It's been a long time since our last update, so bear with us as this is a long update with some interesting things that have been going on in our lives the past couple months.
In March, Shannon's good friend Kent and his wife Zenobia came for a visit. Shannon had actually visited them in Taiwan over a January weekend to attend their wedding. He experienced some traditional Chinese wedding traditions such as the wedding tea ceremony. Zenobia wore a beautiful traditional red dress and served tea to Kent's parents. Shannon was surprised to find out afterwards that this simple tradition signified that Kent and Zenobia were now a married couple! There were also some other fun events during that wedding weekend that Shannon will hopefully have time to share in another post. We loved spending time with them and being their first stop on their international honeymoon.
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| at a flower stall, paper offering bags on the left |
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| Lots of people out and about that morning |
Once we started the uphill hike to the monastery, we immediately noticed the golden Arhan statues that lined both sides of the path. The statues all had seemingly different poses and facial expressions. At the top of the monastery we watched people bowing with incense sticks in front of a large temple. From what I have read, people do this to purify themselves and they receive greater merit as they bow to Buddha in respect.
The inside of the main temple housed thousands of tiny Buddha statues which is where the monastery gets its name. There are actually closer to 13,000 Buddhas that surround the walls from top to bottom. I didn't take any pictures since it's not allowed inside the temple. It looked like each of them had a candle lit next to it, and I couldn't imagine how much work it would take to keep them all lit. We didn't go inside the temple, but I read later on that the body of the founder and constructor of the temple is actually embalmed, covered in gold, and displayed in a glass case inside.
In the courtyard area outside of the temple, there were other small buildings that housed people's ashes. There were rows and rows of small golden doors, and some of the doors that were open revealed a photograph of the deceased person. Outside of the small buildings on a table people had brought offerings and gifts for their ancestors such as fruit and drinks. In one of the rooms there was even a tray with an entire meal of rice, soup, and other small dishes. Outside these buildings in a couple different areas were large fire pits where the paper offerings were burned for the ancestors.
Something that intrigued me was how this festival demonstrated the mixed beliefs of Buddhism and Chinese folk religion. Buddhists believe in re-incarnation, so that when a person dies they are reborn as someone or something else. Yet, during this festival time people were coming to the monastery to honor and worship their ancestors by bringing them items for the afterlife even though they wouldn't be there to receive them. What I gained from these contrasting beliefs was that the holiday seems to be a mix of culture, tradition, and religion, even if it doesn't all coincide with each other. I would love to have some more conversations with my Chinese friends about what they really believe and what holidays such as these mean to them. I only got to have brief conversation with one of my friends about the holiday and she said that they always celebrate on a different day because there are too many crowds on that day!
I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to visit the monastery even though it was crowded because it was such an interesting cultural experience that we probably wouldn't have seen had we gone any other time of year. Also, when we go to religious places of worship such as this temple, it helps me to learn more about the beliefs of other people here in Hong Kong. And honestly, it makes me all the more thankful and grateful that the love and gift of salvation from Jesus is free and not something I've ever had to earn based on how good I am.
I've read a lot more about Buddhism since coming here because it is part of the culture here. I see Buddha statues in all different places, whether it be on a hike, outside of a restaurant, or on Hong Kong money. One thing I have learned is that Buddhism is supposed to be more a way of living rather than a religion, and that Buddha himself did not claim to be a God. But purely from an outside perspective, I have such a hard time really grasping and understanding whether or not that's really true for some followers of Buddhism. We build statues all the time to respect and honor important figures. But here, when I see Buddha statues, it looks more like a figure to worship than simply to respect. If I simply respected a person and his philosophies, why would there be a need to make over 10,000 statues of them and put them all in one place? I can understand one statue, I don't get ten thousand. However, these are merely my observations. I realize that what I say is one sided since I am a Christian, and I only know what I have seen and read. I also have learned that Buddhism differs from place to place.
As for the day to day stuff, Shannon has been very busy with school as the year begins to wrap up. We have also been busy looking for a place to move into once school ends in June. We actually just signed a lease yesterday morning, and will post more about the whole rental experience in another post. I will say that renting a place to live in Hong Kong can be really different from the States. Three weeks seems to be the general time frame for how much time people need to find a place to live, which seems extremely short to me! However, landlords expect people to move quickly and may even ask a renter to pay extra if they want them to hold the place for them less than a month in advance. We will be moving into a place that an ICS teacher and her family is moving out of. We're excited and can't believe the school year is quickly coming to a close. School ends in the middle of June and we will be moving out shortly thereafter.
Thanks for being patient with us if you've been wondering why it's taken us so long to update our blog. It has been a busy season for us but that's no excuse. We haven't forgotten you and as always, we appreciate your prayers! Thanks for taking the time to read this post and for thinking of us.
Prayer Requests and Praises:
We thank God for...
- a new home that we'll be moving into in less than a month and the generosity of people that have donated some furniture to us
- a great school year. Shannon has really enjoyed being back in the classroom and loves teaching at ICS
- so many opportunities God has given us to reach out and build relationships with others. This year I have met new friends on the train, bus, on the way to school, etc. God is good. Sometimes relying solely on public transportation can be frustrating, but I see how much of a blessing it actually is! :)
- the opportunity we have to see my brother and his family this summer is Korea! We are looking forward to seeing them as well as my grandmother and other family members, especially since Shannon and the kids have never met them.
- you. Thank you for being a blessing to us with your words of encouragement and prayers
Please pray...
- for our new friends, that we would show them who Jesus is by loving them as He does
- for Shannon as he finishes the school year
- for our move, that it would go smoothly and that we would be a city on a hill to those that live around us in our new neighborhood
- as we have had new service opportunities come up to serve the community. I found out about a great organization called Hope of the City, and during the summer will be able to participate in serving low income families in Sham Shui Po. I will be teaching a four week English course to elementary school students and would appreciate your prayers as I plan the curriculum and for the students, that I would be a blessing to them.
I tend to post lots of pictures of nature and hiking on my facebook, and thought I would leave this post with a hike I got to do with friends in May. It's by far the most beautiful hike I've been on. It amazes me when I see the beauty of what God has created. I can't do anything but stare in awe and want to keep singing, "Over the mountains and the sea, your river runs with love for me..." :)
Love,
SCJA
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| Gold Arhan Statues |
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| Side of the temple |
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| One of the few standing statues we saw |
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| Main entrance to the temple |
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| Leaving offerings and food for ancestors |
In the courtyard area outside of the temple, there were other small buildings that housed people's ashes. There were rows and rows of small golden doors, and some of the doors that were open revealed a photograph of the deceased person. Outside of the small buildings on a table people had brought offerings and gifts for their ancestors such as fruit and drinks. In one of the rooms there was even a tray with an entire meal of rice, soup, and other small dishes. Outside these buildings in a couple different areas were large fire pits where the paper offerings were burned for the ancestors.
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| Smoke from the main temple's fire pit |
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| Offerings being burned |
Something that intrigued me was how this festival demonstrated the mixed beliefs of Buddhism and Chinese folk religion. Buddhists believe in re-incarnation, so that when a person dies they are reborn as someone or something else. Yet, during this festival time people were coming to the monastery to honor and worship their ancestors by bringing them items for the afterlife even though they wouldn't be there to receive them. What I gained from these contrasting beliefs was that the holiday seems to be a mix of culture, tradition, and religion, even if it doesn't all coincide with each other. I would love to have some more conversations with my Chinese friends about what they really believe and what holidays such as these mean to them. I only got to have brief conversation with one of my friends about the holiday and she said that they always celebrate on a different day because there are too many crowds on that day!
 |
| The pagoda has golden Buddhas at each level in every window |
I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to visit the monastery even though it was crowded because it was such an interesting cultural experience that we probably wouldn't have seen had we gone any other time of year. Also, when we go to religious places of worship such as this temple, it helps me to learn more about the beliefs of other people here in Hong Kong. And honestly, it makes me all the more thankful and grateful that the love and gift of salvation from Jesus is free and not something I've ever had to earn based on how good I am.
I've read a lot more about Buddhism since coming here because it is part of the culture here. I see Buddha statues in all different places, whether it be on a hike, outside of a restaurant, or on Hong Kong money. One thing I have learned is that Buddhism is supposed to be more a way of living rather than a religion, and that Buddha himself did not claim to be a God. But purely from an outside perspective, I have such a hard time really grasping and understanding whether or not that's really true for some followers of Buddhism. We build statues all the time to respect and honor important figures. But here, when I see Buddha statues, it looks more like a figure to worship than simply to respect. If I simply respected a person and his philosophies, why would there be a need to make over 10,000 statues of them and put them all in one place? I can understand one statue, I don't get ten thousand. However, these are merely my observations. I realize that what I say is one sided since I am a Christian, and I only know what I have seen and read. I also have learned that Buddhism differs from place to place.
As for the day to day stuff, Shannon has been very busy with school as the year begins to wrap up. We have also been busy looking for a place to move into once school ends in June. We actually just signed a lease yesterday morning, and will post more about the whole rental experience in another post. I will say that renting a place to live in Hong Kong can be really different from the States. Three weeks seems to be the general time frame for how much time people need to find a place to live, which seems extremely short to me! However, landlords expect people to move quickly and may even ask a renter to pay extra if they want them to hold the place for them less than a month in advance. We will be moving into a place that an ICS teacher and her family is moving out of. We're excited and can't believe the school year is quickly coming to a close. School ends in the middle of June and we will be moving out shortly thereafter.
Thanks for being patient with us if you've been wondering why it's taken us so long to update our blog. It has been a busy season for us but that's no excuse. We haven't forgotten you and as always, we appreciate your prayers! Thanks for taking the time to read this post and for thinking of us.
Prayer Requests and Praises:
We thank God for...
- a new home that we'll be moving into in less than a month and the generosity of people that have donated some furniture to us
- a great school year. Shannon has really enjoyed being back in the classroom and loves teaching at ICS
- so many opportunities God has given us to reach out and build relationships with others. This year I have met new friends on the train, bus, on the way to school, etc. God is good. Sometimes relying solely on public transportation can be frustrating, but I see how much of a blessing it actually is! :)
- the opportunity we have to see my brother and his family this summer is Korea! We are looking forward to seeing them as well as my grandmother and other family members, especially since Shannon and the kids have never met them.
- you. Thank you for being a blessing to us with your words of encouragement and prayers
Please pray...
- for our new friends, that we would show them who Jesus is by loving them as He does
- for Shannon as he finishes the school year
- for our move, that it would go smoothly and that we would be a city on a hill to those that live around us in our new neighborhood
- as we have had new service opportunities come up to serve the community. I found out about a great organization called Hope of the City, and during the summer will be able to participate in serving low income families in Sham Shui Po. I will be teaching a four week English course to elementary school students and would appreciate your prayers as I plan the curriculum and for the students, that I would be a blessing to them.
I tend to post lots of pictures of nature and hiking on my facebook, and thought I would leave this post with a hike I got to do with friends in May. It's by far the most beautiful hike I've been on. It amazes me when I see the beauty of what God has created. I can't do anything but stare in awe and want to keep singing, "Over the mountains and the sea, your river runs with love for me..." :)
Love,
SCJA
1 comment:
Carol, the summer teaching program sounds really neat! I'll be praying for you!
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