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.The Emperorsof the Three Realms are obviously Taoist, while the K_itigarbhaBodhisattva is clearly of Buddhist origin.Here again we see thetendency of Taoism to include elements from various religionsand origins: Religious figures from both Taoism and Buddhismare placed alongside a historical figure, and yet believers donot see anything wrong with that.In a side extension of thischamber, there is another historical figure named the ImmortalMaster Hua-t o (Huatuo).A contemporary of Kuan Yü, Hua-t owas worshipped because he was a doctor who had unfathomableknowledge about medicine and could cure every disease andrepair every injury. 38 TAOISMA PILGRIM S PATH THROUGH THE TEMPLEThe main gates of the Lung-Shan Temple are rarely openexcept for major holidays (see chapter 8), so worshippersusually enter the temple through a smaller gate on the dragonside, called the Dragon Gate, and leave through the Tiger Gate.One can either purchase incense sticks from one of the vendorsin the side chambers near the Dragon Gate or take thoseprovided by the temple, for which the worshipper usually putssome money in the donation box.Along with incense sticks,one may also want to buy at least three kinds of snacks or fruit,paper money, and candles.Worshippers then place the snacksor fruits on a plate and put the plate, together with the papermoney, on one of the tables as offerings.There are severalpairs of candle-holding racks between the main gates and theincense-receiving tripod dedicated to the Jade Emperor.Ifone wishes to light candles, one would usually light a pair ofcandles and place them on the racks, one on the left and oneon the right, before lighting the incense sticks.Sometimescandles are lit simply to honor the deities, but more oftenpeople are lighting them to pray for a bright future, a longlife, or both.Next, one lights the incense sticks, faces themain gates and the incense-receiving tripod, holds theincense in front of one s forehead, and starts to pray.Anexample of a typical prayer would be:Jade Emperor, today your devotee _________________ (one s ownname), who lives at _________________ (one s address), comes tothe Lung-Shan Temple to pay homage to Your Majesty.Yourdevotee has humbly lit a pair of candles and prepared a fewfoods in dedication to you, and I would be most gratefulif Your Majesty could kindly grant safety and good health(or longevity, or other things the worshipper would like).The paper money is usually not mentioned in the prayer, justas when a Chinese person provides compensation to someonerespected (such as a teacher, a skillful artist, or a professionalTaoist), it is not offered publicly nor is it recognized as a Worship: A Visit to a Taoist Temple 39payment.People, grateful for the kindly assistance they havereceived, conventionally put the compensation in a red envelopeand hide it where the receiver will find it.This ritualizes the ideathat those people who are respected and of a higher social statuscannot be bought; they are providing their special knowledge orskills because they are kind or compassionate, not because theywant to be paid.After praying, the worshipper puts three sticksin the tripod and then goes over to the central court.To pray to the bodhisattvas in the central court, one needsto climb a few stairs because the central court is above groundlevel.Since the AvalokiteÅ›vara Bodhisattva is exceedinglycompassionate and cares deeply for all beings, people usuallypray longer here.If believers are suffering from any sort ofdiscomfort or pain, whether a debilitating disease, financialcrisis, relationship problems, or just a general sense of disori-entation, they will report the sufferings to the bodhisattva indetail and pray for protection or guidance.Even if believers donot have a significant problem at the moment, they may stillpray longer here, hoping to procure more blessings.Then theworshipper will put another three incense sticks into the tripodlocated immediately in front of AvalokiteÅ›vara.Although thereare other bodhisattvas in the central court who are just asimportant in Buddhism, Taoists focus on AvalokiteÅ›vara, onlymentioning the others names and titles in passing.They thenproceed to spend considerably more time in the back courtworshipping or praying to those deities whose identities areclearly Taoist.This fact again demonstrates that the Lung-ShanTemple is primarily a Taoist temple, even though the Buddhistbodhisattvas are at the center and are situated above other deities
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