Church?

I have never really entered a Christian or Catholic Church. I remember I only visited some grand cathedral in New-York or England where it’s intentionally for tourist to visit. However, I often visited the special Taiwanese Daoist+ Buddhist temple. I think it’s in Taiwanese culture that we said we believe in Buddha, but in reality we did most of our ceremony like Daoism. Anyway, I visit temples during holidays such as Chinese New Year or before important events such as SAT tests.

        The first thing I notice when I enter the temple is this strong distinct incense smell. With the smell, the whole temple turns sacred as if I have entered into a new world. You will soon realized that you are surrounded by people who have one or two incense stick in their hands who tries to bypass you to get in front of the Buddha or Daoist god statue. Often time people will accidentally burn each other with their incense. The statue is often placed inside glass container to prevent thieves and shined with bright light to show off its golden brightness. It seems like the statue is emitting light itself as if it’s alive. Kids like us are told to follow our elders, mimicking procedures such as closing our palms, praying to the statue, saying wishes and expressing gratitude to the god. Being not a really pious kid, I often time joke around during praying that I play with the incense smoke and mimic my grandparents saying “ A Mi Tofu”  I always get scold by my dad, but I guess he isn’t really that pious either because he is just trying to follow rules of the temple.

        I imagined being a monk for the temple must be extremely hard. You have to get your head shaved and live in a simple life. You will be extremely pious to the teaching of Buddha because Buddha will be watching and protecting you at any time.