[Last modified: October, 14 2024 07:23 PM]
I am now going to turn my own experience at a Mahayana Buddhist Temple in London into a auto-ethnography (just an attempt!).
Fo Guang Shan is a temple located in central-north London, not far from the busy commercial streets of Chinatown. It is a temple set up by Master Hsing Yun. And traditional Chinese Mahayana Buddhism is practiced by the masters and monks there. This is a place where many ethnically Chinese Buddhists visit for religious activities and to meet there community. At the same time, it is also a centre for non-Chinese Buddhists and everyone.
On the day of 12 October 2024, I was there at the Temple for some pray. That was not my first going to the temple. But since it is a busy place with many visitors, the master working at the front dest greeted me and asked if it was my first time being there. As they would give some basic information for first-time-comers. But my presence in the room cut off the previous conversation between the master and a lady around my age (in her twenties), who presumably came for the first time. The master was asking about her background and was complimenting her about the university she goes to. It is these small talks that allow the visitors to get to feel a little more connected with the place and that allow the master to introduce them to the activities that happen in that month, with all of them written on the board.
Since I was a usual visitor and needed no information, I went up to the first floor, where the statues of the Buddhas are located. On stairs I saw the volunteering lady changing flowers in the vase. There were a couple of vases with fresh flowers used to decorate the staircase. She was the person who introduced me to the first floor when I first time arrived. Inside the room, there were two young women kneeling down towards the Buddha. They seemed to be praying and contemplating, for a long time. Interestingly, after I finished my prays and was about to leave the temple, I saw another young lady holding a lit-up incense with her eyes open, facing the statue of the Buddha next to the front gate. She stood still and there seemed to be a lot to say in her eyes. She seemed tranquil, hopeful and intrigued. This certainly is a place for many people, perhaps just like me, to reflect, contemplate and make good wishes as well as devotion.