The Buddha's Diamonds by Carolyn Marsden Read Free Book Online Page A

“There’s soup! We have soup!”
    Late in the afternoon, Tinh visited the temple.
    He tiptoed in.
    Although the sky still showed through the gaping roof and the wall of paintings was still damaged, the temple had been cleaned. The photographs of the ancestors were lined neatly on the ancestral altar. The donation box stood upright again.
    Someone had laid out dry matches and incense.
    Tinh lit a stick of incense and placed it in the bowl of sand in front of the Buddha. As the sweet smoke spiraled, Tinh peeked up.
    The spot where people left offerings remained empty. No fruit, no flowers. Yet the Buddha was still at peace, smiling as though he knew a beautiful secret.
    Tinh sat down cross-legged on the floor, imitating the position of the Buddha. He placed one hand in the mudra for peace, the other in his lap, close to the earth.
    He listened to his breathing. His breath reminded him of waves coming in and out, waves caressing the beach.
    He listened to the songs of the birds outside.
    The storm-ravaged world settled around Tinh, each part utterly perfect. The sun dropped lower, the rays hitting his back.
    Then he heard the sounds of his cousins playing soccer on the field outside.
    Tinh stood and bowed three times to the Buddha, pressing his forehead to the earth. After the last bow, he looked into the Buddha’s face. The Buddha was right to smile. Tinh smiled back.
    Standing in the doorway of the temple, Tinh watched his cousins play. They played like the birds, full of the happiness of the moment.
    Tinh walked down the steps between the two stone dragons, calling, “Trang Ton! Dong! Anh! I’m ready to play!”
    He ran onto the green field, free of all but the soccer ball and the bright day, the sun balancing on a cloudless blue horizon.

Ba —
father
    Banoi —
grandmother
    bodhisattva —
one committed to enlightening oneself and others so that all may be liberated from suffering
    ca kinh —
diamond-shaped fish
    ca ngu —
large gray fish
    ca nuc —
small silver fish
    cay duong —
trees with long needles, pronounced “cay yuong”
    chim hai au —
seagulls, literally “birds big ocean”
    ganh hang —
a contraption consisting of a bamboo pole carried over the shoulders with a flat, round basket hanging from each end of the pole
    longan —
a fruit that grows in clumps. It has a hard, woody skin and a chewy, white center.
    Lunar New Year —
celebrated either in late January or in February, according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which takes into account both lunar and solar cycles of time. Instead of celebrating individual birthdays, all children are one year older on Lunar New Year.
    Ma —
mother
    mudra —
hand gesture used in Buddhist meditation
    Ong Noi —
grandfather
    Phat Ba Quan Ahm —
the Vietnamese Bodhisattva of Compassion, who began her life as a princess called Wondrous Goodness. Faced with the suffering of the world, she chose to become a nun in order to relieve suffering. Her father, the king, tried to kill her because of her decision. Later on, Wondrous Goodness sacrificed both her arms and both her eyes to heal her father. This Bodhisattva is often depicted as having one thousand arms and one thousand eyes because of her limitless commitment to helping others.

More than two thousand five hundred years ago, the Buddha was born as a prince named Siddhartha. When he was just a baby, a wise man predicted that he would become enlightened, free from suffering. Siddhartha’s father was upset at the prediction as he wanted his son to be a powerful ruler. He kept Siddhartha secluded in the palace so he would know nothing of the world.
    Nevertheless, as a child, Siddhartha witnessed worms being eaten by birds. He was shocked and saddened by the worms’ pain. He also rescued a swan that his cousin had wounded with an arrow.
    The young Siddhartha sat under a rose-apple tree learning to meditate, paying attention