Inside a Chinese Temple

Threshold to Another World

by Hugh Johnson | January 19, 2012

Come, journey with us into another world – a world of gods, spirits, ghosts, ancestors, mythical creatures and celestial beings.

As you step, for the first time, over the threshold of a Chinese temple, you step into that world. An alien world of sensory overload, where the dense smoke of acrid incense burns the eyes. Patches of bright, white sunlight mingle with pools of deep shadow, punctured here and there by the glow of tiny votive flames.

Rattling fortune sticks vie for attention with tinkling bells, a thudding drum and the hypnotic chant of ritual incantations. A profusion of colorful details dressed in a palette of bright primary colors – predominantly reds and yellows – draws the eye from one place to another. A gilded statue here, a carved stone dragon there. A tiny manicured bonsai tree, and a cool black pool of lazy orange carp. A pyramidal offering of oranges, and dewdrops on pink lotus flower petals. Craftsmanship can be seen in all the details, from the lacquered doorway artwork and painted friezes, to the intricate wooden joinery of the roof – constructed entirely without nails.

And it is all quite unlike anything that the average North American churchgoer will have ever experienced.

Order out of Chaos

Despite an atmosphere that can seem overwhelming and confusing at first, familiarity brings some order to the apparent chaos. Each temple shares with others some common characteristics of layout, architecture, significant religious objects and patterns of worship.

Temples are built according to the Taoist principles of Feng Shui (sometimes called geomancy), with a "balanced" symmetrical layout, and south-facing front entrance. Whenever possible, their sites back onto higher ground, and face towards water.

Temples usually follow a traditional Chinese architectural style, and are usually fronted by an imposing and ornate entrance complete with intimidating statues of guardian animals and protector deities. Their grounds contain various hall buildings and open courtyards. At its heart stands the central and most important hall housing the temple's main deity and its supporting secondary deities.

Some of the most popular of these deities include Sakyamuni (the original Buddha, also called Gautama), Amitabha (Buddha of Boundless Light), Maitreya (the coming Buddha), Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy), and Mazu (Goddess of the Sea).

An Abundance of gods
Gilded statues of Chinese deities at Lian Shan Shuang Lin temple, Singapore.

The rear and side halls are reserved for a variety of other deities, and often include a hall of funerary tablets for the veneration of family ancestors.

Traditional Chinese religion is pluralistic, meaning that it has incorporated a number of religious, cultural and philosophical approaches including Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Most Chinese temples reflect this mix of religious influences with a wide range of deities drawn from all three religions.

The numerous statues throughout the temple give a glimpse into the vast pantheon of deities and otherworldly beings, including Buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, goddesses, ancestors and mythical creatures.

Chinese Buddhism

The majority of Chinese Buddhists are followers of the "Mahayana" tradition, as opposed to the "Hinayana" (also called Theravada) tradition practiced in many Southeast Asian countries. Mahayana offers a more liberal, easy discipleship with a stronger focus on service to others, as well as a belief in the central role of bodhisattvas – compassionate Buddha-like beings who have elected to postpone their own enlightenment in order to assist others on their journey.

The more conservative Hinayana Buddhism centers on the monkhood (or Sangha), and requires significantly greater commitment and dedication from its followers. Hinayana Buddhists emphasize "self-salvation" through individual deeds and merit.

Both traditions of Buddhism reject the notion of a creator God and the ability of any divine being to grant salvation. The ultimate aim in Hinayana Buddhism is to strive for enough merit in an individual's numerous lives to achieve enlightenment (nirvana) – a state of "non-being" where one is totally removed from existence. By contrast Mahayana Buddhists strive to become bodhisattvas themselves.

In contrast to the regular church attendance of Christians, temple visits are quite sporadic and infrequent. These typically coincide with significant Chinese religious holidays (which fall on specific days during the Chinese the Lunar Calendar), or when devotees wish to make special offerings to the deities to bring good luck, avert potential hardships or seek advice for their future plans. In most temples you will see "fortune sticks" and red crescent-shaped "moon blocks" for fortune telling, sometimes with professional soothsayers to help interpret the results.

Making Merit
A worshipper makes an offering of incense sticks at Singapore's Tan Si Chong Su temple.

Temple Visits

Most temple visits include the lighting of incense (or "joss") sticks, which are placed along with other offerings on an altar in front of the statue of the main deity and various secondary deities. These offerings vary depending on the specific purpose of the visit, and might include lit candles, flowers, fruit, drinks, oil and other items (sometimes including cigarettes and liquor). Different deities are worshipped for their reputed power and influence in specific aspects of life. For example many fishermen are devotees of Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, while other deities are believed to bring good luck in gambling, give offspring to the childless or attract prosperity in business.

Temple visits rarely include any kind of formal teaching or communal worship, but group chanting of prayers, meditations and the reading of religious scriptures by priests and laypeople is not uncommon – especially during religious holidays. The most exuberant holiday is Chinese New Year when crowded temples fill with incense smoke and the streets outside echo with the deafening explosions of firecrackers, believed to ward off evil. The burning of so-called "hell money" in furnaces or burners is believed to bring financial security to deceased ancestors in their afterlives.

The Search for Truth

This religious tradition seems marked with deep superstition and uncertainty – a constant fear for this life, and dread of the next. On the one hand worshipers try to entice the numerous, fickle deities to send good luck and withhold misfortune; on the other hand they rely on themselves to make the next existence better than this one.

Kneeling to the gods
A worshipper prays in Singapore's Tan Si Chong Su temple.

Your temple visit might have been a colorful feast for the senses. Or it might have been a deeply saddening glimpse into emptiness and hopelessness. Either way, please don't remain unaffected. As you exit the temple and once again cross the threshold – an apt metaphor for the separation between the profane outside world, and the sacred interior – spare a prayer for its inhabitants. Pray for the more than 200 million East Asian people who frequent this temple and others like it, as they search for truth and meaning in their lives.