Experience means tranquility

The busy streets of China chime with squeals of pedestrians as angry car horns pressure them out of the way. Subways bulge as travelers, businessmen, children and families make the immense population of China imaginable. And crowded sidewalks promise to teach the casual observer how to stop texting and walk!

You could almost liken Beijing to New York, where trusting your life to a taxi driver may label you “reckless” and eating the local fare may temporarily render your stomach out of commission. It is a rare and fleeting moment to stop and gather your thoughts and, if you take it, I’m certain the city would pass you by. The city and its people move with the chaos and thrive on the adrenaline it takes to keep up.

The intoxicated smells of sewer and subway, the vivid sounds of life in china and the thick air that engulfs it all can’t be experienced from the back of a tour bus. It is within one’s ability to get lost in the smells, sounds and smog, to question it and ask people for help that experience is born.

With everything that this city is, it is everything different from the guided, comfortable life I have always known. Chinese, and English have both become obsolete in the world outside of my hotel, which means communication is reduced to pointing, nodding or smiling. It takes immense amounts of work even to receive a meal worthy of my evolving chopstick skills, and yet yields intense appreciation. The range of human emotions that can be expressed through gestures is refreshing. Language can only bar so much before something breaks through and connects two beings from separate worlds, binding them as humans. In the end, language is the same words that just sound different.

In all its intensity, Beijing is little more than overwhelming at times and today’s adventure brought a slight balance to all the originality. Our first stop was the Lama Temple just out the Yonghegong subway station. A beautiful garden surrounds the inner gate of this several-layered Buddhist Temple. Although there are the expected ice cream and Olympic licensed stores in the beginning, past the gates lay several yards of temples filled with Buddhas. We grazed through the temples, sampling each ritual and smelling the incense that burned so delicately as an offering to each Buddha. The most impressive was a 60-food Buddha carved from a tree by monks, who still live there and can be seen walking amongst the grounds. It took the temple several years to acquire the money to buy the giant tree, another three to bring the tree from the forest to the temple and another few to carve the magnificent statue. While no photos were allowed, we did receive a CD supposedly of pictures from the temple. I’m hoping to use those.

We finally maneuvered the tiny, crowded streets to the Confucius Temple. Inside there were few visitors save some Western tourists and others leisurely absorbing the gardens and temples. While I’m not completely familiar with the practice of Confucianism, I know that this was one of the most peaceful places I have ever experienced. It was as if a bubble had formed over the centuries-old buildings and relics, preserving the tranquility that you would expect from a temple. As Americans we despise crowded areas, and surprisingly tend to veer from intense noise (especially since we are often the ones causing it). It was a sighing relief to hear nothing besides the beautiful “flute” that seemed to come from nowhere. It was hypnotizing and for the first time I felt my heart relax and my head ease. The tranquility issued in that bubble pulled me away from the exit, begging for just one more moment of solace.

A few of our friends opted for massages instead of the temples today. I don’t blame them, but I’m certain I gained more relaxation from the beauty and serenity of those temples than they did from an hour-long massage.

*Yes, I'm trying to add pictures. But by now, you know how that goes.

Until next time!

Ziajian
~Molly