All in all, it was an interesting museum. Gripping in its detail of the effects of war. If it’s version of history appears slanted to me,,, it’s just modern testament to the old saying, “history is written by the victors.”
Propaganda seems clearest when it’s not your own, and I take into account that my eyes are quite probably blurred to my own versions of propaganda which I have learned under the context of “history”. Still, the music of history sounds quite different here. That’s fine. I’m just happy to be here to see it & compare.
Next stop, the Jade Emperor Pagoda.
There are over 200 pagodas in HCMC. I can’t say they all look just like this, but this one was impressive. It felt like entering a musty Chinese kung-fu movie… minus the ninjas.
Everything held symbolic value,,, like any cathedral or mosque I suppose,, but this place felt like a museum as much as a temple of homage to Buddha,, or Shiva (I saw many versions of both inside),,, or some large number of Chinese (?) heros of old?
Well, the writing looks Chinese, but I suppose there could be some ancient Vietnamese heroes in there as well. There were over 50 towering statues of fearsome looking characters. We didn’t have a guide to tell us who these guys were. I did pick up that the gigantic statues on either side of the entrance into the main hall, were the personification of good & evil. Benevolence and anger. Should either one come to life,, I really wouldn’t want to mess with either of them.
Turtles are a symbol of protection. You can buy them out front, next to the lottery ticket table, to make an offering at the turtle pond if you want. There were some big suckers in there, so I hope a commensurate amount of luck and protection found that donor.
The air felt musty. That’s probably due to the constant swell of insence wafting through the pagoda halls like a fog. The number 3 is significant in Hinduism and Buddhism, so prayers (and incense) are offered in 3’s. Even better if each prayer offers 3 insence sticks, for a total of 9. Each person who enters is expected to do this,,, so the perfumed smoke builds up quickly. In Bali, insence is used to cleanse your mind of other thoughts in order to focus on prayer. You won’t be able to think of much else in these halls (=
Propaganda seems clearest when it’s not your own, and I take into account that my eyes are quite probably blurred to my own versions of propaganda which I have learned under the context of “history”. Still, the music of history sounds quite different here. That’s fine. I’m just happy to be here to see it & compare.
Next stop, the Jade Emperor Pagoda.
There are over 200 pagodas in HCMC. I can’t say they all look just like this, but this one was impressive. It felt like entering a musty Chinese kung-fu movie… minus the ninjas.
Everything held symbolic value,,, like any cathedral or mosque I suppose,, but this place felt like a museum as much as a temple of homage to Buddha,, or Shiva (I saw many versions of both inside),,, or some large number of Chinese (?) heros of old?
Well, the writing looks Chinese, but I suppose there could be some ancient Vietnamese heroes in there as well. There were over 50 towering statues of fearsome looking characters. We didn’t have a guide to tell us who these guys were. I did pick up that the gigantic statues on either side of the entrance into the main hall, were the personification of good & evil. Benevolence and anger. Should either one come to life,, I really wouldn’t want to mess with either of them.
Turtles are a symbol of protection. You can buy them out front, next to the lottery ticket table, to make an offering at the turtle pond if you want. There were some big suckers in there, so I hope a commensurate amount of luck and protection found that donor.
The air felt musty. That’s probably due to the constant swell of insence wafting through the pagoda halls like a fog. The number 3 is significant in Hinduism and Buddhism, so prayers (and incense) are offered in 3’s. Even better if each prayer offers 3 insence sticks, for a total of 9. Each person who enters is expected to do this,,, so the perfumed smoke builds up quickly. In Bali, insence is used to cleanse your mind of other thoughts in order to focus on prayer. You won’t be able to think of much else in these halls (=
posted by jonathan adventures at 10:45 AM
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