Book cover of "Wonderful Teachings in Life"

"The Fragrance of the Path" and "Stories of Life" are the two main themes of this collection of essays, divided into two parts. The "Fragrance of the Path" section contains 20 articles related to Buddhism and meditation, catering to various age groups and offering diverse perspectives. These include very relatable stories such as "The Precepts and the Law," and "Eating at the Right Time"; as well as topics considered quite "trendy" today, such as "Buddhist Music for Young People," "Children and Vegetarianism," and "Buddhists and Meditation"; or a rather poetic comparison: "From Sonnets to Buddhist Poetry."

What I liked most in this section were probably the articles about the hidden temples of Hue, nestled amidst lush greenery and mist, which are certainly little known to most people. One such temple is Cap Co Pagoda in Bang Lang village, near the upper reaches of the Perfume River, founded by Venerable Tinh Huyen nearly 100 years ago.

Venerable Thich Tinh Huyen was a member of the royal family who renounced worldly life to become a monk, choosing an ascetic path of solitary practice in the wild mountains. He left behind beautiful anecdotes about the life of a true enlightened monk. Or consider the Dinh Hue nunnery in the mountainous Duong Hoa region, about 30km from the city center. Amidst vast bamboo groves, the nunnery is a serene and tranquil place of meditation, both elegant and profound, where a nun from the lowlands came to the highlands to practice asceticism, battling the harsh natural environment, gradually building a peaceful and loving monastic retreat for Buddhists in the mountainous region.

"Life Stories" is the second part of the book, comprising 30 articles about the author's experiences, lives, and reflections. These writings reveal the author's rich understanding of many aspects of life, reflecting a person who has traveled widely, read extensively, and possesses a deep understanding and compassion for life. We can also get a good picture of a seasoned teacher who understands life and his profession, and who has many concerns about current educational issues, such as "The Sorrows of Chalk and Blackboard," "Is it possible to learn and play at the same time?", "Learning to Listen, Learning to Speak"... Each article is also a sincere confession, filled with nostalgia and aspirations for the future. "Learning to Live Happily," "A Bowl of Plain Rice Porridge," "That's Life," "Will the Postman Return?", "Where Are You Going, My Dear?"... are examples of such reflections. Very real, very emotional.

Coming from an intellectual family with a tradition of Buddhism, and being a teacher and devout Buddhist himself, his life stories are imbued with spiritual and meditative qualities. Combined with the logical thinking of a math teacher who writes essays, his writing is clear, coherent, simple yet not superficial, easy to understand but profound and insightful.

"Wonderful Teachings in Life" is the third collection of essays by author and teacher Cao Huy Hoa. Prior to this, he published two other collections of essays titled "Good Land" and "A Little Meditation."

After reading books by author Cao Huy Hoa, Professor Tran Tuan Man - a renowned Vietnamese Buddhist scholar and translator - once remarked: "He is gentle and exemplary, a veteran teacher in Hue; he is profound and subtle, a well-read and thoughtful person; and he is also romantic, with the eyes of a writer, of an artist looking at life."

For me personally, reading the author's books feels like I'm also touching upon a profound truth. It's about living peacefully, wholeheartedly, with compassion and honesty, so that I can live a carefree life...

Introduction by Nguyen Thu

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/an-nhien-voi-dieu-phap-trong-doi-165615.html