Amidst the flow of commerce found in downtown Taipei lies the serene beauty that is Longshan Temple. When you walk into the temple you forget about the cars, mopeds and people that fill the streets. You lose track of the watch, cell phone, car, or clothes that you really wish you owned and bask in the peaceful tranquility. The joss sticks (incense) overload your olfaction, and one cannot help but marvel in the timeless beauty that this place holds. You will not be alone in these feeling of peace and calm, the temple is filled with people there to honor their loved and lost. The ancestors long gone, and future generations that this world still hopes to raise and nurture. It was nice to see the incongruous problems of todays world left at the gate so to speak.
The temple was built in 1738 and the stones in its entrance were originally ballast on ships that ferried immigrants from Fujian province across the Taiwan Straits. The temple is multidenominational, like many in Taiwan. Its main deity is Guanyin but the temple enshrines 165 other deities.
I find it fascinating that so many can gather and worship many gods under one roof in a place like this with out fear or retribution. Perhaps we in the west can take a page or two out of the book of these gods who so willingly allow all to visit their temple and practice their own type of prayer and honorary celebration. After my temple experience I just enjoyed the various markets in the near area. I got a small snack and found a quite place to enjoy my book The Art of Happiness, talk about a prefect book to suit the day. I am again and again reminded that we must all be thankful for what we have in life. Let us not dwell on what we lust after. In the end pleasure gained from items or status do not make us truly happy. True happiness is born of mind and body, it is a connectedness with ourselves and others... both at home and abroad. We may be all from different places on the planet, but we are all of one human race, and that in itself makes us all family.
6 comments:
Ahhh, Jake as a mellow fellow. Nice post, your words and observations have a calming effect on me and yet stimulating too...is that how it works? Peace begins within and is shared through open hearted exchange and tolerance for other views? Why hasn't one of the current slate of politicos adopted this platform? -Dad
Jake-great to see you reflecting on the important things in life. I found your comments inspirational and am proud to see that you get it! Too bad the rest of the world hasn't seen the light,so to speak.-Mom
Wow! Jake,
Profound sentiments channeled through the voice of youth. It gives me hope for the future. I hope you find a way to spread this wisdom across the whole world.
thank you for sharing a picture of quan yin - she is one of my favorite goddesses.
Hey Gao Jian,
If you go to Longshan temple at night sometime, you will see alot of cool/crazy stuff. The area around Longshan temple is Taipei's right light district, so there is alot of interesting traditional counterculture like shots of snake blood around that area.
Longshan temple is pretty amazing!
Ou laoshi
Hi Jake,
Thanks for the pictures of the Dragons. They always make me happy.
I know what you mean about the wide acceptance. I've always marveled at the way some cultures can accept without fear. I guess it comes down to the aspect of self. Those who accept without fear are truly enlightened because they know who they are and they know the path they walk is the one they should be on at that time. They are also very comfortable with themselves as a whole.
Do you feel that this kind of experience is opening you up to further acceptance or do you find that it emphasizes your own shortcomings or a little of both?
I find that as happy as I am with what I am doing on any given day, I find that there is always some aspect of my self that could be better, be more accepting. As diverse as my relatives are, I find that my acceptance hasn't become total.
For those who are curious, I have (in separate families on my father's side) Afro-American, Japanese and Native American Indian cousins, not to mention the Hungarian and Jewish lineage on the other. While I learned tolerance growing up, total acceptance means ignoring that which we see in the media, which is easier said than done in some cases, and letting go of the stereotypes with which we were brought up to see in the media everyday.
Which brings us full circle, those cultures raised with belief in tolerance and total acceptance are more likely to demonstrate it towards others.
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