On Saturday we went to Chunghua to visit the largest Buddha statue and the other teachers. There are two of these dragon statues in front of the Buddha. It is quite a hike to get up there. You walk about 3-4 miles pretty much straight uphill, but it was well worth it when we got to the top!
Close up of the dragon.
This little statue outlines the entire area along with small palm trees.
I'm still not sure what type of building this is because it was closed off while we were there. But, it is pretty impressive to look at!
Inside the Buddha statue you can climb up different levels. I only know a little bit about Buddha, but apparently each level represents the steps he took in order to achieve Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of being where your passions, appetites and weaknesses become extinct. The Buddha statue is a temple. On each level there were displays like this one with a story. This one is about when Buddha was a child. When he started walking one day all of a sudden five flowers bloomed right under his feet. Then a dragon came out of the sky and poured water on him and then he said something like....I am life and light or something or other.
This story I didn't quite catch the point. It was about how Buddha went on a huge trek on his horse and then had to cut off all his hair with is sword. Apparently he did this so he could, "rid his life of sorrow, pain and adversity."
Just a close up of the dragon shower!
Here a monkey and an elephant came up to Buddha one day while he was meditating under a tree. They talked to him and offered him their fruit. Afterwards they drowned themselves in the river in order to be reincarnated as humans and make better choices. I really don't get what this has to do with anything!
This was one of my favorites. In order to prove himself a truly strong and clean person he ordered 3 different sprits to try and seduce him. After they all had a go at him and failed he had achieved purity. Right....I'm sure that was exactly what he was thinking about....purity....
This level represents when he started gaining followers we know as monks.
Every temple has this initial set up. This one is a bit more elaborate. They all have this big pot where the Taiwanese burn incense and light these little candles. Don't worry I only took pictures of everything after seeing all the natives taking pictures.
Another smallish temple for burning incense to their ancestors. Most Taiwanese believe in reincarnation and pray to their ancestors. Some also believe that if you have a child who is disabled in any way it is punishment for something their ancestors must have done.
Good shot of the Buddha temple.
This is a closer view of the building I took a picture of earlier. There are 3 dragons with fire coming out of their mouths.
This is the Six Dragon Fountain. At night they have water shows and everything is lit up.
This is a little bit lower on the mountain. There are a bunch of water falls that you can walk in. It was so nice to get out and see something green. We live right in the middle of the city so I don't see much of anything green.
These are acupuncture walk ways. I saw so many Taiwanese walking on these without even flinching! You are supposed to take off your shoes and walk on these little rocks sticking out of the pavement. It hurts so bad!! I could barely walk four steps.
We had to walk around the back of the mountain to get to the teachers apartments. It was really steep. We walked down a huge staircase and we came to a bridge where a herd of goats just happened to be crossing!! It was so cool!
More goats! One of the teachers ran off screaming because she "had a bad experience" with goats when she was younger at a petting zoo!
On Saturday we went to Chunghua to visit the largest Buddha statue and the other teachers. There are two of these dragon statues in front of the Buddha. It is quite a hike to get up there. You walk about 3-4 miles pretty much straight uphill, but it was well worth it when we got to the top!
Close up of the dragon.
This little statue outlines the entire area along with small palm trees.
I'm still not sure what type of building this is because it was closed off while we were there. But, it is pretty impressive to look at!
Inside the Buddha statue you can climb up different levels. I only know a little bit about Buddha, but apparently each level represents the steps he took in order to achieve Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of being where your passions, appetites and weaknesses become extinct. The Buddha statue is a temple. On each level there were displays like this one with a story. This one is about when Buddha was a child. When he started walking one day all of a sudden five flowers bloomed right under his feet. Then a dragon came out of the sky and poured water on him and then he said something like....I am life and light or something or other.
This story I didn't quite catch the point. It was about how Buddha went on a huge trek on his horse and then had to cut off all his hair with is sword. Apparently he did this so he could, "rid his life of sorrow, pain and adversity."
Just a close up of the dragon shower!
Here a monkey and an elephant came up to Buddha one day while he was meditating under a tree. They talked to him and offered him their fruit. Afterwards they drowned themselves in the river in order to be reincarnated as humans and make better choices. I really don't get what this has to do with anything!
This was one of my favorites. In order to prove himself a truly strong and clean person he ordered 3 different sprits to try and seduce him. After they all had a go at him and failed he had achieved purity. Right....I'm sure that was exactly what he was thinking about....purity....
This level represents when he started gaining followers we know as monks.
Every temple has this initial set up. This one is a bit more elaborate. They all have this big pot where the Taiwanese burn incense and light these little candles. Don't worry I only took pictures of everything after seeing all the natives taking pictures.
Another smallish temple for burning incense to their ancestors. Most Taiwanese believe in reincarnation and pray to their ancestors. Some also believe that if you have a child who is disabled in any way it is punishment for something their ancestors must have done.
Good shot of the Buddha temple.
This is a closer view of the building I took a picture of earlier. There are 3 dragons with fire coming out of their mouths.
This is the Six Dragon Fountain. At night they have water shows and everything is lit up.
This is a little bit lower on the mountain. There are a bunch of water falls that you can walk in. It was so nice to get out and see something green. We live right in the middle of the city so I don't see much of anything green.
These are acupuncture walk ways. I saw so many Taiwanese walking on these without even flinching! You are supposed to take off your shoes and walk on these little rocks sticking out of the pavement. It hurts so bad!! I could barely walk four steps.
We had to walk around the back of the mountain to get to the teachers apartments. It was really steep. We walked down a huge staircase and we came to a bridge where a herd of goats just happened to be crossing!! It was so cool!
More goats! One of the teachers ran off screaming because she "had a bad experience" with goats when she was younger at a petting zoo!
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