8/27/10 Longshan Temple

Anyone who knows me well knows that gone are my days of religious observance, but a visit to the largest temple in Taipei was in order. I don’t miss many things about church, but the smell of incense at Long Shan Temple was strong, thick and familiar; it reminded me of one of the things I missed. Having landed in Taiwan during “ghost month” the temple was full of the faithful offering prayers to the dead and making offerings.

Space explained a peculiar tradition to me. People would ask questions to their God and frame the question in a yes/no fashion. To receive an answer they cast two pieces of wood that are shaped like sections of orange towards the ground. The way they land provides the answer. Now that’s all well and good if you’re a believer, but the strange part comes next. If you don’t like the answer you receive you get a re-do; you can ask the question in a different way until you get the answer you want.

I imagine the questioning goes something like this:

(lonely middle-aged man)

“Will I marry this year?”

“Are you sure?”

Yes

“Are you really sure?”

“So then I will marry this year?”

Yes

“Yipee!”