On Sunday/Monday I experienced my longest ever nonstop flight: 13 hours! We soared unhindered the entire expanse of the wide Pacific.
As we neared Taipei Airport, as luck would have it, my first sight of Taipei was the world's tallest building - Taipei 101
Our China Airlines 747's landing at Taipei Airport went very smoothly and once there I set about waiting the 90 minutes for my connecting flight to 高雄 [Gāoxióng]. Thank goodness the China Airlines ground people had change for my NT 100 bill, so that I was able to get a cold drink from a vending machine. It was so late that all the airport eateries were long since closed.
After a short flight along the west coast of Taiwan watching far below a constellation of urban lights, I arrived at Gaoxiong Airport. There Ven. Miao Shang awaited me despite the very late hour. We almost immediately established a rapport, because she also speaks Spanish and Portuguese having served close to a score of years in South America - Brazil and Paraguay.
What has really floored me so far has been the pure kindness of the monastics and layfolk with whom I've had contact. They are truly bringing the Dharma alive in their day-to-day lives. As a result, an observer can keenly discern their practice of abjuring greed, anger and delusion. It's like being in a heaven here at Fó Guāng Shān. I can't help but imagine what a peace-filled, tranquil world this would be, were all humanity spiritually ready to eshew the three poisons and adopt an attitude of generosity, compassion and attentiveness. Their living example has touched me deeply.
They've initially provided me with very nice lodging in an air-conditioned room with bath and TV (that shows hours and hours of Mandarin-language programming). Given the extreme heat and humidity, I literally cherish the air conditioning. After the month-long Humanistic Monastic Retreat begins, I'll be assigned other accomodations. However, I've been assured that that lodging will also be air conditioned. Hurray!
Beyond the heat and humidity, another foe of mine - the eternal mosquito - is ubiquitous here (although the grounds are actually not as infested as I'd imagined given the climate prime for such beasties). Nonetheless, I'd come prepared because memories of my summer Japanese temple stay two years ago were seared into my mind. I brought preparation to repel mosquitos from clothing, to repel them from the skin as well as medications to soothe the skin after an attack. I've already had occasion to use the medications a couple of times - which as stated is not as much as I'd once feared.
It's lychee season here in southern Taiwan and no sooner had I arrived than I was taught the proper way to peel and extract the tasty fruit from its leathery, crimson skin.
佛光山 [Fó Guāng Shān] is a monastery plus. There are a multitude of museums and libraries. Most of the latter quite logically mostly have books in Mandarin, but there is an English-language library, as well. Seeing all those volumes of Buddhist literature, most of which is not available in English translation, only serves to strengthen my resolve to learn Chinese. I want to have access to these books!
Because of the culture in which I find myself as well as the climate, I am very much enjoying wearing light, extremely loose-fitting, traditional Chinese garments. They are so comfortable! Were it acceptable I would wear this clothing 24/7!
This morning I fought off the remnants of jet-lag sleepiness in order to attend the morning chanting service at the Main Shrine. We chanted the Heart Sutra slowly in the early, cool summer dawn - a joy. Afterwards, we filed into the huge dining room (cāntīng) with a horizon-to-horizon view of the city Gāoxióng spread over the flat plain below us. There we ate a formal monastic breakfast. I'd had such formal meals before in Japanese Zen temples. During those meals, I'd felt intimidated by the stern demeanor of the head monks. I'd been afraid to make a wrong move for fear of their disapproval. Here I was happy to note at this morning's meal, the Chinese formal-meal tradition reflects the middle way. They aren't as lax as some of my Buddhist compatriots can be yet they were not as excessively stern as had been my experience with the forementioned Japanese.
I also was pleased to see both a Korean as well as a Sri Lankan monastic breakfasting with us. It seems 佛光山 [Fó Guāng Shān] promotes unity among Buddhists of all traditions. Admirable.
Just before I sat down to write this blog entry, I had occasion to say a hearty Omituofo , the common greeting here, to a monastic from Africa. The serendipity was not lost on me of a white American greeting a black African in Buddhist Chinese. As Louis Armstrong once sang, "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!"
