Monks eat mooncakes, too

First of all, THANK YOU, KIITOS, and MERCI for everyone who sent me birthday wishes, they truly made me smile, it's great to know that all of you wonderful people are out there :) I'm so lucky to have you in my life.

Right now I have no chance to reply everyone's email, as I have to get back soonish, but I'll try to come online about once a week as long as I'm staying at the temple, maybe next time I'll have more time.

So I'm back on the mountain again, Jiuhua Shan, that is. It is such an amazingly beautiful place, to see the sun set over the valley below, to see the birds flying in the green forest all around, to walk outside in bright moonlight...

I've been staying at the temple now for a few days, and life is getting to follow its own rhythm. Earlier onn the same day that I arrived, the Master (or Shifu) also arrived with five disciples of his. With old Ru Yuan, and the other older disciple, and Bao Yu who is the cook, we are now all together 10 people living at the temple.

My life here is funny in a way, it's like there are two sides to it almost. On one side, with all the new people, Shifu is trying to establish a proper temple life, with its schedules, rules and practises. And it's strict, a lot of the time it feels like everyone is skulking around, trying not to make mistakes and being afraid of getting a scolding.

On the other hand, it's all so peaceful and beautiful, I can just sit outside in the sun and in the quiet, reading a book or just thinking my thoughts, with no worries or no hurry -- just what I wanted.

As I'm not a buddhist and I'm an outsider in many ways anyway, I am treated with a lot more leniency than the others. That means that I don't have to do any of the work (although I try to find a way to help when I can -- but often they won't let me!) and i don't have to follow all the rules. Shifu was giving everyone a lecture about their duties, and my duties are just to learn about Chinese culture and history, try to learn more Chinese, observe the temple life and the traditions. He is trying to find me some books about Chinese history in English, so I can learn more.

And, in addition, I am required to take part in the morning and evening prayers, which in practise are reciting of Buddhist scriptures (once again it amazes me how they can recite an hour's worth of old text, very quickly and following a strict rhythm and intonation). This means that I get up at 4:30 am like everyone else, wash my face, brush my teeth and put on a long black robe. Then in the main temple room, we stand all in out own place, with a little prayer cushion in front of everyone. they then recite the texts, keeping the rhythm with different percussion instruments. And every now and then we have to bow down, or change the position of the hands from cupped palms to joined palms. Needless to say, I don't understand much of it, but Shifu asked me just to participate, even if I don't understand.

In the past three days, however, Shifu has been angry a lot, and he is taking it out on one disciple in particular. This poor guy has made just a few mistakes, not putting the things in the right place, or serving the food the wrong way, or chanting the wrong scriptures.... And three times a day for three days now, after meals or prayers, Shifu has given him (and at the same time the rest of us) a long lecture, and sometimes a real shouting. This means that all of us have to stand or sit, with our hands nicely in front of us, and just get through it. Which is not all that easy for me always, after a couple of hours (and it has lasted for hours at a time!!!) of standing in the same position, with the hands held joined in front of me, my shoulders ache and I just start thinking about having to go to the loo. Especially when I don't understand much of what he says...

Today, he gave the poor bloke a good beating, too, I could just hear them upstairs, the guy was screaming out loud, and when he came down for lunch afterwards, his face was all red and bruised. Ouch.

And then, towards me shifu is the sweetest, nicest guy, helping me with everything. I can see how he is trying to control his disciples, trying to get them to follow his way and humble them into feeling small. But for me, he just tells me about Chinese culture, asks me about finland...

Yesterday it was Mid-Autumn festival here in China, the 15th of the 8th month in the lunar calendar. Nobody knew it was my birthday, but I got a celebration anyway, as after the evening prayers we took a big table outside, full of cakes and fruit and nuts, and we sat out in the bright, bright light of the full moon, eating and talking. Old Ru Yuan was telling stories of when she was living alone on the mountain... It really was a beautiful and different birthday :)

A lot of things to tell, but this is getting too long so I will stop here. I don't know how long I will stay here, maybe for 10 or 20 days or a month -- don't know. But right now I really don't miss getting back to dingy hotel rooms, bus and train stations and carrying my backpack. I am perfectly happy here on the green mountain, spending my days sitting in the sunshine :)

Once again, thank you everyone, it means a lot to me to know you are all out there. I'll try to get time to write emails soon....
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