War and Peace

Cris Weber
Jul 22, 2017 · 4 min read

Two days ago, I had a very interesting juxtaposition of sights. I started off the morning visiting a lovely Buddhist temple where monks still live and work today and ended with the War Remnants Museum which is dedicated to telling the stories of the Vietnam War through photography and art. I didn’t plan this day, they just happen to be in the same neighborhood and that’s how I plan my touring when mostly walking.

The Pagoda is called Xa Loi. It was built in 1956 and was an important center of resistance during the Communist Revolution in the 1960s. In South Vietnam, during this time, the regime that was propped up by the US, persecuted Communists and Buddhists. Two Monks at this pagoda set themselves a fire in protest and some 400 monks and congregants were arrested for protesting the regime. Today, this is a place of peace. It is interesting how peaceful it feels inside and to be in the presence of the monks. Many monks were arranging flowers for the temple area. Mollie you would have loved it. There is a Buddha in the main temple that is gigantic. I think I am as tall as its head. Dogs are allowed to live freely in the temples, you often see them lying in the sanctuaries or standing at the entries. Below are some images of Xa Loi and its interior and exterior spaces.

Next I walked to the War Remnants Museum. Outside the museum are lots of war planes, tanks and such, but inside is the good stuff. I don’t know how much attention you paid in your various history classes on this subject, but I know I should have done better. I think part of learning about this war and what led up to it was difficult because it is messy! So many interest involved for really crazy, mostly “nationalists” interests. I know many of us have differing opinions about the US involvement in this war so I will just say, I have captured images and things that spoke to me in this exhibit. The exhibits were amazing, emotionally draining and left me with many feelings rumbling around. The saddest was the effects of agent orange on war vets and Vietnamese families. I ended with an exhibit of peace and war resistance posters from many different countries. I wish they didn’t have acrylic over them as the glare kind of made for mediocre images 😔

Cris Weber

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Hi! I’m Cris…adventurer, artist, spouse, parent, art director, chicken keeper, cyclist, dreamer, builder, travel and food channel fiend, infp, animal lover

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