Pilgrimage made to Jintai Temple

IT WAS at noon when our tour group arrived at Jintai Temple, Huangyang Avenue in Doumen District, on a Saturday last month. Parking in the crowded lot right below the lowest temple containing a Buddha Maitreya golden statue, or Laughing Buddha or Happy Buddha, was difficult, as cars kept coming and going late in the morning. “It must be a good occasion for worship,” an elderly woman muttered.
Pilgrims of all ages worshipped at various locations and in different ways despite the burning sun. At a bell tower to the right of The Hall of Mahavira (Daxiongbaodian), a daily Buddhist recitation was going on. Daxiong means a powerful warrior with dauntless courage, an honorable title for Sakyamuni. Buddhist melody was heard as Monks in bright-yellow cassocks queued to pay respect to Buddha chanting as with one voice. Outside the bell tower were lines of worshippers in black robes, who kowtowed in time with the lection. Some standers-by in the back joined the worshippers by bowing with palms together.
Worshippers bought joss sticks, some as long and thick as spears, at a side shop where Buddhist music CDs, beads, Guanyin image necklaces and other Buddhist souvenirs are sold, and burned in a flaming iron tower on either side of the stone stairs leading to The Hall of Mahavira. Different joss sticks bear different wishes, ranging from “high position and great wealth,” “safety and health,” “auspiciousness and luck” to “longevity,” and at different prices, the shorter and thinner the cheaper.
Long joss sticks are burned for the most important and desired wishes; for example, for the cure of a severe disease of a family member or the success of one’s child in the annual national college entrance examination.
“It is very efficacious,” said a young woman who had prayed for the cure of her daughter’s Mediterranean anemia. “The most important (thing) is you must be very sincere,” she added. “Believe it, then it works,” another Buddhist disciple asserted.
In the scorching heat, an aged woman stood in front of The Hall of Mahavira with a handful of burning joss sticks held near her forehead. She prayed a long time before inserting them in the ashes of a huge iron censer containing both large and small joss sticks.
In fact, it was just the beginning of a long process. One has to step into The Hall of Mahavira to pray closer. In the centre of the hall is a statue of Sakyamuni Bodhisattva, founder of Buddhism who had preached for 45 years before dying at age 80. The golden statue with 18 arhats on both sides is said to be able to grant whatever is requested.
“You’re supposed to cross the high threshold on the left of the gate with your left foot and step on the ground lightly when you get in or out of the hall,” according to Ms Liao, a disciple who works at a local middle school. “You need to kneel down on the cushion and kowtow three times after you have prayed to show your piety and sincerity,” she continued.
People insert some 1- to 10-yuan notes through the gap of a wooden case before or after they pray. The money is usually used to upgrade the facilities or expand the temple, a monk said.
Some worshippers donate 10 to 50 yuan to a monk at the entrance of the hall who writes down their names. “Both are OK as long as the donors are sincere,” the disciple noted.
In the back of The Hall of Mahavira at a higher level is the Dharma Sutra Hall, where the golden statue of Avalokitesvara bodhisattva, or Guanyin, sits on a lotus in the centre of the hall. There is a kettle-sized censer on the table of the altar with smoke wreathing upward. If you circle your necklace or something you always carry over the smoke nine times, the necklace or object will be endowed with supernatural power to bless and protect you from any harm, Liao explained. Or, a blessing ritual performed by the abbot of the temple for the object will have the same power, she said.
In addition, when a worshipper prays for blessings from Guanyin, he or she should breathe out, though in a very low voice, the name, job, home address or related information of the person he wishes to be blessed, Liao pointed out.
However, the prayer will not work if the pious men and women do no philanthropy in daily life, as what really counts in bettering your fate is what and how you give, she stressed.
Walls of the former Jintai Temple are located nearby. It once housed ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty who survived the Yamen Sea Battle, Xinhui. The last commander of the Song fleet, Zhang Shijie, died in an attempt to escort Emperor Bing of Song and other Imperial officials as they fled the Mongols in the battle while the Emperor and his Prime Minister Lu Xiufu committed suicide following their defeat. Zhang Shijie’s tomb is on the mountain.
Jintai Temple was rebuilt on the side of the 583m Huangyang Mountain in the early 1990s. The temple is surrounded by lush green plants and it overlooks the tranquil green water in a reservoir, forming an impressive view for pilgrims. It is one of the Top 20 Buddhist Temples in Guangdong.
When we got down the hill, we saw a western woman and her young Chinese companion head for the temple on foot in the burning sun without holding parasols or wearing head covers. Was that a sign of extreme piety?
One can take the 609 bus at Xiangzhou Bus Depot to the Jintai Temple bus stop on Huangyang Avenue, Doumen, and it takes about 15 minutes to walk to the temple.