2009 09 05 – Day 71 – Beijing
Thanks to my Dad's love for silliness and wordplay, I can't help but associate the word 'Lama' with this
Ogden Nash ode to the llama:
The one-L lama,
He's a priest.
The two-L llama,
He's a beast.
And I would bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any
Three-L lllama.
Of course the above poem has absolutely nothing to do with the Buddhist Lama Temple in Beijing –
Yonghegong.
It seemed to be the done thing to offer incense at the temple and so I'd bought the second cheapest pack from one of the multitude of stalls on the street outside the front gate. However, once inside, I didn't feel the inclination to make such an offering. Watching those who lit their sticks of incense, raised them to their forehead and bowed three times before planting the sticks in the large sand-filled iron troughs, the thought of mimicking that spiritual gesture made me feel like an imposter. Thankfully there was no real pressure to offer incense, so I didn't, but that did leave me with a pack of incense in my bag for a week!
I love these Buddhist gods with a million limbs! On the left is The Great Dignity and Virtue (Yamantaka) and on the right is Kala-chakravajra (both 18th Century gilt copper).
