Here are some more photos of our trip before leaving Beijing:

Bailin Temple
www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157622051143340/show/

LinJi Temple
www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157622051152752/show/

Zhaozhou’s Bridge
www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157621926716653/show/

Beijing
www.flickr.com/photos/11790404@N02/sets/72157621967004057/show/

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While we didn’t do a lot of sightseeing in Beijing, having seen most of the historic sites 25 years ago when there were almost no domestic tourists and only a few foreigners on highly controlled group tours, we did enjoy several feasts with our friend Patrick as our guide.

Our first evening we experienced food from Northern Mongolia consisting of a delicious soup of mutton and vegetables in a delicious broth accompanied by several other delicious dishes.

The following evening we enjoyed a central Beijing lakeside setting near the Imperial Palace. The evening temperature was perfect for great food and great conversation. Patrick introduced us to Plum Flower Wine which had been his father’s favorite. We had a delicious spicy fish soup with a tomato base accompanied by the best spicy green beans I’ve ever tasted and a salad with some wonderful kinds of sprouts and other goodies I can’t recall. I do remember the walnut paste cookies that were beyond belief, not only in beauty but in taste. Patrick and I each had one and my husband the cookie monster ate the remaining four.

On our third evening in Beijing, we were on our own and selected a vegetarian restaurant listed in Lonely Planet. Unfortunately, the address given was incorrect and we couldn’t find it. While we were puzzling over our Lonely Planet map and Google Maps on David’s Blackberry, a rickshaw driver came and peered over our shoulder. When we pointed to the Chinese characters, he lit up, gave a broad smile and flashed the international gesture for eating. We hopped in and he took us directly to the restaurant.

The food was absolutely amazing — a hundred different dishes to choose from by selecting the glossy pictures. Very tasty. The kind of place we would go to often if it were nearby.

In a phone call earlier that day, Patrick’s wife, Angelika, had encouraged him to take us for a Chinese foot massage after dinner. Late that evening we found ourselves in a health club, in side by side reclining chairs, our feet in basins of hot herbal water, warm neck pillows and warm kidney pillows comforting us as our warm-up shoulder and back massages. In good time, our presoaked feet enjoyed about an hour of pampering and exfoliating. Indeed, neither David nor I recognized my happy feet after the treatment. The experience was like a whole body massage. We all walked out totally relaxed.

Our final meal before we headed to Lhasa was a gorgeous meal of Peking duck with all the trimmings. They even provided us with a certificate of the duck’s number.

In every place we were treated to gracious service as well as great food. Thank you Patrick for all you did to make our Beijing stay special.

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[Note: We actually arrived in Lhasa today. But if I start writing about Lhasa, I’ll forget the things I want to say about previous destinations, so just hold tight on Lhasa.]

This post is about Zhaozhou (Joshu in Japanese), a Zen master who lived from 778 to 897. (That’s 120 years, by the way). We visited the place where Zhaozhou, at the age of 80 settled down and taught for 40 years. Many of Zhaozhou’s teachings are still used today.

“Someone asked, ‘Master, will you enter Hell?’

The Master answered, ‘[I’ll be] the first to enter it.’

The man said, ‘Why should a great and good [Zen] master enter Hell?’

The Master said, ‘Who would transform you through the teaching if I had not entered it?'”
[From Roaring Stream, p. 101]

We had high expectations when we arrived at Bailin Temple (also known as Cypress Grove Temple), having spoken with Andy Ferguson, who has taken several Zen groups here to participate in the practice schedule. (See, for example, the description of the 2007 pilgrimage by the Ancient Dragon Zen Gate group at http://www.ancientdragon.org/sangha/news/more/china_trip)

But as it turned out, ours was an experience of Falling Through the Cracks. Just by chance, shortly before we arrived, an international Buddhist Studies tour group had arrived and the attention was focused (quite rightly) on this previously organized tour.

So first we had trouble finding the person who could check us in to guest quarters, then here was a problem making photocopies of our passports. We were told that we would be able to meet the abbot, that there was an evening meal available and that we could participate in evening meditation. But when the time came for each of these events, we had no one to show us where to go or what to do. So we simply enjoyed the evening air and reflected on the folly of building up expectations.

The breakfast routine was similar enough to what we had experienced at the Fourth Patriarch’s Temple, so that went fine. I did find that the Chinese seem to be able to eat about four times as much rice gruel as I would normally eat (this was the one food item for which you didn’t indicate an amount you wanted — you just accepted (a gigantic) ladle-full in your bowl. I gulped it down, still taking longer than anyone else. Suffice it to say I was well fed that morning.

One thing I remember at Bailin was overhearing the translation of a Zhaozhou dialog by a monk guiding the tour group. It was the famous Mu koan, but I had not appreciated the 3rd and 4th lines before:

“A monk asked, ‘Does a dog have buddha nature?’

The Master replied, ‘Mu’ [meaning ‘No’]

The monk continued, ‘But if all sentient beings have the buddha nature, then why not a dog?’

The Master said, ‘It’s your own mind that discriminates.'”

And that gem made our trip Bailin Temple worth it.

So the next day we were off to visit Zhaozhou’s bridge, the oldest stone arch bridge in the world (completed in 605 CE). In a famous interchange with a monk, Zhaozhou used the bridge (“Donkey’s cross, horses cross”)” as a metaphor for the mind being a bridge for everything.

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It is challenging to reconcile the China we see today with the China, truly a third world country, that we saw 25 years ago.

Then, getting permission to travel anywhere was always a bureaucratic nightmare, and the state controlled where people could live.

While generally, people had jobs and earned small salaries, few commodities were available for them to buy.

Now, while tight governmental control is still there to some degree, people do have freedom to travel and choose their residence and livelihood. The country has completely embraced capitalism.

Along with the amazing progress of the past 25 years, a voracious consumer society has developed. In any city of any size, shopping seems to be the major past time with every level of quality available. It tempers our view of America as the ultimate consumer society. Advertising is ubiquitous, billboards, giant LED video displays, TV, sometimes appealing to classist instincts.

Here, as at home, we wonder where all this consumption will lead. At the present time, it seems to have created a very solid middle class here in China.

Patrick shared with us last night that the recently wealthy in China are quickly developing philanthropic interests. We had heard that in the case of rebuilding Buddhist monasteries, individuals had contributed all the funds but this wider philanthropy was new to us.

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Among the hundreds of high rise apartment buildings and residential complexes we have seen, essentially all have solar hot water panels on the rooftops. In fact, China has 40% of the worldwide installation of solar hot water systems. Even many of the homes of the small farmers we saw as we passed through the countryside have solar hot water units on their rooftops.

In all the hotels we’ve stayed in, there is an electric power conservation system installed in which lights and air conditioning in each room only comes on when you are present in the room. Most of the lights are efficient fluorescent types. Toilets are either low volume or dual flush types to conserve water.

Recycling is big; China has one of the highest rates of recycling plastic water and beverage bottles. Most refuse cans on the streets are divided into recyclable and non-recyclable sections.

Last night we had dinner with Patrick Tam, an old family friend from Seattle who has been working in China for the past several years setting up green technology investment funds. Basically, their company seeks promising start-ups or small businesses that are developing environmentally beneficial technologies and connects these companies with investors who seek to make a profit.

Patrick says that China has decided to bypass hybrid gas-electric vehicles and go directly to all electric cars. The three largest companies for manufacturing lithium ion phosphate batteries, the kind that will be used in electric vehicles are all in China. Lithium is a light metal that occurs naturally in only a few places in the world, but there are extensive salt flats in China where lithium can be mined.

So we’re getting a rather different perspective on China and the environment here than we could get from the American media. If there is a lesson here, it is probably a caution: next time you read a news article about pollution in China, just remember that China may very well become the world leader in green technologies.

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While the Guanxing Tai Observatory is on the same map as the Shaolin Temple, there must be 1,000 visitors to the temple for each one who visits the observatory. Even our taxi driver seemed to be puzzled as to where the entrance to the observatory was.

Built by the astronomer Guo Shoujing in 1276, the Guanxing Tai Observatory is China’s oldest surviving astronomical observatory. It was one of 27 observatories distributed around the country.

One of its main purposes was to ascertain the length of the year as accurately as possible. After four years of observations, the astronomer’s best value for the length of the year (measured as the time between vernal equinoxes) was 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds. It turns out that his value is only 26 seconds longer than the modern accepted value.

I think careful measurements such as this are often too little appreciated. If fact, I would even go so far as to assert that objective physical facts are sacred. That’s why I was so delighted to see a stone stele with the following engraving, referring to a Master Zhou who continued the work of the observatory until 1528 during the Ming dynasty:

“Worship the Platform Measuring — by Master Zhou in Spring”

“This inscription was written by the famous Chinese calligrapher Zheng Dayuan in the Ming Dynasty. The poem pictured grand scenes of measuring shadows and observing stars by Master Zhou the ancient times.”

Well said, well said.

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The path to Bodhidharma’s cave is through the grounds of Shaolin Temple, just outside of Dengfeng. Shaolin seems to be primarily a gung fu training facility for boys and young men. Just inside the gate we saw several hundred of them, organized in groups of 30 or so, practicing their martial arts routines.

In fact the whole Dengfeng area has a strong gung fu focus. We saw school boys practicing their running flips in the air and the shouts that go along with various stances. There are shops selling gung fu paraphernalia everywhere.

Since we were more interested in visiting Bodhidharma’s cave, we set out directly to find the path up the mountain toward Wuru Peak. Part way up we came to the Chuzu Nunnery, where Cynthia decided to sit under the Cypress Tree allegedly planted by the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng while I went on up the steep stone steps to the cave.

According to Zen tradition, Bodhidharma was the first Chinese Zen patriarch and the twenty-eighth master in a lineage traced from Shakyamuni. He is generally thought to have died around 536 CE.

In Zen’s Chinese Heritage, Andrew Ferguson writes (p 17),

“Central to the Bodhidharma legend is his interview with Emporer Liang Wudi of the Liang dynasty. The legend of their meeting serves as the preeminent example of Zen’s uncompromising method of instruction.

“The emperor Wudi had attained power through intrigue and murder, but after assuming power he became a great supporter of Buddhism, and in atonement for his past sins, he established many Buddhist temples and provided for the welfare of the Buddhist clergy. But when he asked Bodhidharma what merit he had attained from these activities the sage answered, ‘No merit.’

“As recounted in the Blue Cliff Record, the emperor then asked Bodhidharma to expound the highest truth of Buddhism, to which he replied, ‘Emptiness. Nothing holy.’

“The emperor then asked, ‘Who is it that faces me?’

“Bodhidharma replied, ‘I don’t know.'”

When I arrived at the cave, three young Chinese men were already there. They went inside to offer incense and do their prostrations. There was an alter with a statue of Bodhidharma. A nun, responsible for overseeing the alter sat off to the side and struck a gong once for each prostration. After the three left, I entered the cave, made an offering, lit some incense and did my own prostrations. Three rings of the gong.

The place did seem like just the right place to be if you were going to meditate for nine years. Except for the constant stream of visitors, or course. The rocks in these mountains seem very old. Immediately around the cave there were lots of cracks. I could just see Bodhidharma moving rock pieces around to fashion himself a place to sit.

Another thing that struck me was how stories of Bodhidharma and his successor, the Second Patriarch, Huike change as they are told over the years. Compare, for example, the story as related in Zen’s Chinese Heritage (p 20) with the inscription on a stone stele just outside of the cave, erected by the headmaster of Sholin Temple in 2006. First, the story from Andrew Ferguson’s book:

“Huike met Bodhidharma and studied with him at Shaolin Temple on Mt Song for six years. Huike is remembered and extolled in Zen tradition for his determination to realize the great truth of the Zen school. According to legend, Huike stood waiting in the snow outside Bodhidharma’s cave, then cut off his left arm to show his sincerity. Recognizing Huike’s great resolve, Bohidharma accepted him as his student. Huike said to Bodhidharma, ‘My mind is anxious. Please pacify it.’ To which Bodhidharma replied, ‘Bring me your mind, and I will pacify it.’ Huike said, “‘Although I’ve sought it, I cannot find it.’ Bodhidharma then said, ‘There, I have pacified your mind.'”

This is basically the same story story told by most Zen teachers, and while there is weak historical evidence to back it up, it has important instructional value.

But when I read the recently erected stone stele next to the cave, I was struck by the differences. One side was in Chinese; the other in English. Note that “Dharma” refers to the First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, and “Hole” refers to the cave. Here is what it said:

“Dharma Hole”

“The first year of Da Tong of Nan Dynasty emperor Liang Wu (527 AD), Dharma left Jian Ye (Nan Jing), touring the Central China, came to Five Peaks of Song Shan Mountain, finding a hole beneath the central peak named Fire Dragon Hole where an immortal — Fire Dragon had been practising. It is all mystery inside, 24-section main keel centers clearly with two dragons on both sides correspondingly protecting the doctrine, stars, moon, colorful clouds, The Yangtze River. The Yellow River, high mountains and flowing water all appear inside, looking like “a mini-universe” The second generation ancestor stands on the right.
The Fire Dragon went up to the heaven after first ancestor Dharma came here who then faced the wall nine years, being in deep meditation. Inside the hole, he experienced “trance” to “conscious trance”; When in trance, birds nestling on his shoulder did not undulate him; Outside, he climbed up branches and stretched body, and imitated monkeys, snakes, etc, forming a whole set each of “Xin Yi Boxing” and “Arhat Stick”, becoming the founder of “Shaolin Boxing”.
The second generation ancestor — Hui Ke was determined to formally visit and learn from him. He knelt down on the snow ground outside the hole for nights running, and cut off part of his arm to show his will. Finally he became the second generation ancestor.
First ancestor faced the wall for nine years, and the opposite wall reflected his image, just like a watercolor painting. It is said the stone hole on its left just the one where the king of Qin of Tang Dynasty Li Shi Min escaped being captured under the safeguard of martial monks.
This monument:
Set up by: headmaster of ShaoLin temple — Shi Yong Xin, abbot of First Ancestor Nunnery — Shi Yong Mei
Organized by: Shi Yan Zhen from Rizhao City, Shandong Province
Donators: Yan Zhen, Chang Yuan, Chang Qing, Chang Jing, Chang Cheng, Chang Fo, Hao Yu, Jia Yi
Accompliished: on Nov. 25, 2006 (Oct. 5, 2006, Chinese lunar calendar)”

So Bodhidharma is remembered as a martial arts adept, as “the founder of “Shaolin Boxing”. And there seems to be a lot of Taoist influence here too. Given that restatements of the story have gone on for 1500 years, I guess it’s not too surprising to see these differences, but I think it’s good to keep in mind that history is one thing and legend is another.

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Cynthia’s take on a day of travel

We thought we had it all figured out. The lovely receptionist at our hotel in Xian checked on the bus station we needed and wrote it down in Chinese characters and also wrote down Louyang, our final destination as well as Sanmenxia, our midway destination for the day.

We confidently handed the taxi driver our information and he took us to the bus station. However, upon handing the scrap of paper with the Sanmenxia Chinese characters to the ticket seller, we learn, No, there is no bus to Sanmenzia from this station. She writes down instructions on a slip of paper and we leave the window. To get to Sanmenxia, we need to go to a different bus station.

Oh well, the buses leave every hour so off we went to another bus station in another taxi. There we learn that it will take us all day to get to Sanmenxia because we have to make other connections and the first bus won’t leave until 2:00 so there is no way to get to Louyang tonight.

A quick conference and we decide to skip Sanmenxia altogether and just head to Louyang. Well that means yet another bus station. The young women in the bus station insists we mustn’t take another taxi. We end up following a very insistent Chinese couple down the street and in a few blocks we are standing on an island in the middle of the street; the wife is inspecting every bus that goes by and after about 10 minutes we see that the husband has boarded the bus to explain our predicament to the driver. The driver pulls over. They hustle us onto the bus with our packs, hand our bus fare over to the driver and jump off the bus, leaving us to fend for ourselves. After about half an hour or so, David decides to check with the young man across the aisle. Indeed, we are on the bus to Luoyang and four hours later we indeed arrive. Amazing.

We find a clean, quiet, small hotel, go out and have hot pot for dinner and marvel that we actually did arrive.

We had heard that long distance buses in China were quite luxurious. So far, that hasn’t been our experience (Maybe we are just at the wrong bus stations) but we have seen a lot of the countryside, a lot of expressways, many country roads and large numbers of poor villages as well as both small and large farms and mountains of many descriptions.

I believe the next best thing to being a young and lovely travelers is being old (gray hair, gray beard) and doddering travelers.

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Before this trip I had never heard of the monk Xuanzang. But when we were visiting Big Goose Pagoda, I decided to look him up in Wikipedia. He’s a rather interesting fellow. Seems our paths have crossed several times, separated only by fourteen centuries.

I ended up reading the entire article to Cynthia. The article is at,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanzang

Xuanzang was born in Luoyang (the city where we are right now, having arrived from Xian this afternoon) in the year 602 CE.

While raised in a Confucian family, Xuanzang became interested in Buddhism at an early age and in 622, at the age of twenty, he became fully ordained as a monk.

At the time, there were apparently many inconsistencies and discrepancies among the documents being used to teach Buddhism, and Xuanzang decided he needed to go to India to find some of the originals. So first he learned Sanskrit in order to do the translations himself.

On his way, he traveled through what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan before passing through Kashmir and into the Terai region of Nepal, to Kapilvastu, the place where Sakyamuni grew up as a boy (and the place where I first developed an interest in Buddhism in the early ’70s).

At Lumbini, he reported seeing the pillar erected by king Ashoka, which was still there in 1995 when we visited.

He went on to Kusinagara, Sarnath, and Bodh Gaya before going on to Bengal to continue his research for two years at Nalanda University.

After returning to China in 645 CE, (with 657 Sanskrit texts), Xuanzang continued his research and translation work until his death in 664 CE. Many of Xuanzang’s translations remain important to this day.

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