Marble Mountain Temple

March 25 2006


I only ended up at this Temple by fluke, but it turned out to be the most powerful experience I had in Asia. My driver and guide; Bonsoon; led me up the winding steps carved into Marble mountain.

We finally arrived at a junction that led to three temples carved out of the rock.
Each cave Temple contained a Quan Eem statue. Pictures don't show you the atmosphere of the place. It had such a peace about it and I felt very much at home. I kept getting a sense of deja vu. It was as if there was something here I was supposed to remember.
This second of the three Temple altars reminded me of my favorite piece of furniture from my childhood home in Ontario. We have a carved 'Chinese Chest' that I always felt an affinity to. This chest reminds me very much of it.
She is like a silent entry to the gate of some fantastic world. It's not so much the look of her as the feeling emanating from this location.
This is an alcove near the entrance of the largest Cave Temple. I don't see any mist when I look at this statue. It just shows up when I try to take a photo of it.
This is the gateway to the main Temple which is a large Cave in the heart of the Mountain. You can see the small statue of Quan Eem over the archway.
And now we are inside the large Cave Temple itself. This statue of the lady Buddha, Quan Eem, is to the left of the doorway as I enter. It's life-size. The Cave itself is about thirty feet to the ceiling and looks like the inside of a Geode, with rough craggy rock making up the walls of this Temple Fortress.
As I stand here facing the main altar, I feel energy pouring through me and around me. I just stand in the centre of the cave and bathe in this incredible soothing energy that fills my heart with a powerful sense of well being and love for all things. I take several photos but each time, my camera is unable to convey what I see. Each photo is obstructed by this fine mist.
And here is another attempt to take a picture of the Central Quan Eem figure. It's not that she is so lovely to see with the eyes. In fact the Temple is quite ordinary in many ways. The power of this place must be felt. It can not be viewed with the eyes. As I'm standing here I suddenly realize that last year I had a similar experience with another Temple in another country, related to Quan Eem. In that cave, in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, I took a misty photo that later revealed a mysterious figure on the wall of the cave. I don't know what this all means. I just know it's important for me somehow.

Here is that story from last year
I finally point my camera straight up and take another photograph. This is a hole in the roof of the cave. Bonsoon tells me that this Temple was bombed during the 'American War' but even though it had a direct hit with a bomb from a B-52, the Temple miraculously survived intact. Only this hole remains.
My guide keeps urging me to come along so that we could see a Museum nearby, but I just smile and tell him our sightseeing is already complete. I squat down in the centre of the Cave for a long pause to just listen to the powerful Sound Current all around me, and enjoy the beauty of this moment.
We finally descend this magical staircase to the town below and I walk slowly along the street looking at the marble sculptures as if walking in a dream. If this was to be the only experience I have in this Magical Country, it would be well worth the long journey from Canada and back again.

Mystical Marble Mountain

Da nang, Vietnam, March 25 2006
I had a VERY full day exploring Hoi An. When the day was done, my faithful guide, Bonsoon, took me to a Karaoke bar where we met some very lovely women who turned out to want more out of the evening than be had bargained for (literally) so we left. When I got to my guest house, Bonsoon told me he would come by in the morning to take me to Da Nang. I assured him I did not need a ride from him because I already had a Tour bus booked. But I was so tired that I ended up sleeping in the next morning. Bonsoon was waiting on his motor bike as if I had never told him about the Bus. So off we went for the hour long ride to Da Nang. He offered to take me to Marble Mountain on the way. It turned out to be one of the great experiences of my Journey in Asia. Marble Mountain is a sacred site in Vietnam where marble is mined and sculpted for art enthusiasts all over the World. As we arrive at the foot of the Mountain we see shops everywhere creating and selling marble statues.
I felt inspired to do this pose for the camera. I don't know why...
Or how about this erotic piece. As we walked from shop to shop, I enjoyed touching the marble and experiencing the texture and energy from each creation.
The most powerful recurring symbol from my journey in Thailand and in Vietnam this time, is Quan Yim (pronounced Quan EEm) I always think of that porcelain figure my Mom had on the coffee table when we were growing up in Richmond Hill Ontario. This statue is three metres tall. The lions were standing near her, so I took this shot to include all three.
This woman was a great help to me. I needed to reserve a seat on a bus in Da Nang and it was thanks to her and her Marble shop that I managed to finally get my call through. 'Cau Maun' my dear friend! (Thank you!)
After walking through the town it was time to approach the Marble Mountain Temple. There are six hundred steps, carved in rock, to the top of this beautiful retreat.
The view mid way up is spectacular. What you see here is a view of China Beach. Remember the TV show? This is that beach. It was believed to be the first place the American troops landed when they came to this country.

Finally we see the clearing at the top of the carved staircase. I feel such a calm as I climb these stairs and a great feeling, as if coming home. I started to realize that it was meant to happen that I would miss my bus this morning, so that I could have this incredible experience. As it turns out this will be the most mystical experience of my whole trip.

My Vietnam Family

Saigon Steve here. Just reporting in from my new home in Vietnam.

Here I am with my adopted family. We're just enjoying a few of the
sights in this wonderful country.

I wanted you to see this statue, Melbah. Her face reminds me so much of
you.

This is Lien's sister and her niece enjoying the beautiful (deph)
gardens of this Vietnamese theme park. Her sister is studying English at University. I think her face is vibrant.

At the end of the day, Bill and Lien invited me to have dinner with a
few of her family members at a favorite restaurant. The main course
was Goat Satay. Every few minutes we would all do the Vietnamese
toast together: "Moh...Hye...Bah...YO!!!!!!!!" (One, Two, Three,
DRINK!!!!).

During the day at the Theme Park I helped 78 year old auntie to get
up and down the steps. So when it came time for dinner, she plunked
herself down beside me, held tight to my hand and didn't let go for
the evening. It's a good thing I only needed one hand to eat.

So how how are the Vietnamese people treating me so far?

Kanchanaburi 2

On the second day, we went to a sacred cave where we found a statue of Quan Yin. I just remember the name because Mom had a porcelain statuette on her coffee table of Quan Yin. Her version had a hand that detached. Jude knew the story and told us that Quan Yin was so giving that she allowed her hand and her eye to be removed to save others. She was rewarded for her noble act by receiving a thousand hands and a thousand eyes.

When we got to the bottom of the cave, one of our team; Eyelet (whom I remembered by thinking "I yell it", looked at the statue and said Quan Yin reminded her of her homeland Israel and the story of Lot's wife who was changed to a pillar of salt for daring to look back rather than continuing with her journey on faith. I took this picture of Eyelet by the statue. Eyelet is a brave woman. She is travelling for three weeks in Thailand, alone, and she misses her daughter very much. She told me she cried for the first three days and was thinking of going back early. I meant to tell you this Eyelet. I have never thought of going home early but I didn't realize what a shock I was experiencing in this exotic land until it occurred to me that I was having trouble chewing. It suddenly occurred to me that I was so tense for the first three days that I was clenching my teeth in my sleep and my jaw swelled up. We all have our ways of dealing with our fears and finding our way. Shalom my dear friend. I wish you well on your journey.

As we were leaving the cave I took this picture of the wall near the statue. I liked the formation of rock but I never saw this image until I looked at it on my camera screen later, nor did the others who were there with me. Before I tell you what we saw in this image perhaps you could tell me what you see.