Virtual China '98

It was a warm, humid morning as we set out from the hotel to go the monastery. After walking for about 15 minutes we arrived at the monastery. The outside of the monastery was very picturesque. The building looked like it came out of a Chinese tour book. It was the pagoda type building with a pond in the front which is part of good Feng Shui. I also noted a few other things that fell under good Feng Shui. Some of them were the front and back doors didn't line up which keeps the good things inside of the building, the path leading to the monastery was not straight which makes it harder for evil things to enter, and there were a lot of trees at the north east part of the lot. The name of the monastery was Gok Wan Gi. The age of the monastery is approximately 1300 years old. One of the first things that I noted upon stepping inside was the smell of burning incense. The first place that I went once inside was inside all of the rooms where the Buddhas were. I got a few pictures of them all and then moved on. The next thing that I observed was the smell of human waste. I wondered where it was coming from, until I saw the toilet. It was a bit uh primitive one might say. It was a little tile room with a hole in the ground.

After this I moved on to a tower that was called Beu Wan Ta. It was about ten stories high with extremely steep stairs to climb. On my way outside to buy the incense I saw a hall that I had not yet been down. So I went down it. There I found the living quarters of all the monks. There were about 16 monks living in one room that was about 200 square feet big. If you're not looking hard enough then you'll think that the monks live in complete abstinence of electrical things such as TV's or radio, but if you happen to lift up a newspaper then you may find a TV or a radio. After seeing the monks living quarters I moved on again to buy the incense when I saw a path leading out to a little pagoda in the water. So I postponed the trip to buy incense once again to look out there. It was nice and quiet out there so I stayed out there for a little bit. Then finally I made my way to buy my incense. Once that was done we went back to the hotel. I thought that the trip to the monastery was a lot of fun and also helped me to learn a little bit more about Chinese culture.

Nora: What is your name?

Yin Yong Ci: My name is Yin Yong Ci.

Nora: What do you do in the monastery?

Yin Yong Ci: I am the guardian of this hall. I make everyone that comes here write down their name and give a small donation.

Nora: Do you like working here?

Yin Yong Ci: I like working here a lot.

Nora: What kind of food do you eat?

Yin Yong Ci: I am a vegetarian. (Note from author: I think all monks in China are vegetarians.)

Nora: What time do you wake up and go to sleep? And how often do you pray?

Yin Yong Ci: I wake up at 4 a.m. in the morning and go to sleep at 9-10 pm. I pray two times a day, once in the morning from 5:00 a.m. until 6:30 a.m. and once in the afternoon from 5:00 'til 6:00.

Nora: How long have you been here?

Yin Yong Ci: I have been here one year.

Nora: How long have you been a monk?

Yin Yong Ci: I have been a monk for over ten years.

Nora: What were you before you became a monk?

Yin Yong Ci: I was a farmer.

Nora: What is your name?

Yan Ho Ci: My name is Yan Ho Ci.

Nora: How many monks are in this monastery?

Yan Ho Ci: There are 20 monks.

Nora: How long do most monks stay here in this monastery?

Yan Ho Ci: Most monks have been here for 3-5 years. Some have been here for over 20 years, others only a year. Monks normally have to move every 3-5 years.

Nora: Why did you become a monk?

Yan Ho Ci: This is the religion that I wanted to do. Buddhism is one of three of the largest religions in China. I am glad to be in one of them.

Nora: How many statues are there?

Yan Ho Ci: There are 8 halls. Each hall has a statue. Most temples have only one hall, but this has 8!

Nora: What is this temple called?

Yan Ho Ci: This temple is called Liu Ju. This is the name of a famous Buddha. A Chinese empress from the Tang dynasty (about 600 A.D.) gave orders for this monastery to be built.

Nora: Where are you from?

Yan Ho Ci: This is my hometown. (Note from author: Village name is Tap Ge, only about 500 meters from the hotel we were staying at in the resort area of Longshan.)

Nora: How long have you lived in this monastery?

Yan Ho Ci: I have lived here for 5 years.

Nora: How long have you been a monk?

Yan Ho Ci: I have been a monk for 6-7 years.

Nora: What were you before you were a monk?

Yan Ho Ci: I was a worker.

Nora: Do you get paid for being a monk?

Yan Ho Ci: I get paid very little. I get paid 200 yuan -300 yuan a month. (It takes about 8 yuan to make a U.S. dollar.)

Nora: What do you do in this monastery?

Yan Ho Ci: I work in the Lu Jin hall.

Nora: What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

Yan Ho Ci: I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and go to sleep at 6 p.m.

Nora: Would you like to move from this monastery soon?

Yan Ho Ci: No, I would not like to move. I intend to stay here for a few more years. One day I will go touring around, but I don't want to move.