Baoying Adventure and Return to Linggue Temple - The pros and cons of Organized Religion

[Posted late because Cameron's girlfriend couldn't remember how to sign in to Blogger while Cameron's overseas.]

What an adventure today has been! It started with going around town with Randy (the other teacher from Washington State who I've become friends with) and going to KFC (which was a nice break from the usual but of course totally unhealthy) and visiting the classic Chinese park when we walked over to Linggue Temple.

Now for the interesting part. After walking for about fifteen minutes we came upon Linggue Temple, I had remembered correctly where it was! Once there we began walking around and taking in the silence and serenity of the open spaces that made up the Temple squares and walkways around each building that housed a Buddha, Bodhisattva or all of the above.

Most of the building were locked, except for two. We entered that one where a Golden Buddha was. It was here we learned the Chinese way of prayer at the temple full bow on the ground/mat with hands open palm upwards. We did this three times for luck and than rung the lucky gong three times for luck. During this time I talked to a young monk who was a teenager or younger. He was very kind and I told him about my study Buddhism in college. After the ringing and prayers we were asked to make a donation, I made of twenty-yuan and then recieved a booklet.

After we made our way to the back to the City God Temple area. This building is made of grey stone compared to the others that are painted yellow. A man who works at the Temple opened it and showed us around as well as giving us incense to burn to the local deity. After we were asked to make a fifty yuan donation. We got blessed necklaces and another booklet for it but it was there I realized once again the negative of so many organized religions and the disadvantage of organizations in general...

How many poor would be able to make that kind of donation to the Temple and local deity? How it goes is one who is well off is already in a better position to receive many more blessings of wealth, luck and success (the big three emphasis in regards to the supernatural in China). In old Catholicism and probably still in some corrupt parishes money does talk...someone who can give more is likely to be respected more and less likely to be questioned. The only way out of this for someone who is poor is to gain power in the Temple, Church or Institution itself. This I think is one of the greatest cons of organized faith in general (obviously not all faiths are guilty of it, but it does happen).

The pros can best be described in the times of silence bowing where extreme peace experienced, or in the sound of the gong that the monk, man or I rang...the sound can make one fully present in that moment and with it a release of all the anxiety from the day or past moments. There is a space here for people to remember those they've lost, to celebrate a birth or simply to reflect. It was made for people and it clearly shows this.

I plan on returning again and will write about those future visits. But this is what it was like my second time coming where I really had to time truly take it all in and notice the pros and cons present.