Woke up with the alarm and couldn’t get up. Didn’t want to go to Mrs, Hsieh’s. I was extremely tired and needed more rest. I pulled myself out of bed and headed out for the metro by 8am. I made it to the ChungShan station by 8:30am where I met up with Mrs. Hsieh at Starbucks with my two bags of gifts for her to help me take back to US. All her neighbors were Taiwanese here for work. Mrs. Offered me breakfast and I had decided to accept tea and fresh grapes. She informed me the shuttle to the airport is 20 yuan and this is much better than what the hostel suggested which was to take a taxi for 150 to 200 yuan. I actually wanted to take the German hydro lift trains to the airport but my flight was too early and it would not be in operation then. Although she was very polite and a good friend of my mom’s and suggested to host me but it looked like it would of troubled her to host me. Glad I didn’t take her up on her I’ll host you if you needed to but glad you didn’t thing.
I decided to walk to Jade Buddha Monastery from her place. I knew it would take one plus hour. I ended up passing the airline office and talked to the agent. I bought fruits for yuan bananas and apples and pear. In case I ran out of money I figured I could just live off fruits.
While walking I felt the stagnant chi on my back and other places. I knew I had to walk to smooth out my energy. Since my meditation is weak, I have not been consistent in my practice. It has been more of a slow struggle but certainly effective through time.
Made it to Jade Buddha Monastery I stood in the main hall. I felt a light coolness in the air. It was a very familiar comfortable feel that consistently draws me near a monastery. I visited the old Jade Buddha image. It was pretty, a bit tilted forward. I asked the Buddha to help me see through my dears and not to be afraid in traveling in India via Bangkok and Nepal. I asked for continual guidance to the changes I would like to continue to make in my life.
I ate at the famous vegetarian restaurant in the monastery. They had DimSum and a lot of the dishes were sold out by the time I made it to the restaurant. I sat next to a Hungarian woman whose husband is here teaching business at a private school for 3 weeks. She said Eastern Europe is different not as wealthy as western but still very beautiful. We both had two things in common, time and digestion. We both had time so we both walk everywhere. Digestion isn’t that great so we are both very careful of what we eat.
After lunch I heard Dharma Instruments being played so I followed the sound. I saw services for the deceased being done in two halls. It’s a group of monks and another in red robe, usually an older monk in red. The chanting monks are easily distracted and some seemed a bit bored. I saw that dealing with energy of grief, death, and passing on is intense. So it is easy to loose focus and be drifting out of the body. In the Manjushri Hall there was a group of almost 10. The people just chatted away while the ceremony was being chanted as if they were not participants and as if the memorial service was not happening in front of them. It was such an odd sight. In the Earth Store Hall were two ladies, a mother and a daughter. They sat faithfully with their palms together quietly throughout the whole ceremony looking focused and attentive.
As I exited the Monastery I had this thought, “The method itself is solid and a sure thing. Just practice and walk the path, sooner or later, will reach the goal.”
