Fengyuan Shrine - Fengyuan, Taiwan - January 22nd, 2014

   

       Some of the best adventures are the impromptu ones, especially when they are to such fantastic places as this Shrine near a cemetery in Fengyuan. I've always been fascinated by cemeteries, like churches and Temples that are old there is so much history to them. You have generations of lives in a single place.  

     My friend and coworker brought us here (myself and my other friend and colleague Adam) because I told him about the blog. He described the ceremonies that happen here, it is here where there are Tomb Sweeping ceremonies and many of the celebrations tied to the dead and honoring the ancestors.  

      It is this connection to the past that I wish was more prevalent in the west. I don't think that European traditions are very good at remembering the past or paying tribute to the ancestors in such a way that we remember where we came from. For many of us in the USA are pasts are lost in the changing of last names, knowledge that wasn't recorded or things that were lost. It is traditions like Tomb Sweeping and honoring of the past ancestors that I would like to carry on to whatever family I have in the future.

      This is a location that I plan on updating once I learn more about, since I can't find it anywhere online, even though you can see it from Fengyuan. It is high up on the mountain, though only reachable by a single road that as of a few months ago was blocked by a mudslide. I think that added to the adventure of being there. It was a mystical place and hidden treasure in an already quite amazing city. Our friend had showed around Fengyuan and I was very quick to fall in love with it.

         While there we talked about Taiwan and how we were getting used to being here (and enjoying our time here while teaching) as well as talking about home, the natural world and our experiences. It was a powerful experience.

    We also got to experience the silence. Night and the mind, one of the most peaceful places to be. A quiet, empty shrine with the stars in the sky and the lights in the cities below...these are the moments that add the magic and make life beautiful. 

The Wisconsin Gurdwara Shooting

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpNrYTy99of_X571eoB4_KrFQh25ZP-uhhljN8TK8gsgbciXU-kE7nsYnQXuhLpkyONDGIxNxdg1LzDu8Nj7jvDpCDv8yD-Pb2t5Qkp5VfIJI_oOJ174DRBrzfTWA_PGjXmF23nj1rBDo/s1600/velaacesa.jpg

        It's been a while since posting on the blog largely because I've been dealing with my reason for doing the blog in the first place (and reaffirming the initial reasons: the interactions with people, learning and discovery). I'm writing today about the shooting in Oak Hills, Wisconsin at the Sikh Gurdwara by a white supremacist.  

    For those who don't know much about the Sikh community here is my post from a while back:
http://thereligiousoutsider.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-babaji-redmond-wa-april-30th.html

    The Sikh community is one of the kindest and welcoming communities I've ever known.

      The reasons behind the shooting were fear and hatred of the Other. In this case Muslims, though I think for the guy the fact that the they weren't Muslims mattered very little. He was part of an organization that believed white supremacy, a philosophy based not only in fear and hatred of the other, but a belief that superiority exists in something as superficial as the color of ones skin.

     One thing I think needs to be done is to approach this kind of terrorism the way we approach any other kind. There is a reason that there haven't been any successful terror attacks from radical Muslims, the same should apply to any other group that targets people because of their ethnicity and beliefs and believes that murder is right. The government should do monitoring and action before the evil occurs to prevent it in the first place.

    This is not the only thing that should be done though, education is also key. People don't tend to fear what they understand. That's one thing where we as people as well as our education system can do better. How exactly, like my idea above should be done, I'm not sure. I think whatever is done should be based on whatever is most just and true.

    The philosophy of any sort of supremacy of race is built on a lie. It falls when held up to the light of the truth. It's broken base cannot be supported and it crumbles. This is the importance of education, people who choose to be good can change when they (white supremacists, fundamentalists who believe in killing for their ideology) realize just how flawed and wrong the ideology is.

   I shall end with a quote from the first Guru of Sikhism which is relevant on the actions we take:

"In the whole wide world that I see around, Nothing can be without good actions."

(Guru I, Japji)

     May we remember the bad that is done in the world and create good.
   

White Egret Isle Park and Buddhist Temple - February 26th, 2012

The next area we would discover is a place we would find by accident. White Egret Park is park off the old road (Where the Confucian Temple is and where we were going to later). This area is a special place away from the tourists. It's the area where many of the older folks come to dance, do Tai Chi, play cards and play and sing music.

The area is pretty big and Randy and I weren't able to see all of it. But what we did see was the Gratitude Pagoda (a Pagoda is a tower at this Pagoda there was an area covered in red charms and ribbons for luck where an older man was playing a Jinghu (a single stringed traditional Chinese instrument). It was beautiful, like most of the area itself.

The park is peaceful, but also has a stark contrast, especially when one reaches the Buddhist Temple on the grounds.

First the the thing that was jarring. Right next to this old Buddhist Temple was a area for kids to win prizes and go on rides. It was like any small amusement park in the States.

The old people sat outside the Temple and some of the couples walked through into the different areas where there were the names of the did with some small rooms with Guan Yin in (one where she was bald, another where she had a red cape) in these rooms where the names of those who had passed along the walls. This place had tiny areas of peace where a person could connect with those who had passed on.

 The final area of the Temple was a large area was an area of gold with three Buddhas bowing. This was the main ritual area and here I was able to be completely alone in great contrast to Linggue Temple where there were always folks at every area looking for donations. I donated here as I remembered and honored those who had died last year.