Update on June 9

The children here in China are adorable.  They want to come and explore us ‘white folk’ with great intensity and openness.  They are willing to show us their smiles and their acceptance, and love to stare at us.  While other people in China also love to stare at us, I honestly do not mind it when the children do.  Their unbridled curiosity is a reminder to look at the world like we used to, as children who did not have pre-conceived notions or ideas, as children who were willing to accept others and have fun with them, without wondering why they were different or what they were up to.  Today we met a little boy in the park whose mother let us take pictures of him, and he was full of wonder and delight at us, and the world around him.  He had big smiles for one of the members of the group who was taking his picture, and in the pictures shown below he is contentedly eating a sucker and staring at the ground, needing no other distractions.  It is a comfort to know that little kids, no matter where they are, are still little kids.

 

The rain subsided some this morning as we drove about an hour outside of the city to another Buddhist temple, one with a lot more history then the one we had visited previously.  This temple was set in the mountains, and though the sky was still cloudy and smoggy, the view was absolutely spectacular.  The temple had a very modest look and feel, and a calming presence to it.  It still had the three gates that one had to walk through and abandon all earthly attachments, but the gates were much closer together and decorated in quite a different fashion then the other temple. There was this older monk who seemed to take a shine on us.  He took pictures of us in front of the pagoda, patiently stood and waited while all of us who wanted to got our picture taken with him, and then even took the time to show us around his humble home.  He had very little, but seemed so happy and content in his life.  I envied him in this, because in North America we have so much, and yet always yearn and strive for more.  For bigger televisions and nicer cars and more stuff.  He didn’t seem to need all of that stuff to keep him happy; he had his temple, his prayer beads, his faith and his time to abandon worldly ideals and goods.  He had it all. Melanie Willerth

Today we went to the Xiangji Temple which is a Buddhist temple.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We got to walk through and explore a little bit and got to look into the buildings where Buddha and other gods were.  A few of the gods we say today were at the Taoist temple we visited yesterday; it was interesting to see the crossover between the different religions.  I enjoy seeing how different religions can work together and complement each other.  We got to meet a Buddhist monk today and he took our picture in front of a pagoda and then took individual pictures with us.  He was extremely nice and even invited us into his house where he sleeps.  In his house he had a poster with a female Buddha on it which symbolized fertility due to the babies in the poster.  I had never seen a female Buddha or known about female Buddha’s before so that was a very pleasant surprise!  As we were leaving he said that all of us have Buddha’s inside of us!  I had a very good experience at this temple today, my favourite being the monk!

 

Today we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda but stayed in the square to watch a water show!  It was beautiful to see the water shooting up in time with music that was playing, it would be even nicer to see with lights!  A few of us had an interesting experience regarding what we believed to be pick pocketers.  While we were watching the show a man came and stood next to Mel and checked out her camera and purse and inched his way closer to her until she finally stared him down and he went away!  Next we watched another man scoping people out by looking at their bags and back pockets.  It was a situation I had never been in before and I didn’t know how to feel or what to do! Sarah R. Sandall

Happy Birthday Tyler!!!! Just though I would throw that in there because it is my friend’s birthday back home and since I have no access to North American Facebook server I would put in on here because he also attends the college!

Today was way dryer then yesterday was and the rain finally subsided so it was just a little cool outside definitely was sweater weather today. Our tour today was rather short because the sites we went to see were a lot closer to Xi’an than the last few places we visited. Our first stop was the Xiangji Buddhist temple which was absolutely amazing and I really enjoyed it. I even got to take a picture with one of the monks who also showed us his place of residence at the temple. This monk was the epitome of everything I though a Buddhist monk would be. Although he was a monk he still had a sense of humor and laughed with us when something funny would happen and it was nice to see that even though he was devout he still had some sense of humanity left in him which is what I think the original Buddha would of wanted his followers to do since he preached a healthy way of life and to live in the moment. This monk was dressed in simple clothing like I pictured he would be and his residence at the temple was also very simple, I learned something from him today. Here in China they have used Bell Towers and Drum Towers for centuries, the bell is used to signal that morning has arrived and is always facing east so it aligns with the rising sun. The drum tower is used to announce that the day is over and always facing west so it is aligned with the setting sun. I also learned that there is a female version of Buddha although I cant remember her name I know what they pray to her for, it is fertility I seen the picture of her in the monks residence and I had to ask and was told that is what she represents especially for females over the years.

After we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the square that surrounds it, although we did not get the chance to go inside the pagoda because most of us including me, are on a fixed budget while we are here. We did have to chance though to check out this amazing water fountain that played along with music made a really cool show and I really enjoyed and I hope that I get the chance to catch the evening performance because it has lights to go along with it. Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a slack day we have a lecture in the morning and then that afternoon/evening after I have skyped everyone at home a few of the girls and myself are going to a huge mall and back to Muslim street to do some more shopping!

Jessica L. Hansen

The Buddhist temple was one of the most rewarding trips of my travels so far. Walking in all I could think was “now this is what I was expecting!” There was a sense of calm and serenity from the first step inside. A feeling of giving and openness was apparent through the monks that wandered the monastery. One smiling fellow even offered to take a picture of all of us with my camera to commemorate our visit. After the group photo he showed us his home. While humble, it was neat, tidy and conveyed a sense of spiritual comfort. On his wall he even had a picture of the female Buddha.

Afterwards we mauled over the reasons why he would have such a poster above his bed and a few options offered were perhaps he was praying to her for a loved ones fertility or maybe as simply as it was a gift. The fact there is a female figure featured prominently in Buddhist doctrine fulfills a need towards female worshipers that I find lacking in many religions. By giving the women something to identify with I can see how social cohesion could be easier to achieve.  I find the Buddhist religion fascinating. The rituals associated with it are beautiful. We watched as a fellow visitor lit some incense and put it in a beautiful incense holder while saying a prayer. For what he prayed I do not know, but the imagery was lovely.

After the temple we headed to the Wild Goose Pagoda square. There was the most amazing water show that I have ever seen. The massive line of water spouts that would shoot out of the ground in time with the music stretched at least the span of a block. It was fascinating the way the music was played, one Western song then a Chinese one. The flipping back and forth was an interesting commentary on the influence of the west here. Unfortunately at this point I started to really feel unwell and Chai took me back to the hotel. The cab ride was an interesting event. It is one thing to dart in and out of traffic in a gigantic bus, but another entirely to be the small car on the road! While a little nerve racking we made it in one piece so I could get back to my hotel room and get some much needed rest.

Victoria Trarback