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The Tale of Kieu – Through the Eyes of Mindfulness, Talk 7
Today we continue with The Tale of Kieu, paying attention to the comparison between Chieu An Hermitage in the original Chinese text Phong Tinh Luc and the Nom script version by Nguyen Du. The original text records the Vu Lan festival in autumn, with the golden bell and silver gong kept in Sister Giac Duyen’s private room, where only followers are allowed to see, and the event takes place between just two people. In Nguyen Du’s Nom poetry, the ceremony is held at the end of spring at Chieu An Pagoda, with the golden bell and silver gong displayed in the main hall, shown off to many noble ladies and young mistresses.
Thuy Kieu steals the bell not out of greed but out of fear of hunger, fear of homelessness due to delusion, not yet seeing the truth of “one bowl, a thousand homes’ rice.” The seed of fear, watered daily by the two instances of bell-stealing and the presence of Madam Bac Ba, prevents Kieu from skillful self-defense, leading to her being sold for 240 taels by human traffickers whose trade is “raising questions, placing words in the emptiness of space.”
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The drifting steps of Kieu’s life:
- Madam Bac Ba stirs up the fear of insecurity, plots to sell Kieu to a husband far away, proposing her niece Bac Hanh as the groom with a bride price of 20 taels of gold.
- Kieu agrees when Bac Hanh and the village guardian spirits swear an oath; trusting the oath, she sends her bundle of precious belongings.
- She is taken to a pleasure inn, handed over to the brothel, and appraised at 240 taels (twelve times the original sum).
- Suddenly, Tu Hai appears at the border pavilion, his heroic presence—“tiger’s beard, swallow’s jaw, phoenix’s brow, ten feet tall”—inspires Kieu’s trust; they become soulmates, hastily marrying with a seven-treasure bed and eight-immortal canopy.
- Half a year sharing the lamp and fragrant nights, they hear the “drumbeat shaking the earth” of revolution; Tu Hai tears himself away to leave, Kieu remains, embracing the “soaring pink wings,” longing for her parents, Kim Trong, and her younger sister, but her heart is heavy with confusion and turmoil.
Kieu’s feelings crystallize in six verses: longing for her homeland, sorrow for her parents, regret for her bond with Kim Trong, worry for her younger sister, restless confusion, gazing at the pink wings with no sign of her beloved.