Temples in Taiwan are as common as bus stops. They can take up entire city blocks, or the corner of a thin alley. They all radiate cathode light, an incense of burnt wishes and the hope that questions will have acceptable answers; that problems will have familiar solutions or that one’s dreams and hopes are not too far out of line with the vision of the gods.
Unlike the solemn and whisper of western religious sanctuaries, Taiwanese temples are unfettered, flip-flop casual and without holy pretense. Still lives of fruit, flowers, boxed snacks and cans of liquid refreshment adorn tables that offer to the Chinese pantheon of gods a snack while they consider the mortal requests of those who are still learning how to craft our own destiny.
Taiwanese temples offer DIY fortune telling.
We all have questions, spoken or not. We all have answers, touched upon or not.
It works like this:
Fire up the incense; face out toward the world and feel the invitation of divine intervention. Let it creep up your spine and wiggle into the interstitial spaces between the flesh; drop three sticks of incense into the cauldron outside the temple. Then face inward, to the pantheon of gods, deities and local heroes, recognize they are all in you in the first place. Drop another three sticks of incense in the alter cauldron; reach inward and ask the proper question. Then pull one black patina’ed bamboo stick from amongst the tribe of bamboo slivers in the unpolished brass can. Chose an intention, a path, a belief, choose a commitment to unfold life on a path of our own creation. We all walk into the temple looking for a little guidance, a wink, a nudge; we want a nod from the future that we are choosing wisely.
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We all know that fooling ourselves is fiendishly easy. But, fooling the gods is another matter.
There are no fortune cookies in Taiwan, but in every temple, next to the brass canister of inscribed bamboo are a pair of wooden crescent moons that easily cup in the hand. They look like petrified fortune cookies, but they are the oracle’s way of confirming the honesty of your inquiry. Should they fall one face up and the other face down, the chosen stick will give an insight into your question. Otherwise, try another question.
There is a book that holds the explanations of all the sticks. No one really understands old Chinese. It actually gives me an odd sense of satisfaction that most people in Taiwan, like me, need to read the explanatory text to understand how to dream more deeply into the path at hand.
Really though, in Taiwan, if you read English there are oracles all around that whisper and remind, point and nudge, to the path held in one’s heart.