day8: sunday

Henry took me out to meet his friend sunny and the three of us went book shopping in the biggest book store in hangzhou. It being a sunday, the city was bustling with activity.

We took a bus to the west Lake and spent some time walking along its banks, taking pictures , feeding pigeons, enjoying the weather amid the weekend leisure crowrds. Sunny was narrating the interesting story about the legend of how the west lake came into being.

Sunny then suggested we should visit a buddhist temple atop the mountains in Hangzhou.
I dint have any climbing or treking to do. A direct bus took us there and we returned on the same bus. It is a beautiful place and although i am not a big nature freak i liked the place and enjoyed the ride to it. It is very calm and the weather was really kind . Cool breeze and clear sky made things beautiful. The Sun probably decided to shower some kindness on me that evening.
The temple i went too was a buddhist monastery cum temple. i do not know if they are always like that. it is called the
'shan tien zhu si'
shan = high or tall
tien zhu = is the place from where those buddhists were
si = temple.
There are actually 4 temples along the same road to the mountain, this was the highest temple. sunny said she preffered to take me there as it was the least crowded.

It was very peaceful. we reached at the time the evening prayer was on and caught a glimpse of the ceremony. There was reciting by a head priest, the gong kept ringing and everyone else stood in attention.
Also, we were given sticks to lite and make a wish. The temple was huge although Henry called the smallest he had seen. It was on four levels, the innermost temple shrine being at the highest level.

It was supper time in chinese terms at 5pm so we had dinner in the temple itself. It was my kind of food place-The 'no meat place' as the buddhists believe in non violence and the no-killing doctrine. They have a policy of no wasting food there so what sunny and me could not finish, being the man, Henry had to finish up!:)

At one of the intermittent levels of the temple was a little pond over which the stairs had been constructed. At the centre of the pond was a statue of Buddha. The pond was almost dry at that time and I was told that thepond was actually the freeing spot of lives caught inadvertantly. So if someone caught a fish or snail or frog by mistake, they would set it free in that pond.
interesting!
By the time we got back home, it was 7pm... i crashed after making an exciting call home!