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| Entrance gate to the Lama Temple |
B U D D H I S M I N K O R E A was one of my favorite parts of this study abroad experience. Buddhism in China, by comparison, seemed completely different. Today was our introduction to Chinese Buddhism's workings via the
Lama Temple in northern Beijing.
The first thing I noticed as we approached the temple were the surrounding small shops and vendors that appeared to cater towards it. Many sold bundles of incense in various shapes and sizes, as well as foods and other items meant to be given as offerings. Shops and vendors were a very common site throughout Beijing-- free enterprise certainly flourished to the point that it was sometimes hard to get somewhere without being heckled with offers-- but to see people cashing in outside a spiritual site seemed strange to me.
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| Incense burners inside the Lama Temple |
The main attraction inside the temple itself seemed to be the massive incense burners, pictured above. People would bring in their newly-purchased offerings, burn them, and in many cases leave thereafter. This gave the temple a more fleeting (and more fiery) character-- people were coming and going much more frequently than they had seemed to in Korea. People didn't seem to spend as much time in the main dharma hall, either, except to drop off more offerings of incense and other goods. I was startled to see how large a role consumption played in the brief glimpse I got of life in the temple.
