I am all about the church, temple, synagogue and even a mosque...and upon occasion a tepee too! What is it that has us believe what we do and what we don't? I am all about the question and I can't visit enough of all of the above so on to the next one.....beep beep! How the front wheel didn't raise up and pop a wheelie???? Uhmmmmmm.LAMA TEMPLE AKA YONGHE TEMPLE
This spectacular temple complex was constructed during the 12th century (1694) and converted into a Tibetan Lamasery in 1744. The five main halls are stylistic of many periods, with the first hall housing the very plump laughing buddha- flanked by Four Heavenly Kings.
Next Hall, Falun- hall of the Wheel of Law. Pleep had a blast turning the wheel and hopping up in the Dali Lama's throne. So what is all this "philosophy? religion about? Traditionally the three strands in Chinese religion and philosophy are Confucianism, Daosim ad Buddhism. Ah, what an eclectical approach to religion...allowing the three to coexist often within a single temple. The Place of Peace and Harmony- Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism- one of the largest and most important Tibetan temples in the world.. Originally, the official residence of the eunuchs. Oh yes, I read all about those pesky eunuchs "borrowing" from their Emperor and burning the place down to cover their track.
The highlight, however is in the towering Wanfu Pavilion- a vast 55 ft high statue of Maitreya (the future Buddha) carved from a single block of sandalwood- Pleeps fav Buddha.He keeps asking about the eunuchs...well Pleep it's kinda like this...
Much praying....in an Atheist country?? More flowers and incense burning. Buddhism, which promises salvation to anyone who seeks it, is followed by many. Through deeds and devotion believers gain merit and maintain their connections bringing them closer to Nivrvana, With a mission of enlightening others....is that a missionary? Hard for Boca to understand "religion" in this Communist country? A little enlightenment on the way?
So how did this Temple survive during the Communist reign?? Ah, very cleaver monks put signs on Buddha- "Hail Chairman Mao-the best! " The temple was absolutely packed with many bringing their offerings (huge fake flowers, incense and some moola). In this basically Atheist culture why are so many "worshiping" Buddha? Religion or philosophy? or both? Is religion making a come back in China? From the looks of it, it appears that all of their ancestral history and suppositions are still prevalent and in some places thriving. Now that they are free to "visit" the temples...although no weddings or funerals happening there. Our guide, Oscar, is getting married this fall. The grooms family pays for the wedding and basically a civil service with a reception following at a restaurant. Similar drill for the funerals...although they still "pray" for relatives? What about the reincarnation? Pleep wants to come back as an elephant.
To Buddhists, death is not the end of life- it is the end of the body, but our spirit will remain and attach to a new body and new life. Well there you go. Thinking if I were a Buddhist, please attach me to a Bo Derek body (love that she is a conservative Republican of course). So just in case....
BUTONG
Behind this thoroughly modern city is old Beijing-the alleyways (hutongs) reveal the charm of old Beijing and life under strict communist lifestyle. The hutongs weave across much of central Beijing, where many of the old time residents still live, although many have been demolished to make space for all of the new skyscrapers. Typically running east to west, hutongs, are created by the walls of courtyard houses (siheyuans). Formerly the homes of well to do and party officials-taken over by the state-now many have reverted back to private ownership. We took our Rickshaw ride- quite a sight getting Boca and Bubba into that seat made for formerly small Chinese people-Yeow!
We rode around the alleyways, stopped off at the local market housed inside a hutong. A cornucopia of Chinese delights....more of the unusual or you could say what we are not use to. This was not the tourist market. This was the real deal in the hood. And I am sure I will be eating some of it for lunch. Fresh Fresh Fresh. I don't think they have ever heard of frozen food. Or a microwave for that matter. Lot's of vegies and very little meat. Without the FDA they continue to live with all kinds of food open in the air...no plastic wrap. Nobody keeling over. Go figure.
Enough, looking at the food, time to chow down on properly purchased and prepared food. Over to Mr. Wong's casa. Bubs, he bought his food at the same market....so what's the diff? His family has owned the hutong for over 50 years...but he stays most of the time in his high rise apartment. Mr. Wong has "opened" his family home for us touristas. You got that right Wong-$80 for a lunch for two- sign me up for that duty. I must say it was absolutely delicious Chinese fare. Originally these courtyard houses were set up around an open area forming a square-hence courtyard concept. As space became an issue in Beijing most of the space was lost to building more structures to house the people. So long Mr. Wong. Welcome to the Revolution! Back to the Rickshaw...no tip is big enough. Isn't there a law in China for weight limitation???
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
Completed during the Ming dynasty (1420), the Temple of Heaven is one of the largest temple complexes in China- and a balance of Chinese architecture and symbolism. It was here that the Emperor would make scarifies and pray to heaven and his ancestors at the winter solstice. As the Son of Heaven, the emperor could intercede without the gods, represented by their spirit tablets, on half of this people and pray for a good harvest. But off limits to the common folk during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The large park surrounding the temple attracts many locals for their morning practice of Tai Ji Quan- (Tai Chi). Practiced daily by millions of Chinese- supreme ultimate fist- is a slow moving form of kung fu. Developed over a thousand years ago by Daoists recluses and monks, tai chi, is based on the movements of birds and animals and the concept of Yin and Yang.. Pleep had a lot of fun doing the tai chi with the retirees. He thought his Mom and Dad should practice this back home in Boca too. Enough of that Zumba!
The Imperial Vault of Heaven store the spirit tablets of the gods. Red is certainly the imperial color. The dragon and phoenix motifs inside and out represent the emperor and empress. The roofs of the hall are supported on 28 highly-decorative pillars. At the center the four huge columns, known as Dragon Well pillars, represent the seasons. Pleep is insisting we paint his room red the min. we get home.
The splendid circular caisson ceiling has a gilded dragon and phoenix at its center. By our birth year it was determined Bubba was Year of the Pig and Boca was Year of the Dragon....how profound. We watched the Muslim folks doing their ethnic dances....yes there is a large section of the country that is Muslim.
Off to the airport for evening flight to Xian. Ziannnnn?
