Sunday, June 06, 2010

Things I learned in Suzhou #4

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The Chinese take Buddha seriously, and then again, they don’t. I think Buddhism is largely ceremonial. Like many American’s who claim to be Christians but only practice their faith at lifestyle events, like weddings or funerals. The Chinese don’t really go to church, but they will go ass up in front of a statue without a second thought.

I was trying to figure out what the square stones in front of the Buddha statue were for when this lady came by and demonstrated their use for me. I watched as dozens of other people did the same thing.

I learned something else too. It’s ok to take a picture of some Buddha statues, but you’ll get yelled at for taking pictures of others. I think it all depends on how much gold leaf is involved.

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