Belief

Flowers and fruit for the boddhisatva.
Paper lotus for Guanyin’s throne.
Incense sends blue smoke heavenward,
while prayers and supplications
bespeak the endless cares of humanity.
Birth, illness, aging, and death… all is pain.
Yet ask the Buddha for wisdom,
and find happiness all around.

                        by Chen Chia-ying

An ancient temple offers sanctuary to the harried denizens of the modern world. It is a doorway to another place in time, a place of simple wisdom and devotion, where we can go to find hope and regain our inner calm. The intricately decorated ceilings coated with years of incense smoke, the old-fashioned red brick walls, the lovingly carved scenes depicting the stories we know so well… It all leads the visitor back, to the past, and up, to where the gods are.