Hanoi was intent on ushering in a rigid socialist state. Privately owned land was confiscated, collectivisation of agriculture was introduced, and as the state took control of industry and trade, output dwindled. Anyone with remote connections with America was interned in a ‘re-education camp’, along with Buddhist monks, priests and intellectuals. Hundreds of thousands of people were sent to such camps.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the drying up of aid from there, collectivisation and central planning were abandoned, a market economy was embraced, agriculture and retail businesses were privatised but in keeping with socialist guidelines, and attempts were made to attract foreign investment. This change of policy has resulted in rapid economic growth.

Most Vietnamese are Mahayana Buddhists. There are small communities of Theravada Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims, and the country has the second largest Catholic congregation in Southeast Asia.

Until recently there was no news of what was happening regarding Krishnamurti in Vietnam, although some K books in Vietnamese were available in the USA. Last September, a 58-year-old retired schoolteacher signed the www.kinfonet.org guestbook. I started a correspondence with him and arranged to send him some books, videos and DVDs. Fortunately, they reached their destination safely, though we were told that some of the books sent from the USA by friends were confiscated as undesirable material.

Over time, a picture began to emerge of the past and present activities there regarding the work of Krishnamurti. On invitation, I decided to visit Vietnam in the company of two friends, one from Thailand and one from India. We were met at the airport and taken to a Buddhist Monastery for lunch and then launched straight into a discussion. There were about twenty participants and most of them were meeting each other for the first time. All the other meetings were held in different parks lest they be reported to the authorities! These Vietnamese were a passionate lot. They would get up to make their points strongly and forcefully. They reminded me of what I had heard about the way Buddhists used to debate in ancient times. All of them had studied the teachings extensively and had a very good grasp of the subtler points. It did look like the recent past had something to do with it. We spent one long week there and were kept busy every day, morning until late evening, discussing how to proceed with the activities around the teachings and engaging in dialogues. We also had fruitful meetings regarding their difficulties in translating some specific terms and phrases from English into Vietnamese.

Most of them were very simply dressed. Their ages ranged between 40 and 75 and they had varied backgrounds: a car mechanic, a barber, a computer programmer, several housewives, a monk and quite a number of former teachers who had apparently been through the ‘re-education camp’ and ended up working as farmers. Most of them spoke English to varying degrees and one woman, who spoke it fluently, acted as our translator. Most of them now live without a pension and rely for support on their families. A labourer earns about 25 dollars a month and a teacher in a government school about 60 dollars, with some perks. It was amazing to see that despite the poverty and the scars of war, these people had managed to retain a sense of humility, friendliness, kindness and hospitality.

Before 1975, a number of K books were available in French and English. There were also a few translations in Vietnamese, some done from the French and some from English. One famous translator, who had translated The First and Last Freedom, had invited K to Vietnam, but the Krishnamurti Foundation had declined the offer on account of the ongoing war.

After 1975, most foreign books were prevented from entering Vietnam. On our visit, it was most touching to see the way Krishnamurti’s books remained in circulation among friends. Some had been copied by hand with utmost care and in beautiful calligraphy. Some were cyclo styled copies that had been bound by hand. The more recent ones were photocopies. Many excerpts by Krishnamurti were also featured in a number of magazines and such excerpts were read and discussed at these meetings.

In Vietnam, all publications have to be approved by the government. Only recently have some K books come out in print. One is a hard-cover set of three books consisting of a compilation from various K books and also, unfortunately, containing part of Radha Sloss’s account. Another book that came out last year is a combination of the last Talks in both Saanen and India. All of them are translations by different people from the original English texts, and they have been published by the same press. No copyright or Foundation information is mentioned. Some of the people we talked to said that these translations have some mistakes and are heavy reading.

Of the three translators we met, two were former teachers and the third was a Buddhist monk. They had done their translations essentially for their own study and for their close friends, and showed their work to each other for feedback. Over the years they have revised their work as their understanding has deepened. Between the three of them they have translated over twenty titles that have not been commercially published. The Buddhist monk has printed and distributed 500 copies of his translations through the Buddhist Book¬shops. He said he had translated and distributed the books because many Buddhists can benefit greatly from reading K, just as he has done.

We explained in detail the role and responsibilities of the Foundations, what a K Committee is and what it can do to further the work. They would very much like to be considered as representing K in Vietnam and will be contacting the KFT about this. We also gave them some ideas on an action plan that they could implement in their own time. The main points of this plan concern coordination of the translations and publications, setting up lending and reference libraries in the provinces similar to the one in Ho Chi Minh City, video subtitling and designing their own website.

We proposed to them that since there is presently no complete and authentic translation in the market, it would be a good idea to bring out some books that cover all aspects of the teachings, perhaps starting with such titles as The First and Last Freedom, Freedom from the Known and The Urgency of Change.

As far as their outward activities are concerned, these friends in Vietnam have been rather isolated from what has been happening in the other Foundations and Committees. Not having attended any public gatherings or organised dialogues, they have developed a unique way of viewing and exploring the questions. The group is a very serious one and they have been working against all odds, financial and otherwise, and every effort should be made to support them in every way possible.