Real, Rough, Rewarding Research

Now that I am back into the swing of things in smoggy Beijing I have
begun to do more onsite research for my Ricci project.. Last week I
began by visiting the Guangji Temple. It was much smaller than the lama
temple and significantly less touristy. The gift shop provided tons of
religious materials in Chinese and with the Chinese Buddhist Association
headquarters being located there everything seemed a little more
authentic. There were monks clad in muted orange robes walking around
the temple complex, inside the temple halls, and in the offices and gift
shop. There was no admission fee but I felt like much more of a tourist
here since I was the only one standing in admiration at the beautiful
temple halls instead of praying or engaging in conversation with one of
the monks. I loved the sense of reverence, prayer, and peace that seemed
to fill every corner of the Guangji Temple. When I was standing in one
of the temple halls simply staring at its beauty and observing the
devout Buddhists pray I was reminded how extraordinary it is that I am
getting academic credit for doing that. I am in love with my research
right now, and am so thankful that I have the opportunity to do original
on site research. I love that instead of hearing a lecture or reading a
book I was standing in a Buddhist temple surrounded by Buddhists
learning and observing and soaking in more knowledge for my research
than any book could have offered me.

Today I visited the Zhihua Temple, which turned out to be much more of
an adventure than I thought it would be. After getting off the subway in
an area I’ve never been before I consulted my map and headed for what
looked like the small side street that should take me to the temple.
Thus commenced what felt like one of the longest walks of my life.
Choosing the most direct route on the map I headed down a side street
(which in America would be considered an alley) and immediately
tightened my grip on my purse. The fact that there was only a few
Chinese people walking down the road just made me feel a little nervous,
but I decided I had already gone to far to turn back. So I kept on at a
brisk walk down the seemingly never-ending “road” which I quickly
discovered was the location of one of Beijing’s hutongs. Hutongs are a
type of narrow streets formed by lines of traditional courtyard
residences. A couple times the Chinese residents passing on bikes slowed
to nearly a stop to stare at me. I doubt they often see a white person
wandering down their street. After what seemed like a really really long
time I finally got out of the hutong and hit a major street.
Unfortunately I was only half way to the temple and had to walk through
another hutong. With trepidation I headed down another small
street/alley and again attracted the stares of all the locals. I finally
saw the roof of the temple rising above the hutong and let out a sigh of
relief since I had begun to wonder if I was on the right street or if
the temple even still existed. I am extremely proud that when the
Chinese man opened the ticket window I said 我是学生 (I am a student) and
got my ticket for half price. I said something in Chinese and a Chinese
person understood it! When I entered the gate and walked to the “ticket
check” the women in the office was eating lunch with a group of other
temple volunteers. When she took my ticket she asked me if I wanted to
eat with them. I declined the offer due to my inadequate language skills
and the contents of her bowl, but I was extremely touched by the
gesture. From the absence of English speakers in the general area let
alone the temple I think I might be the only foreigner they had seen in
a long time. There was a steady stream of small guided groups of Chinese
people in the temples. I stood in one temple hall for a long time and
watched as one of the guides showed a small gof Buddha. Being in the Zhihua temple made me feel so blessed and privileged – to be able to go and spend time in a gorgeous sacred place that is rarely seen by Westerners is awesome. Although it was a rough trip getting to the temple, it made it even more rewarding when I got to see its beauty and experience the hospitality and happiness of the people in it. It reminded me once again how amazing it is that I am doing real research and researching something I find truly beautiful.