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,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Thai
and Spanish.
Âu Lạc (Vietnam)
is a nation with
a long-standing
traditional culture.
Aulacese musical
heritage is bountiful;
since ancient times,
many soul-stirring musical instruments
have been created with
diverse sounds like those
of the copper drum,
gong, lithophone,
bamboo xylophone,
cymbals, and panpipe.
In 2003, Elegant Music,
a style of Huế royal court
music, was recognized
by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
as an intangible cultural
heritage of the world.
Âu Lạc’s music represents
the unique features of
each region, for example,
Quan Họ folksongs
in the north,
Huế tunes in the central,
and modern folk opera
in the south.
In addition, there are many
other forms of music,
including hò,
lý, ceremonial songs,
Aulacese classical theatre,
chèo traditional opera,
hồ quảng opera,
and so on.
Indeed, the essence of music is imbued
in the hearts of people
in this beautiful country,
and has been cultivated
until this day.
In Aulacese (Vietnamese)
traditional folk music,
lý is a singing genre
that is mostly based
on folk poetry in the form
of six-eight couplets.
The rhythm varies
between fast and slow
in a recital style,
so lý singing genre has
hundreds of different tunes.
Through simple lyrics,
lý songs often describe
images and feelings
as experienced in life.
Enhanced
by tender melodies,
lý is very accessible and
therefore quite popular.
We now invite you
to listen to a song
of the lý genre entitled
“For the One
Who Stayed Behind,”
composed and
performed by
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
“For the One
Who Stayed Behind”
is adapted from a poem
written by
Supreme Master Ching Hai
in Munich, Germany
during her younger years,
at a time when
she was about to forsake
her happy marriage
in search of Truth.
The bond between
husband and wife
is the deepest in terms
of human emotions;
there is thus no separation
without agony.
This was particularly true
for the spouse whom
she wholeheartedly
loved and respected.
For the happiness
of all beings and
due to her immense love,
the Buddha’s heart
had chosen the noble path
of sacrifice, but the
human heart had its own
poignance and anguish.
The first time
she sang this song and
revisited past feelings,
she was profoundly moved.
A Buddha does not
become wood or stone;
on the contrary, she still
retains the emotions
that everyone experiences,
to recognize and
understand in-depth
all human anxieties
and suffering.
With
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
precious permission,
we will present an excerpt
of the song entitled
“For the One
Who Stayed Behind,”
sung by the author herself
during the first recording,
when she was filled
with emotion.
This will be followed
by the song in its entirety,
her second recording
of this song.
Let us listen together.
When you come home,
There will be
only grass and flowers
There will be only
grass and flowers
only grass and flowers
Even if my heart
was made of stone
And my feeling of brass,
They would be
softened and melt
softened and melt
Thinking of
the pain I've left you!
the pain I've left you!
Why were we born
in this world of woe
For you to pine,
for me to taste sorrow!?
for me to taste sorrow!?
When you come home,
There will be
only grass and flower Greeting your footsteps!
The garden sheds her evening dews,
The house bows weighed in loneliness,
Murmuring farewell!
Even if my heart
was made of stone
And my feeling of brass,
They would be
softened and melt
softened and melt
Thinking of
the pain I've left you!
the pain I've left you!
Why were we born
in this world of woe
For you to pine,
for me to taste sorrow!?
for me to taste sorrow!?
Since which era have we
pledged our faithful vows,
Thus bind ourselves
bind ourselves
in matrimony now?
in matrimony now?
Please lift your heart
out of the blue web
So my mind will also
be lightened
be lightened
when we are apart
when we are apart.
Praised be the Buddha
whose light guides my way,
And protects you
And protects you
in your lonely days
in your lonely days.
One day,
I'll be enlightened
and bring illumination
to the world,
We will be together
We will be together
for eternity...
for eternity...
You’ve just enjoyed
the lý song “For the One
Who Stayed Behind,”
written and
performed by
Supreme Master Ching Hai.
We thank
Supreme Master Ching Hai
for the special permission
to share this priceless
and moving song on
A Journey through
Aesthetic Realms.
The sacrifice and
limitless love of a Master
since your days of youth
cannot be comprehended
fully by the people
in this world.
Despite that,
year after year,
you have continued
to grace all beings
silently, patiently
and unconditionally.
We are grateful to you
for always being
a shining example
to encourage all
that is noble, beautiful
and elevating,
like the verses of poetry,
the sound of music
and the emotions
that are expressed
from the human heart
exquisitely
created by the Divine.
Huế singing is a form
of music with
unique characteristics
of the people from
Âu Lạc’s ancient capital.
With elegant,
expressive phonology
and intonation, Huế singing,
in the old time,
was performed only
for the royal family
and royal court,
but now has become
a traditional art
representative of
the idyllic Huế city
in central Âu Lạc.
The setting
to enjoy Huế singing is
often a small, cozy room;
a charming corner
in the garden;
or a boat’s cabin on the
peaceful Perfume River.
Huế songs convey deep
and earnest sentiments.
They describe the joy and
sorrow of a human life
and praise nature’s beauty,
using outside scenery
to express inner thoughts.
Huế singing
has many different tunes
such as Cổ Bản, Phú Lục,
Long Ngâm, Hành Vân,
Nam Ai, and Lovelorn.
Love keeps growing
more tender with
every moon season
of rendezvous.
When one is away
from the beloved,
the moon kindles many
memories of a time
of meeting and seeing
each other off.
“I beckon the moon
The moon waits to
accompany you home
The moon shines mystically
on the distant road”
We now invite you to enjoy
“Following You Home,”
a Huế tune
in the Old Song style,
performed by Phong Thủy.
Cold wind chills
the winter night
You walk home
on a quiet street,
accompanied silently
by the golden light
Moon of vows awaits
a beloved in a dream
The moon and I are one
My heart entangled
with love
I affectionately hope
for a beautiful day that
joins us in a tender bond.
Floating amid
the moon season,
an immense Moon Palace
Moon pearl pins
on lustrous tresses
Like a gentle swallow
of eastern sky,
you dream of
the coming spring
when rose blossoms
perfumed my being.
I beckon the moon
The moon waits to
accompany you home
The moon shines mystically
on the distant road
In someone’s garden,
lingering dewdrops
gently fall
By the lake,
silhouettes of branches
and leaves shimmer
Cock crows late at night
I pine for my sweetheart
When did I become
enamored with you
such that a dream
stirs my soul
and deep longing tugs
at my heart?
I understand now
how you feel
Your life has met
with sorrow and joy,
vicissitudes and partings.
Yet your devotion
never fades
Moon of yearning
illumines yonder sky
My heart goes on loving
through adversity
and hardships.
Music of life
will ever mesmerize
this winter night
The moon is full
You walk home
in the cold mist
The moon stays awake
Her golden light silently
accompanies you
On this long night,
I dream of
a poem and sending it
to the nocturnal sky
A Huế song of love:
“Following You Home.”
Since time immemorial,
greetings have been seen
as a tradition of ethics
and courtesy of
the Aulacese people.
This graceful cultural beauty
is expressed in folk art
through the songs.
“First I greet graciously
and gently
Then I greet gracefully
and modernly”
We now invite you to
enjoy the song “Hò Hê,”
a Hò singing style
from Bình Định,
central Âu Lạc, with
vocals by Minh Hoàng.
Hasten not onto
the carriage, my friends!
Getting on the carriage,
then off the carriage
Hear my greetings,
O young men and women!
First I greet
First I greet graciously
and gently
Then I greet gracefully
and modernly
The modern way
is the carefree way
Above,
flowers vie to blossom;
below, golden tower’s
bell chimes.
I arrived here
I arrived here,
the land of heroes
May I ask you,
the young beauties
Who is really
Vân Tiên’s wife?
Let me know,
I’ll greet you now
You’re my sister-in-law,
of course!
Who has long been
kind and righteous?
Today we meet,
we meet to express
our love.
In love,
we aren’t discouraged
by the distance;
we’d climb mountains
and cross rivers
to find our beloved.
“If you love someone,
just say it outright
Lest I’d waste years
wooing your affection.”
The song
“Looking for the Beloved,”
a folk tune from
Nghệ Tĩnh, will be
presented by singers
Thu Hiền and Hồng Kỳ.
Please enjoy.
Ducks eat and swim
in the Milky Way River
A golden tortoise
bites the root
of the benjamin tree
If you love someone,
just say it outright
Lest I’d waste years
wooing your affection.
Diving into Lam River
to find fresh water
Climbing up
Hồng Lĩnh Mountain to
gather a rose myrtle fruit
I love you, thus
I went looking for you.
Now that we meet,
it’s like Kim and Kiều
O sweetheart
If you love me,
love wholeheartedly
If you don’t,
let’s call it off for good
Don’t be like a rabbit
standing at
the meadow’s edges
He’d play with its
shadow when happy and
walk away when bored.
O beloved
That I love you,
keep it a secret
If you love me,
let no one know
For gossip may spread
unfavorably
Woe to you and
woe unto me even more.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
lovingly sent gifts
to the artists contributing
to the Aulacese
folk music programs
on Supreme Master
Television.
Singer Thu Hiền
expressed her
appreciation as follows:
I’m very surprised
upon receiving
Master Ching Hai’s gifts.
I’d like to wish
Master Ching Hai
good health and
convey my most
sincere gratefulness.
I’m also very happy
to be able to offer my
singing voice to friends
in Âu Lạc and abroad,
so that they may know
more about the Aulacese
culture and people.
Singer Phong Thủy,
who performed the song
“Following You Home,”
has participated
in previous folk music
programs on
Supreme Master Television.
She also received Master’s
gifts and well wishes.
Thank you for watching
our program today.
Please tune in
to Supreme Master
Television for more
folk music programs
in future broadcasts.
Coming up next
is Vegetarianism:
The Noble Way of Living,
after Noteworthy News.
Farewell for now.