China Journal 5/31/06

I thought we were leaving today but not till tomorrow. Good! I like this place. Breakfast around 9:30. I'd already had a few dried plums and had started my tea. The honey is from date blossoms, light and sweet. We downed a spoonful of bee pollen before we left for the Xi`an Da Ci`en Temple. In this temple all the Buddhist scrolls from India were transcribed into Chinese. There are fifty Buddhist monks living here.
There is a novel called Journey West about a Chinese Buddhist who went to India centuries ago and returned to spread Buddhism in China.
In one of the prayer areas of the temple there is a wall illustrating the history of Buddhism. It shows a sleeping empress. She wakes to realize she is pregnant. She believes she will bear a white elephant which is revered in China. After ten months she goes to her parents' home to give birth. On the way she delivers a boy who takes 7 steps with his right hand pointing to heaven and other hand pointing to earth. Each step becomes a lotus blossom. The child is illuminated with an unusual light.
We did not climb the tower here. We rested in a lovely park. Michael had a long discussion with a Buddhist monk while Xiao Jing and I enjoyed sitting in the shade.
Back to our rooms for a nap.
Dinner at eight and a wander through the bazaar. At 9 we stumbled upon the Islam Center and observed evening prayer here by watching through a courtyard. A first for Xiao Jing. I took a couple pictures.
It was too late to catch the telescope guy in the park so we headed to our rooms for hot water and honey. Then to bed.
1. Admission ticket to the temple
2. A marker at the temple walkway.