Buddhist Temple

 This morning we went to the Buddhist Temple. These are the monks who live here. Those who have shaved heads live here for life. There are several monks who "work part-time" they don't have shaved heads and they mostly help and serve as volunteers or tour guides. There are hundreds of people here either touring or worshipping at any given time. These pictures aren't particularly in order--it's too difficult to arrange them correctly on this laptop.

 They have some large Koi ponds. A staple in Chinese gardens. These are huge fish. The mouth on this one is about as big as the palm of my hand. People feed them by hand.

 Saturday morning worshippers. Relaxing on a bench before walking home. We followed some of these women through the temple. Each Buddhist idol will help with specific issues, there were several here for mercy, protection, fertility, and wisdom. Alice is a practicing Buddhist. She shared several experiences where she has prayed for strength and guidance or healing. She also shared with us that her grandmother is very religious and gets up every morning at 5AM to light incense and recite her prayers.

 I loved this dragon. Lots of coins. You need to leave a coin for the monks when you say a prayer.

 This is the relaxing Buddha. Leaving passionfruits, oranges and grapefruits for the idol is very common. I've been to temples like this before, but I've never been to one where the worshipping was so serious. People were lined up to kneel and pray. They have an inner section of the temple where there is a Jade Buddha. This is the most powerful Buddha, but you must pay extra to visit it. This was the only area that was mostly filled with tourists.

 Hand feeding the Koi fish.

 I loved these prayer ribbons tied to the bells. You ring the bells when you walk by--it reminded me of the prayer spinners in Beijing. They don't have those at this temple. I asked Alice if she knew of the Dali Lama--she didn't even know who he was--guess that Chinese censorship is pretty tight.

 This is the most active area of the temple grounds. You gather the incense and light it then pray and bow while you turn around to the different Buddhas in this area. The smoke was so thick you couldn't see across the courtyard. This is also the area where the monks come out and sing to the people. They sang a song about how the world was created and how life will continue after death. It was really interesting to speak with Alice about the similarities in our beliefs.

 There were several areas where the walls were lined with these individual boxes of golden Buddhas. You pay a fee and they will put your name on the little sign below the Buddha. When you visit the temple you can pray to your own Buddha statue.

 

 Above: The most lucky Buddha. If you rub the belly you will be prosperous. If you rub the bowl in his hand you will have something else (cannot remember) and if you rub the baby on his shoulder you will have increased fertility. Alice said that this is the one that you should buy for your home.

A family gathers together to pray with incense.
There is a real sense that this is a holy place. I obviously have a different Christian perspective--I also think that it is odd that from Alice's view she doesn't feel that China has any restrictions on religious affiliation. She said that you can worship however you want and that the government doesn't care. As a Westerner, I wonder if she will ever know of her limitations. I wonder how it would change this country.