After getting some much needed sleep after arriving in Taipei I set out to eat and explore Lung-shan Temple (Longshan). A friend in the Ramadasa Ashram was kind enough to show me to a small vegetarian restaurant. I noticed from walking around in my immediate neighborhood that (at least in this area) the Taiwanese are much more health conscious than we are in America. I saw an abundance of health food stores, and it goes on to the point where many (about 50% of the people I saw) people wear surgical masks when walking around to not spread or be affected by germs. At the health food restaurant I got Shenkeng Tofu Hot Pot. The dish was Shenkeng Tofu with mushrooms I had never seen before, strange sprouts, egg noodles, cabbage etc. While eating it I couldn't help but think of all the things the strange mushrooms looked like and I decided your imagination can be a dangerous thing while trying new food. I was definitely thankful my friend had taught me how to say "I am a vegetarian" (Or Chet Tsu - Completely the wrong way to spell it, but the way I pronounce it).
After finishing my Hot Pot I found the nearest MRT station and rode to the Longshan Temple stop. When I got off the metro I followed signs for Longshan Temple and was sent through an underground shopping complex. Near the temple they sold all kinds of precious stones and crafts. I explored the market and found a section that was partitioned off from the rest with beautiful artwork hung up around the borders. The prices ranged from 10,000-100,000 NTD ($300-$3,000 USD), but the pieces were very well done originals. I tried to find information about the artist but was unable to pin down the source of these paintings.
After leaving the market I came to Longshan temple. The temple was a huge complex with broad gated entryway. Within the temple was beautiful waterfalls and coy ponds with fountains. I found the crowd at the temple to be very interesting. Most of the people looked the same as the first 50 people you would see on the street. There wasn't an over prevalence of religious garb, or healthy and holistic looking individuals. They were just......people. The atmosphere was quite beautiful. As soon as I entered the temple I smelled incense quite heavily and soon realized why. Part of the ritual at the temple was each individual bought a couple sticks of incense and lit them on an assigned trough.
After lighting the incense patrons walked through the temple to different braziers lit with bigger flames. At these braziers they circle and held the incense over their heads. There were many of these stations with one central altar with Buddha on it in the temple. The crowd I saw there ranged from families, to the elderly, to a girl's sports team coming for good fortune, to a couple trendy-teens. The temple's pathway was a full circuit around the perimeter of the temple that people walked with their incense as it burned out. Upon reaching the end there was a more centralized area to pray. After sending my own prayer I headed back to the Ashram to nap in preparation for New Year's Eve at Taipei 101.
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