The House Taoist Temple - Yangzhou, China - March 11th, 2012

During the adventure around the Old District, Randy and I would stumble upon an old house that had been converted into a Temple. I can't remember the man who owned the house years ago, but the House Temple itself is what really stands out. I believe it was a Taoist Temple, which I will explain more later in the entry.

The Temple was very much a mixture of Taoism and Buddhism. Upon the wall of the entrance was the Taoist symbol of the Yin and Yang, as well as the colors of Taoism...being orange and yellow. Most of the statues were bearded and men as well, which leads me to believe if it wasn't an outright Taoist Temple than it was the main influence of the place. Usually the only bearded Buddhist Bodhisattvas that are seen are of the Three Kingdoms warrior Guan Yu or local honored heroes...which may have been a part of the Temple considering the overlap between Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism here in China. I think it is more likely to be a Temple to the Immortals though, since all the men had very long beards which is a Taoist Temple trait.

There was an area for candles and where incense could be placed where the incense had burned down (you'll find this in any Temple in China be it Taoist, Buddhist or Confucian)and there were only two buildings. The first with the bearded deity at the entrance and at the back a large building where there were three different deities, all bearded men.

The Temple was small and had no entrance fee...it really hit back the better part of religion in serving the common good and community. It was here I saw it being practiced when a middle aged women came with incense to honor one of the deities. The abbot or monk present (bearded, another reason for why it might have been a Taoist Temple, Buddhist Monks don't have facial hair). The monk was pretty impatient though when helping the woman which gave a bit of a bad vibe since so much of Taoism is balance (it's like seeing an angry Buddhist Monk, though Taoists are much more comfortable with emotions and the randomness of them in my reading of the texts (Tao Te Qing, Writings of Chuang Tzu). His actions towards her where in contrast to the place which had older folks walking through it who were at peace as outside people bought tourist items and food. It was like an Oasis in a desert and I don't think I'll forget the visit to that tiny Temple anytime soon.