Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Aulacese (Vietnamese), with subtitles in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Sunrise lights up the vast rice field in my village Breeze gently sways the blooming rice flowers Levees are drenched with dew Under the blue sky, birds hover light-heartedly They sing and bask in the morning sun.

Please come visit this place once May I invite you to my home village?

There are fond singing voices filled with love for our motherland.

Come visit my village during the exhilarating season of ripening rice Singing permeates cheerful days of harvest.

Bà ba blouses whiten the sky Gentle hands swiftly

cut the fragrant rice plants of the two seasons.

How happy it is to carry home full rice loads in the rhythmic sound of singing!

Quickly we carry the rice back to our village The sound of rice pounding echoes through lit nights.

May I invite you to my home village?

There are fond singing voices filled with love for our motherland.

You’ve just enjoyed the song “Come Visit My Home Village” by composer Thùy Linh with vocals and dance accompaniment by our Association members from southern Âu Lạc. “Come Visit My Home Village” is an invitation for distant travelers to visit the peaceful countryside to share the exhilarating joy on harvest days and listen to rice-pounding work chants filled with the love for one’s motherland.

Âu Lạc, a beautiful country situated in Southeast Asia, with sub-tropical climate, is graced by Mother Nature with green plants and sweet fruits, all redolent and delectable throughout the four seasons. Depending on the weather conditions and culinary preferences of each region, the local people have skillfully created many savory dishes.

In our program about Aulacese traditional cuisine, we are pleased to introduce the specialty foods of a land known for its freshness and abundance. Indeed, at a public lecture in the United States in March 1991, Supreme Master Ching Hai especially praised the rich natural resources of Âu Lạc.

“Âu Lạc is among the most enriched nations in this world: there are mines of gold, silver, uranium, lead, zinc, and tin. Âu Lạc has everything. There are morals, piety, harmony, and four thousands years of civilization. It is one of the most ancient countries in the world. Our land has always had abundant foods and fruits. I remember when I was a student there, there was a great variety of fruits when I went to Bình Dương and Long Thành. And rice! Aulacese indigenous rice, called Tám Thơm, is the most famous in Southeast Asia and in the world. There are also other products, dried or fresh, that are most popular in the world.”

We are deeply grateful to Supreme Master Ching Hai for her treasured words and boundless grace for the nation and people of peace-loving Âu Lạc.

Since long ago, images of the coconut trees have naturally been part of poetry, arts, and the life of the Aulacese. In Bến Tre Province especially, where coconut trees are a famous specialty, the area of planting coconut trees is the largest in the nation. With orchards of green coconut trees stretching over the three islets, Bến Tre is also called “Coconut Country.”

Why did you choose this Coconut Country as the place to retire?

Half a lifetime was spent in my hometown already.

Now, the evening of our lives will be spent in my homeland.

That surely will make everyone happy!

These things are so lovely! What did you use to make them?

I made them from the by-products of coconut trees.

You’re very skillful!

You study and earn your living at the same time?

Yes, I make money to buy books. Please help buy, sir and ma’am.

Sure, I’ll help you.

The coconut is one of the very useful fruit trees. With skillful hands and aesthetic minds, people in the Coconut Country have created a traditional profession, turning the unused parts such as coconut wood, coconut shells, dry coconut, coconut skin, stems of coconut leaves, and coconut spathes into unique products. In today’s program, we’re delighted to introduce some of the many different uses of coconut trees.

Gentle miss, you dropped it!

There’s family heirloom in it. What to do now?

Thank you.

You’re very welcome.

He’s an orphan but intelligent and fond of learning, so I took him in to provide for his study.

If only our villagers knew how to make coconut products like he does, their lives would be better.

I think so too, so I’ve bought a few acres of coconut orchard, so that after his hours of studying, he can teach this skill to the poor.

Gentle miss!

My parents took him in to provide for his studies? (Yes.) Take this coconut juice for him then!

My gentle mistress invites you to drink this fresh coconut juice.

Oh, you...

Do you remember picking up my mistress’ pouch that day? She’s the beloved daughter of the District Chief and his lady here.

In the past, our ancestors planted coconut trees, mainly to get the coconut flesh to make cooking oil, coconut wood to build houses, and stems of coconut leaves to make brooms; however, these uses were minimal. There are still so many by-products from a coconut tree. So, I make use of them. Until now, I’ve had more than 500 products from the previously unused parts of the coconut trees.

These are discarded parts from coconut trees. I have gathered them and brought here.

What is this, son?

This is coconut fiber taken from the shells of dry coconuts. Look here, sir! These mats are made of coconut fiber.

Wonderful!

Coconut fiber is used to make mats, ornamental tree pots, and ropes. Mats made from coconut fibers are particularly dust-proof and contain no chemicals harmful to one’s health. Coconut fiber is taken from the shells of dry coconuts by a very complex process including putting coconut shells through a machine to extract, dry, and package the fiber. Nowadays, coconut fiber is also exported to countries such as China and Germany.

These are stems of coconut leaves, sir.

What is that for, son?

Stems of coconut leaves, I can knit into fruit baskets and these lanterns, sir.

Very skillful, indeed!

We’ve just been introduced to a number of uses for the coconut fiber and stems of coconut leaves. Aside from these, almost everything from the coconut trees can be used to create things of value such as dry coconuts made into ornaments, stems of coconut leaves into fruit baskets, coconut shells into convenient water ladles and interesting fine arts such as paintings, handbags, or night lamps.

I notice that he keeps the light on to study very late every night.

I owe him a favor but I haven’t had a chance to repay him. Ah, take this coconut dessert to him then, dear.

He’s a native of the Coconut Country, he must like it very much! In that case, whenever you prepare dishes with coconut, make extra then take some to him.

In term of cuisine, coconut is a source of nutritious food. Fresh coconut juice is a pure, mineral-rich drink. Fresh coconut flesh is used in many dishes such as coconut glutinous rice, coconut cakes, and coconut jam. Coconut oil is used to fry food; it’s also a natural conditioner for skin and hair. Coconut milk extracted from dry coconuts, high in fat content, is a popular ingredient in dishes such as curry, savory crepes, and sponge cake.

Coconut milk is also used to cook or add to sweet desserts, creating a very delicious flavor. As for coconut candies made from coconut milk, a specialty of Bến Tre Province, it is not only famous nationwide but also exported to many countries around the world.

I’ve made this tea set from coconut wood, as a present for you.

You’re very skilled! Thank you, son.

Coconut trees live for about 50 years, then dry up. Its wood is cut into small pieces, then sun-dried, treated for mold, and cleansed. It is then whittled and polished to make unique handicrafts such as bowls, spoons, chopsticks, combs, cosmetic and jewelry boxes, tea sets, flower vases, and many other fine handicrafts with beautiful veins.

When we cut down coconut trees, we’re not destroying resources. It’s because the coconut trees are either sick or we want to change the planting structure. Besides, in the past, the by-products from coconut trees weren’t used and so they became a kind of refuse.

Now we make good use of them, and they become products and create jobs for farmers.

Gentle miss, he offers you this comb. It’s from coconut wood!

Gentle miss, he gives you this jewelry box! It’s of coconut wood! Goodness! A gift every 2 or 3 days, then a souvenir every 5 or 7 days. You might as well have to...

To what?

You may have to tell your parents to buy you a trunk to contain all these lovely presents.

My customers include those from Formosa (Taiwan), USA, Japan, France, China, and England. Right now, the most regular customers are first from the United States, then France, then London. The Japanese drink tea with cups made of coconut shells; the German people eat ice cream using cups made of coconut shell and spoons of coconut wood.

You’ve achieved academic success, fulfilling a gentleman’s aspirations! Now I’d like to ask you one thing.

Anything you need, I promise to do my best to help.

I know that you and my daughter are fond of each other all this time.

What I want to ask you is... do you wish to be my son-in-law?

I’m very grateful, sir and ma’am. Thank you, Dad and Mom.

As a special gift from the Creator, coconut trees offer numerous benefits to the world. In Bến Tre Province alone, there are 30 villages making products from coconut trees. Products from coconut trees are also environmentally friendly because they can replace a wide range of products hard to decompose such as plastic and glass. As such, they contribute to building a clean, healthy environment and a green Earth.

Thank you for watching our program featuring the products from coconut trees, a specialty of Bến Tre Province, Âu Lạc (Vietnam). Please tune in to Supreme Master Television for more on Aulacese specialties in future broadcasts. Coming up is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. Farewell.

Thank you for watching our program today on Supreme Master Television. Coming up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. Farewell.