If you are a visitor to China either as an working expat, teaching English or just travelling through, there are a few ‘must –sees’: The Great Wall, Xi’An’s Terra Cotta Soldiers, the vibrant life of Shanghai to name a few. However more visitors are taking the time to come to a temple stay in one of the Chinese Buddhist Temples.
Chinese Buddhism is one of the great cultural heritages of China. Buddhism spread from India to China in around the first century CE with monks travelling the Silk Road into China. The history, art, architecture and literature of Chinese Buddhism are unique. China is one of the only places of the world where Buddhism has been influenced by and absorbed characteristics of the other two main philosophies/religions of China, Taoism and Confucianism and where these three live side by side in complete peace and harmony.
But staying in a temple? Buddhism has also captured the interest of many westerners and Chinese Buddhism still remains a bit of a mystery due to the predominance of literature in English about Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. At Guang Jue Temple at Zaoxi we have welcomed many curious tourists looking for something different off the main tourist track. Most have been pleasantly surprised during their temple stay feeling refreshed and going away with a new outlook on life. Others have come to study Mindfulness Training or mindfulness meditation in the Pure Land Tradition or spent some days doing Naikan and have come away with new skills and awareness to face the challenges that life so often throws at us.
Guang Jue Temple is situated just out of a small rural town called Zaoxi in Zhejiang Province. It is about two and a half hours by bus from Shanghai. It is nestled at the foot of bamboo forested mountains not far from the world famous Tianmushan National Park. It is a small temple on Chinese standards but does not have the flow and crowd of tourists. It rests in its serenity and welcomes the weary traveller to quiet and stillness – a space to discover or rediscover yourself. In this temple stay you may just chill out and do your own thing or join us in our daily routine of meditation and mindfulness training. Awaken to the sound of sparrows and Qigong in the courtyard and the gentle tones of the monks chanting the morning liturgy. You are even welcome to join in the liturgy. Though it is chanted in Chinese the chant seems to lift you to another level transcending the mundane and impermanent.
Temple stay accommodation is simple but comfortable. The meals are vegetarian but plentiful. Some temple stayers like to travel up to the mountain villages and we will take you to a small village for morning or afternoon tea and an opportunity to experience rural Chinese farming life.
An American man on a temple stay with said: “I came here because Wall Street crashed and I needed to chill out. I leave with a new vision of life a new simplicity. I have been changed.” I think that is worth it. Contact us at http://www.taishendo.com
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