2017 as
we were invited by Princess Roshana to participate in the enthronement ceremony
of her son (who is a reincarnated Buddhist master well known in Nepal), which
will be held at the Bodnath Stupa. However, in November 2017, she informed us
that the ceremony might be delayed. So, Dharma Sister Kan suggested that we
could visit Melborne in Australia instead. She asked Christie to help arrange
the tour, as the latter works for Chan Brothers Travel. Next, we were told that
the summer in southern Australia would be hotter than the usual weather in Singapore.
So, I suggested casually that maybe we could go to Vientiane in Laos instead,
where the weather could be more cooling. Meanwhile, we could also catch up with
Serd again; he was our tour guide for our visit to Laos last year. This was how
this tour came about.
On
18 December 2017, 24 of us took a flight from Singapore to Vientiane. On the
following day, we had to wake up very early to catch a domestic flight to the
southern most part of Laos, Pakse in the Champasak Province, which shares its
border with Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. I saw an interesting airplane with
two huge propellers on its wings and it was my first time taking an airplane of
such design. The taking off and landing of the airplane were both steady and
nice.
I sat next to a window on the airplane, with one of its wings clearly visible
outside my window. When I saw the propeller spinning at high speed and its leaf
blades started disappearing right before my eyes, I suddenly realized the
meaning of “form is just emptiness”.
Pakse
was highly recommended by Serd in view of its rich history, especially Vat Phou
which was built around the same time as Angkor Wat in Camdodia; they were only
200km apart from each other. Serd told us that Angkor Wat and Vat Phou were
built by the same king in the past. Of course, the many famous waterfalls on
the Bolavan Plateau were equally attractive to us. Besides, this tour would
certainly enrich the contents of our new X-Tour book on Laos.
When
we arrived at Pakse, we came to the Mekong River which runs through Laos,
Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The water in the river appeared yellowish and
muddy. When our boat reached the resort located just beside the river, the
water in the river suddenly became very rough. At this juncture, someone
whispered to me, “Master, are the dragons here to welcome you?”
We
stayed at the river resort for two days. This mind-training tour was indeed
very relaxing, with no itineraries planned in the afternoons. So, we just did
our retreat at the resort when we were not going out.
One
morning, we went to Vat Phou. It was built in the 11th century and
listed by UNESCO as one of the world heritage sites in 2001. However, due to
the lack of government funding, it simply remains a ruin. It was in a much
poorer state compared with Angkor Wat of Cambodia and Borobudur of Indonesia. Even
its main temple was badly damaged, with only a few pillars left standing and some
broken walls. We did an Avalokitesvara Practice within the temple with no roof
above our heads; the sun was above our head and the wind was blowing around us.
Quite a few Dharma Sisters wept during the prayer. It was indeed very
disheartening to see a once majestic looking ancient Hindu temple being reduced
to the current state of ruin; this is impermanence.
When
we returned to Vientiane, we went to the Pha That Luang of Laos (Big Stupa) and
did a Medicine Buddha Practice there, followed by circumambulation of the
stupa. The sunlight seems alive, with the sun beams shining towards me several
times, and a triangular shape formed by sunlight appeared right above our group
like a parasol, shrouding us. It was just an inconceivable experience.
Our
cameras and handphones captured many rainbow lights around Tad Yeuang waterfall on
the Bolaven Plateau. Without fail, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and the Dharmapala
(protectors of the Dharma) always kept us company during every X-Tour. This
world is just a playground to them.
We
did a White Tara Practice while cruising along the Mekong River. We did an
Avalokitesvara Practice at Vat Phou. We did several rounds of prayer at the
river resort and Bolavan resort. We did Medicine Buddha Practice at Pha That
Luang and circumambulation of stupa. We did a Heart Sutra Reversal Practice at
Mecure Hotel in Vientiane.
This
time, the temperature of the local weather dropped by 10 degree Celcius, lower
than the weather forecast provided by the Meteorological Department of Vientiane.
It was only 10 degree Celcius at night when we were in the Bolavan Plateau. We
were shivering as it was very windy and cold. The owner of the resort told us
that it was the coldest weather to them in the past 10 years. We had to put on
our winter clothing.
During
this entire mind-training tour, we did nothing else but prayers. All the places
we went were blessed by the lights of Buddha and the rain of Dharma. My homage to
the Sun Moon Light Buddha.
Acho Rinpoche
31 December 2017, in Singapore (it has been
raining cats and dogs the whole day).
Pha That Luang (Big Stupa)
Tad Yeuang Waterfall
Posing with the Manager and chef of a Café
Another Waterfall
Wat Si Saket
Doing White Tara Prayer on Mekong River
Vat Phou
River Resort
A Huge Buddha Statue Overseeing Pakse Across Mekong River
