We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
The Tale of Kieu – Through the Eyes of Mindfulness, Part 2
In today’s lesson on The Tale of Kieu, after recalling the spring outing where Thuy Kieu encountered Dam Tien and Kim Trong, Nguyen Du portrays the inner world of the young scholar Kim—with his romantic disposition and the sorrow that “the more you shake, the fuller it grows,” a grief that fills three autumns though it is but a single long day. From Dam Tien’s dream, Thuy Kieu and her mother advise each other not to put too much faith in dreams, yet Kieu’s heart still floats on the love she has encountered, causing her to lie awake all night, so that the next day Kim Trong is passionately waiting and longing. The verse, “Such is the way of the sentimental heart. Who can untangle the silken thread to its end?” is set by Nguyen Du as the maxim opening the passage that describes Kim Trong’s love and suffering.
When a powerful current of love connects two souls, Kim Trong “returns again to his study window, with her image ever pressing on his heart,” “the more you shake, the fuller the sorrow,” staying up all night by the window, longing in dreams to meet Kieu. In the section where the two confide in each other, Nguyen Du uses images of layered clouds, rosy dust veiling every path, willow threads draping the curtain, the oil lamp burning low, the Tương curtain fluttering in the wind, the zither’s notes… to evoke a scene suffused with longing. When they meet under the moonlight, their vows are engraved in stone and gold, hearts united, the golden knife dividing a lock of hair, the cup of wine shared… so deep yet so fleeting, for after a brief day of promise, they must part in haste due to news of a funeral, opening the way for all the sorrows and wanderings to come.
Key points to remember:
- Kim’s inner world: “Kim returns again to his study window / Her image ever pressing on his heart, hard to dispel”—a longing so deep it borders on obsession.
- Images of love: layered clouds sealing the silken window, rosy dust along the path of willows, the oil lamp burning low, silken threads on the zither… all painting the portrait of longing.
- The vow of a hundred years: “A lock of cloud-like hair, the golden knife divides in two / The cup of wine, voices mingling with precious fragrance”—vows engraved in stone and gold, yet “events had not allowed even a brief moment / Fate had not granted even a word to tie their bond” before they had to part.
