Introduction of
Dust Along the Path
by Vinh, Hao
This is the translated version of a creative non-fiction, its original Vietnamese title being Bui Duong, which describes how the image of a teenaged Buddhist novice monk falls in love to an innocent young girl, even as he is determined to walk the path to enlightenment and self-liberation. The story of gentle emotional entanglement between the youngsters of two different worlds is woven into the fabric of the agonizingly confusing social scene of South Vietnam after 1975 when the country came to be governed by North Vietnamese communists.
The work also reveals what the South endured under the new regime, endured though not always in resigned acceptance: excessive control of people's movement, even within the same province; suffocating oppression of age-old religious practices; and stultification of intellectual growth and creative artistic activities; not to mention deprivation of the familiar means of personal livelihood. More interestingly, it subtly captures the resilient spirit of South Vietnamese people in face of adverse changed circumstances, and offers insights into the historical tradition of engaged Buddhism which informs Buddhist philosophy, Buddhist training and practice in Vietnam.
The world constructed in the novel is drawn largely from the experiences of its author, Vinh Hao, who, as a teenager before 1975, joined Buddhist monastic life, and who lived through the post-'75 transitional period in his hometown of Nha Trang. His first work, a collection of short stories entitled Me, Que Huong va Nuoc Mat (Mother, Motherland, and Tears) was published in 1989 in California, to wide acclaim. This was followed by three other short story collections, six novels including Bui Duong, a book of poems and two of essays. Vinh Hao currently lives in Southern California and continues to engage in creative writing.