Talking to Buddha

One of the things I find most fascinating about living abroad is learning about how different cultures interpret religion and faith. Here in Taiwan the two major religions are Taoism and Buddhism and they each have their own versions of what that means. In my three years in Taipei I have witnessed many a parade where the deity being celebrated is driven around the city while people light fire crackers (more like noise crackers), play music, chant, pray, and even dance on stripper poles while proceeding to a temple to finish their rituals. I kid you not, stripper poles on pick up trucks and ladies dancing on them celebrating of their faith. But I think that's the key, they celebrate faith instead of it being an austere scary almost hidden thing, the people in Taiwan are happy to dance to Shakira in the middle of a temple and invite others to dance along.

There is also a big culture of fortune telling and talking to higher powers through mediums. This weekend I had one such experience. My housekeeper or "ammah" (which loosely translates to "grandmother"), who not only keeps my house organized, but has also taken it upon herself to make sure I'm ok and able to take care of myself (she checks my fridge to make sure it's stocked and if it's not reprimands me for not eating well, I also sometimes get freshly baked cookies) invited me and a friend of mine to accompany her to her temple. She explained to me that the woman (or "sister") who runs the temple is a medium and Buddha speaks through her. My housekeeper told me of all the things that Buddha had told others, some good, some not so good, but all supposedly came true. So of course I, who according to my ammah must have been Buddhist in a past life because I do not eat meat and I have a collection of Buddhist inspired artifacts in my house, needed to talk to Buddha. She (the particular Buddha I would speak to is female) would help me find my way, or at least be able to answer my questions (should I have any).

But what does one wear when speaking to Buddha? I thought of my Catholic upbringing and the "appropriate" attire needed to go to certain church functions. Would Buddha require the same formality? Then I thought of the parades, the stripper poles, and the ladies rocking out "Ojos Asi" and figured maybe things would be a little more relaxed. Fortunately (or unfortunately), I had Pilates class directly before my appointment with Buddha, so my attire was pretty much chosen for me. Off I went in my work out clothes (although I will admit that I tried to find the nicest and newest workout outfit I had).

We arrived in a small alley not too far from the Catholic church that I (sometimes) attend and got out of the car. We then proceeded to enter what I've come to call a "living room temple." You see them all over Taiwan and, just as my nomenclature for them would suggest, they look like someone has taken their living room and turned into a shrine or temple for them to worship. Prior to my visit with Buddha I thought these living room temples were personal spaces, a place for a family to worship at home. As it turns out, I was wrong. While these are living rooms and people do live in the houses they are part of, the temples are open for prayer and meditation. I don't think you can necessarily just walk off the street and into one of these temples, but they are certainly places where community members will gather and share.

Turns out my ammah is one of the senior members of this particular temple and had even been the person in charge while the sister and her husband had been in the US visiting their daughter. As a result we were quickly greeting by the sister and her husband. The sister is a small woman (about 4'10") with an easy smile and charismatic confidence, traits that no doubt come in handy when talking on behalf of Buddha. The Buddha, I was told, is a "Guanyin Buddha" or a compassionate Buddha, she is also a she. We awkwardly stand there for a minute with the sister smiling at us and talking to us in mandarin that is being translated by my ammah. The pleasantries are exactly what you would expect from a first meeting of total strangers and quickly give way to offers of food and drink before we get started. My friend and I awkwardly accept some watermelon but are eager to start.

Soon it is time. We are told by my ammah that we need to step outside and light four pieces of incense. Once the incense is lit we are told to stand at the entry way facing the street, introduce ourselves, and  share our intentions for our visit to the earth god. This is done by praying or muttering under ones breath. My ammah also says a prayer which she says will only help smooth things along. Once this is done, one piece of incense if left at the entry way, in its own incense receptacle. We then step inside (taking our shoes off first) and place the remaining three pieces of incense in a burner in front the Buddha herself, while still thinking about what you want answered.

Then we sit. The sister puts on a couple of prayer beads (one is a necklace, the other a bracelet) and smiles. She prays and lights more incense. This time the incense is powder and she lays it in a burner in an almost yin yang pattern. We sit in silence and watch. I'm fascinated by the attention to detail of every step, this is clearly something she does often. My ammah says I must light more incense, 15 pieces to be exact. Once those are lit, I hand them to the sister. She proceed to make a circle of smoke (by this time my allergy to incense is really making my eye water) and I'm asked to stand in the middle. The sister's face changes. Her eyes become squinty and her demeanor is even more peaceful. She asks me for my name, age, and chinese zodiac animal. She tilts her head to the side and asks me what my question is.

I'm at a loss. I don't really know what to ask and say as much, asking Buddha to tell me whatever she thinks I need to know. She says my yuen/yin (sp?) is strongest at home. I laugh and ask "where is home?" trying to explain that as a "global nomad" that term is a bit of a misnomer for me. She smiles again and says I know where my true home is, surrounded by people who are more like me.  My ammah translates and quickly asks when I might meet someone special (my ammah thinks this is very important). I shrug my shoulders and the sister/Buddha smiles, goes "hmmm" and says I need to learn to let people in (she's probably right). She goes on to tell me about more about love lost and future opportunities (I'll let you know if they pan out).

My conversation with Buddha concludes with her telling me to keep living my life they way I have so far. She says I will probably not stop moving anytime soon, but should I heed her advice I will meet someone who will be willing to travel with me. She says I am a good person (sometimes to a fault) and I should continue this way. And then we're done. I'm asked to step outside the circle and my friend steps in. She has her own conversation, followed by ammah. The whole process takes about an hour as the incense burns low. My eyes continue to water the whole time but I'm in awe of the whole experience. Soon the sister reaches her hand to the sky and my ammah explains that "Buddha is going up now." With that the sister turns around and smiles at us once more.

We have more watermelon and some tea before departing. My friend and I are each given a mango from the offering table. Everyone is mulling over and processing what has just been shared. There is a sense of complicity among us all as we get in the car to leave.

As I write this, I'm not sure I believe that I actually talked to Buddha but it was certainly one of the more interesting and fascinating cultural experiences I've had in Taiwan. I also plan on going back.