The event was held on March 12 in Ho Chi Minh City, featuring the Longevity Workshop titled ‘From Loving Therapy to Loving Kindness’. The gathering served as a platform to discuss how nurturing compassion can lead to sustainable prosperity.
GG Corporation chairperson Luu Bao Huong joined a panel of experts to explore the internal ‘heart-mind’ as a foundation for modern life, asserting that inner mindfulness is the ultimate secret for navigating an era dominated by AI.
Nguyen Phuong Lam, a well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist who has held senior leadership roles at international financial institutions, argued that as technology advances, the capacity for ‘loving kindness’ or ‘internal capital’ becomes the defining human advantage.
Nguyen Phuong Lam shared his thoughts on the role of compassion in today’s volatile world
“Sustainable success should not be measured solely by personal financial figures. When kindness and trust, the most precious assets in business and social relationships, converge, ‘common fortune naturally follows’,” Lam said.
Drawing on his leadership in finance, Lam posited that this internal cultivation allows individuals to release their inner selves and focus on social sharing activities with high communal significance.
This sentiment was echoed by acclaimed stage director Pham Hoang Nam, who described compassion as a comprehensive value system comprising intellect, knowledge, and relationship networks rather than mere therapy.
Nam outlined his framework for integrative thinking and the power of the word ‘and’, where the heart-mind grows by holding seemingly opposing values together rather than selecting one over the other.
He claimed to apply this principle to his own creative work, noting that his profession is never a solitary act but involves people at every stage, requiring a balance of intellect and empathy.
Similarly, Emmy-winning director Johnny Burke provided a visual narrative for these philosophical lessons through his newly released documentary ‘Loving Karma’, the sequel to ‘Tashi and the Monk’, which premiered at the event.
Burke argued that individuals cannot exist as isolated entities and that internal transformation possesses the power to move and change entire communities, depicting benevolence as the essential foundation for a high-quality life.
“The publication of ‘The Universal Within’ transforms simple dialogues into profound reflections on how to truly live a flourishing life rather than merely existing,” he said.
Pham Hoang Nam (second from right) and Johny Burke (second from left) discussed the most important lessons from the book
These perspectives mirror the structure of the book itself, which distils lessons from eight influential Vietnamese figures across music, literature, medicine, and business. Designed as a series of stories that encourage readers to apply ancient wisdom to contemporary challenges, the book approaches the concept of heart-mind as a ‘universal interior’ where thoughts, memories, and values converge to guide long-term decisions.
The resonance between the book, the films, and the speakers’ arguments lies in their shared emphasis on ‘Living Heritage’ and the preservation of Vietnamese values for future generations. Both the literary and cinematic works argue that the heart-mind acts as a compass, ensuring that knowledge and responsibility meet to create lasting value for the nation.
‘The Universal Within’ is currently available as an e-book on Amazon, with a Vietnamese print edition scheduled for release through Fahasa on April 1. All proceeds from the sales will be donated to Living Heritage Foundation to support education, health, and social initiatives throughout the country.
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Ebook, new hope to local publishing sector
Ebooks are revitalising the local publishing sector even as traditional publishing undergoes a drastic decline in sales revenue due to COVID-19 impacts.
Digital publishing gains stronger foothold
The number of traditional publications released last year in Vietnam fell by 4.4 per cent to slightly more than 31,200 titles with nearly 461 million copies, down 14.6 per cent on-year.
