Đại Xuân Pagoda, Quảng Nam 2026: Gifts for Villagers in the Remote Hills

On 20 March 2026 the Compassionate Hands Foundation visited Đại Xuân Pagoda in the hills of Quảng Nam, a remote site it has kept serving for years without a break.

On 20 March 2026 the Compassionate Hands Foundation (Hội Từ Thiện Bàn Tay Nhân Ái) reached Đại Xuân Pagoda, a small hilltop temple deep in the mountains of Quảng Nam province, to give gifts to local villagers as part of its 2026 Vietnam charity trip. The team had spent about seven hours coming from Phú Yên over mountain passes and fields, rested briefly for the night, and set out again early.

The road in

The road to the pagoda is narrow and large vehicles cannot enter, so the group changed to smaller cars and wound slowly through the bends between green mountains and white clouds. At the end of the road the pagoda appeared on a small hill facing the river and mountains. Its sign has faded over the years, but the pagoda is still a place of quiet support for the people who live nearby.

Villagers were already seated under the pagoda roof, waiting. This is a deep, remote area. The narrator says some people rowed a small boat across the river alone, just to receive a gift and meet people who still remembered them.

A site the foundation has kept for years

Before the distribution, a representative of the foundation spoke to the villagers. He said the economy in the United States is sometimes hard and the foundation's funds are sometimes short, but it has kept this site going until today without a break.

Even though the economy in America is sometimes hard, even though our funds are sometimes short, we have kept this pagoda, this place, going until today, without interruption.

Foundation representative, speaking to the villagers

The reason, he said, is that the place is so far and deep that few charity groups come. The area had also just been through a major natural disaster, and the foundation had tried to help with relief. He encouraged villagers to make time to come to the pagoda to study and practice, since a calmer mind lightens everyday worries, while a little material shortage can be overcome. He added that the foundation's gifts only help for a short time, and easing daily hardship in the long run depends on each person's own effort.

The hands of compassion

A member speaking for the group also shared a few words. He said it is not easy for monks, nuns and lay Buddhists to travel from the other side of the world, gathering tịnh tài (cash offerings) and goods to come back and visit villagers. In his view the gift is only the outer form, and the heart behind it matters more.

This hand, I think, is the hand of Mother Quán Thế Âm extended and made visible in this ordinary body, to share the hardships that come to our fellow countrymen.

Group representative

He closed by wishing the villagers a peaceful, healthy new year, and said that when giving and receiving are both met with gratitude, both sides complete their merit.

Handing out gifts in the Quảng Nam sun

The members took their places and the distribution began. The Quảng Nam sun was harsh, but as the narrator puts it, no one looked up to complain. Members rested hands on each other's shoulders, carried bags together and guided elderly people step by step. Villagers received cooking oil, blankets and other items, put them into sacks and lifted them onto their shoulders. Many smiled after receiving their gifts, pressed their palms together in thanks and bowed their heads slightly. Children looked around with wide eyes.

The next stop

Đại Xuân closed, but the trip went on. The next stop was Đà Nẵng. The narrator says everyone boarded quickly and did not look back for long, because looking back might make them unwilling to leave. In each person's mind stayed the small pagoda on the hill, the green river and the boats rowed across it since early morning.