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Published: December 7th 2009
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The cold snap is over in Jiujiang, for now. I've settled in to the rhythm of teaching. It can be frustrating at times, but the key is to have patience and a good sense of humor. Its also a good idea to keep the students on their toes, and have some self-decripcating jokes on hand. These are useful for checking comprehension.
Yesterday I took a trip with some friends (
si Zhonggouten he yide Meigouren ) to the Donglin Temple. My American friend has been here three years and speaks good Chinese. Accompaning us were Yange, a bartender and photographer, his girlfriend, and two teacher coleagues.
I have replaced my sadhu baba beard with a more converative goatee. The effect is striking. One of my students said "Our teacher has gotten younger!" The taxi-van driver who took us to the temple guessed that I was 17. This in a culture that values age- he was not trying to flatter me in order to get a good tip (which are practically unheard of here anyway).
Without the beard, I met more attention from young women, but less automatic respect from the population at large. I find that its best
Let me in!
Maybe 17 year old are not allowed? to look older in traditional cultures, although perhaps my opinion will change over the coming decades.
The Donglin ("East Woods") temple is set in the beautiful Jiangxi countryside about 20 kilometers out of Jiujiang. Verdant, forested hills, not unlike the countrside west of the Cascades in southern Washington or Oregon. It was great to smell some fragrant fresh air.
Donglinsi has a long and venerable history. It was founded as a monestary during the Tang Dynasty exactly 1600 trips of the earth around the sun before the year of my birth. The philosopher responsible for the establishment of the "Pure Land" sect of Buddhism, Huiyuan, established a monestary at the foot of Lu Shan. His sect of Buddhism believes that Nirvana is increasingly difficult to achieve, and so we must rely upon the intervention of the Amithaba Buddha. This Buddha has gained unlimited power of the course of countless incarnations through good deeds and enlightened teaching.
The Donglinsi has been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, although some foundations and pillars have remained intact through the turmoil of wars and rebellions. The community of monks and nuns have suffered through the Taiping Rebellion, the warlord era that
followed the collpase of the Empire, and the Cultural Revolution. I find it heartening to see that some of the spiritual traditions of ancient China have survived to the present day. It would be a shame to see the Chinese fully embrace the soul-destroying materialism that has all but conquered the Western mind.
The temple itself is very beautiful. There are four gates, each leading to a couryard. In the first opening, there is an ancient and venerable tree. The second courtyard features a pond graced with a statue of Quan Lin, the feminine diety of compassion. She teaches us to be beneficent to all life. Many birds alighted the uncarved rocks which surround here, and there were a family of turtles at her feet. I pointed to these and said "wangba" to a Chinese friend. She laughed and said "yes, and they are very good to eat". I pointed out that these particular wangba are protected by Quan Lin, and therefore off limits. My coleague reluctantly agreed.
The innermost gate leads to the residence of the monks and nuns. We had to be very quiet, but were rewarded with beautiful chanting.
Behind the main complex is
a steep hill topped by a pagoda. All pagodas have an odd number of stories. The one at Donglinsi has nine, my lucky number. After ascending the stairs, we were rewarded with a beautiful view.
I was struck by the similarities of this
si and the
mandirs of India. One must not take photos of the inner idol, or turn one's back on it. Holy statues are to be always circumvented clockwise. And, to the consternation of my friends, the consumption of tobacco is prohibited. As Yange explained in Chinese the history and theology of the temple, I recognized many words from India- "bodhitsava", "shanti", "dharma". Indeed, the Buddha was a Yinduren.
On the way out I met an older Chinese woman who struck up a conversation in English. As it turns out, she lived many years in San Francisco. Next week, she is going to visit the States, particularly a Buddhist Temple- in Renton, just south of Seattle! Small world indeed.
I've been told that the monks and nuns serve a (free) vegetarian feast on the first and fifteenth of every month. Looks like I will be back to Donglinsi before too
Quan Lin
No eating the turtles or small birds. long!
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Aunt Pat
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Brendan, your pictures are amazing! What an amazing journey.