The People Who Pray, and I Who Cannot—Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou

Lingyin Temple, a famous ancient temple in Hangzhou, China.
Is it a tourist spot? Or a sacred place of faith? I wonder which one it is.

Expecting silence, I visited, but the sheer intensity made me dizzy.
As the name suggests, it is a temple in a forest where 'spirits' are 'hidden'.
I had imagined such a mystical atmosphere, but the actual grounds were filled with incense, prayers, and the fervor of the people.
It was almost like a festival.
While enveloped in the smoke of incense rising from everywhere,
I realized that this is a place where people come to make 'earnest requests'.

Lingyin Temple is said to have been founded in the 4th century.
It has a long history, and stone Buddha sculptures created during the Song and Yuan dynasties remain here and there.
If there were no people, one could fully feel the weight of it as a cultural asset, but
the atmosphere in the temple grounds is somewhat modern, even materialistic.
We, who had expected the silence to contemplate history, were a little put off by the bustle.

What further bewildered me was that this temple was like a theme park of prayer, equipped with multiple 'stages for requests'.
There are many halls in the temple grounds, each enshrining a different Buddha.
It seems the genres of wishes they grant are also subtly different.

For example, the Mahavira Hall, where a giant Shakyamuni Buddha sits, is a place of prayer for those facing life in general.
The popular Guanyin Hall attracts wishes directly related to daily life, such as romance, family, and human relationships.
The Medicine Buddha Hall is for health and recovery from illness, and the Avatamsaka Hall is for academic achievement.

Seeing the serious expressions of the people praying, I felt a bit detached.
I watched their backs as they bowed to the gods, feeling somewhat like I was watching a performance.
I couldn't help but think, 'Does it really work...?'

We also make wishes at shrines and temples in Japan.
If I think about it, there are probably similar temples in Japan, but
generally, things like New Year's visits and amulets felt like an extension of something done 'while I was at it'.

This place is different.
Rather than clinging to something, there is a fervor as if they are going to seize something,
and I felt the 'rawness' of that heat of prayer.
Just watching those people pray is interesting in itself.

Surely, if I had a desperate wish, I might have been standing in the smoke as well.
Perhaps I just happen to have no reason to pray.

October 2004