Everything starts here(2)
871 Words
After walking through several blocks, Mohe entered a narrow alley with small stores on both sides. The next moment, the front suddenly opened up, and Mohe found that she had come to the door of a temple. She didn't see the name of the temple, but when she looked up, she saw the typical three-layer red and white horse-grass wall of Tibetan temples.
It looks this temple is smaller than the Jokhang Temple and Sera Temple Mohe had visited before. Maybe it’s because its location in the busy town center. The entrance of the temple is also full of incense, and there are many kowtow cushions. There are also lots of people kowtowing and praying.
Just as Mohe was looking around, an old local man who was wearing a traditional Tibetan robe and was kowtowing for worship just stood up and made a gesture to Mohe, as if to say: Hey, you, hurry to kowtow! Only then did Mohe realize herself standing in front of an empty kowtow cushion.
Mohe never cared any religion, and of course she did not believe in Buddhism, and she did not even know how to pray to Buddha correctly. In Mohe's opinion, if you don't understand this religion and have no real belief in it, you just show your respect, and don't have to pretend to kneel and worship for your own desire or appeal.
During this trip, although she visited a lot of temples, Mohe never kowtowed or worshipped any Buddha or god. Previously, on the Jokhang Temple Square, several of the fellows traveling together with borrowed Tibetan robes and pretended to worship. In fact, it was purely for their photos on i********:. Mohe didn't like that, and would rather sit on the Square alone by herself.
Today, it is very strange that this Tibetan old man who has never met before actually motivated her to worship. This time, Mohe didn't think much. She put her camera in the bag and put it on the ground next to her. Naturally, she kowtowed on the cushion.
She didn't know how many kowtows she did, but suddenly it was a voice said to her, “that's ok, it's time to go inside. “Mohe said nothing to that old man, just put on her bag and followed the crowd into the temple.
The main hall is actually not big. The people who walking around and praying are very slow. The sound of shaking the prayer barrels and the sound of chanting mantras converged into a low humming sound. There was a smell of butter lamps in the air. It’s very strange that Mohe felt familiar and comfortable here. . .
Slowly following the flow of people to the main hall behind the temple, Mohe looked up: Oh? It's actually the statue of Jowo Mikyo Dorje, the 8 -year-old statue of Buddha Shakyamuni! This turned out to be the Ramoche Temple!
Worshipers always make a stop in front of the status for a while to pay homage to the statue, offer offerings, and add incense. . . Mohe didn't have anything for Buddha, but she also stopped in front of the Buddha statue.
“How about kowtow in front of the statue?”, Mohe thought to herself. But there’re full of believers in the front of the statue and she could not make a stand.
Mohe hurriedly leaned over when she saw several people who had finished adding incense on one side of the offering table. In the past few days, she have seen some people kowtow beside the offering table in those major temples-probably, she can do the same here.
Mohe held a corner of the offering table with both hands, and lowered her head and did kowtow. "Dong--", the moment her forehead touched the offering table, she suddenly felt that the whole person was different.
This difference is difficult to tell in words. The scenes recorded below are all memories of Mohe afterwards...
Mohe knew that she was still in front of the Buddha statue, next to the offering table, and still in the Ramoche Temple, but she felt that she had entered another space. Her breathing stopped, her mind stopped, and even the whole body seemed to have disappeared. Nothing arises in her mind, not a single idea. Yet everything is so clear to her. It seems only the oldest and original "awareness" is there as always:
Aware her own empty mind without any thought;
Aware she’s surrounded by sounds of mantras and chanting. It seems she can “hear” everyone's mantras or voices, yet nothing really enters her ears;
In front of her, the entire temple is clearly still full of people who walking around and worship. There are many brilliant and colorful Dharma protectors, Bodhisattvas, and Buddha statues on display, but they seem not real, as if they are transparent.
It seems that nothing is happening, everything remains as it is；yet, it seems that something sprouting, occurring and developing all the time, just like the undercurrent surging under the peaceful water.
Then, sounds and images that seemed to come from another time and space slowly appeared in front of Mohe. Mohe didn't move, watching and observing quietly without any distractions...
- Writer
