Today is my last day in Beijing. As a present for me, the sky was a beautiful blue and there was hardly any smog in sight. At last, fresh air! Of course, this was all due to the fact that the wind was blowing, and therefore, it is -6 Celcius outside. We were going to go to two temples today, but the frigidness deterred us, and we just went to see the Lamas.
The temple-goers in Japan have a routine: Walk up, throw a coin, ring the bell, pray, and bow slightly.
The temple-goers in China have a different routine: Walk up, look, place the incense sticks on the tray, kneel, and bow five times touching the ground.
I have seen this bowing style at every Buddhist temple I've been to here. And yet, in everyday life the Chinese do not bow. I find myself bobbing at people as I am accustomed to do in Japan, but no one else does it.
Back to the Lamas. The Tibetan form of Buddhism is scattered all across China, and one of the largest and most prominent temples of one of their sects is in Beijing. I have never seen so many esoteric and tantric deities gathered in one place. It was beautiful. Also, they have a statue of Maitreya Buddha that is in the Guiness World Book of Records for being 18 meters tall and carved out of a single piece of wood. It was amazing.
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