Zen and the art of water appreciation

      Back in the thirteenth century, King Tran Thai Tong (1218- 1277) repelled the Mongol invaders from the north and restored peace to the ravaged land.
His duty done, the first king of the Tran Dynasty abdicated the throne and went to live in a monastery on Yen Tu Mountain in what is now the northern province of Quang Ninh.
It was here that he founded the first distinctly Vietnamese school of Zen Buddhism: Truc Lam Yen Tu.
Nowadays, the sect has monasteries in Quang Ninh on the far north coast, Vinh Phuc also in the north and Da Lat in the Central Highlands, as well as the most recently built one in the mountains behind Hue.
Named after the mountain range looming behind it, Bach Ma Monastery stands on an island in Lake Truoi, a manmade reservoir that irrigates a lot of farmland in Thua Thien-Hue Province.
The dam wall that holds back 60 million cubic meters of water when the lake is full was completed in 1996.
Getting to the island and the 172 steps that lead up to the 2006-built monastery can only be done by boat, which can be hired along with its owner on the shore.
The boat can take you anywhere you like – it’s between you and the owner – but the best places, along with the monastery, are the forest on the lower slopes of Thanh Long Mountain and the gurgling rivulets that wrap themselves around blocks of flat-topped rocks along the shore.
You can go for a swim, have a snooze or lie on the rocks and take in the majestic scenery or ponder the greatness of King Tran Thai Tong, who seated on the throne for 33 years (1225-1258).
The fishing is good too as there’s plenty of red snapper and pomfret to cook and enjoy with some rice wine from the nearby village of Chuon.
To get there, it’s best to hire a minivan and driver in Hue Town. It costs VND600,000 (US$35) for ten people for the day.
Or you can drive the 40 kilometers yourself. Take the road to Cau Truoi (Truoi Bridge), which is 30 kilometers from Hue, cross the bridge, follow the road to Loc Hoa Commune in Phu Loc District, and you’re there.