by Bui Long, Tao Jun
HANOI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Talking about changes brought about by conscientiously practicing her country's time-honored codes of ethics and teachings, Trinh Thi Thao, a retired garment worker, always got excited.
"As a result, I've seen many positive changes in my lifestyle and quality of life," the local woman told Xinhua recently.
Wearing a bluish long dress with red lotuses embroidered on the front, the middle-aged Thao said, "I don't practice Buddhism, Catholicism, Cao Dai (a Vietnamese religion) or Hoa Hao (another Vietnamese religion), but I have followed a long-established codes of ethics for years."
She said she prayed for peace and health for everybody, although she does not follow any religion.
"When we were inexperienced and young, sometimes we overindulged in drinking pleasures, or made a living in ways which negatively affected other people or the environment," she said, adding that however, "we didn't realize it at the time."
Thao said that along with her husband, they have abstained from killing living beings, stealing, lying and drinking alcohol, some of the actions they formerly undertook only to face the consequences in the past, and now they have earned more respect from their neighbors.
Thao and many other middle-aged and elderly people in Hanoi's Dong Da urban district have set up a group, praying for peace of mind and good health for everyone. Sometimes they organized tours and did charity work along their journeys, she said.
Many Vietnamese people, especially the elderly and the middle-aged, stick to time-honored codes of ethics and teachings.
Nguyen Van Hieu, 60, who is from Hanoi's Thanh Tri rural district, said that after understanding and then practicing the codes of ethics and teachings, he has learned to keep material possessions to a minimum level, to let go of things that he cannot control, to shun social evils, and to do things not for himself, but for the whole community.
"I have become less emotional about mundane things, my mind has become calmer and calmer, and I have had more time to do bigger tasks for communities," Hieu said.
By thoroughly understanding long-established codes of ethics and teachings, more and more Vietnamese people are focusing on nurturing virtues and opting for principled lifestyles which have brought about a higher quality of life to not only them but also their communities.
