good luck and high living

Hello White Society

2009-08-23T08:47:20Z

I'm about to go to the airport. I'm not sure if I really want to go back to the Western world, I have to abide by normal societal rules there, but I agreed to a one year commitment in Ontario so I guess I'll stick with it.

journal journal on the screen

2009-06-15T15:10:37Z

1. Still in Taiwan, still in the same house, still studying Chinese.

2. Started a noise band with my friend from LA. Originally it had a third member from Taiwan, but she seems quite busy with school work at the moment. I think our band name is Typhoon Cult. I'll try to set up a myspace soon so that you can listen, and hopefully we'll set up some shows here. I saw this guy called Di-No perform at a sound art event, he was doing harsh noise with a lot of delay pedals. Really good stuff and he said he'd be up for doing a show together.

3. Possible trip to China in August. Probably fly to Hong Kong, then get the train and travel around the south.

4. Heading back to Canada in September to do a one year program about religions in the modern world.

5. Big news came this week that I might get to go to Brazil in December to help my supervisor do research about a couple of Daoist temples there. I know, who knew there were Brazilians practicing Daoism? The Taiwanese Buddhist Organization that I stayed with last summer also have a temple there, so if I can get a contact for someone involved at that centre we might compare the two. Oh yes, and I wouldn't have to pay for any of this trip, which made it a much easier offer to accept.

My First Lunar New Year

2009-02-01T04:33:40Z

I asked for a ticket to "Fa Gu Shan," or at least that's what I tried to do. The woman at the counter gave me a confused look and replied with a prominent Taiwanese accent "Jin San?" I paused for a second, my teacher telling me that I say my tones in Chinese better than my classmates doesn't mean much when I can't even buy a bus ticket, but I'll press on. Add oil.＊

"Not Jin Shan" I reply "Fa Gu Shan, close to Jin Shan."

"Ooooooooh, Fa Gu San"

I triumphed.

A middle aged Taiwanese woman soon told me to board the wrong bus, "seems like the bus is early" I thought to myself, "but she is from here, she must know better than me." After a bus change and a two and a half hour drive, which got progressively rainier, we arrived at the mountain temple. I was out of the city for the Lunar New Year joining a group of mostly middle-aged or older Taiwanese on the north coast, which was colder than elsewhere on the island this time of year. The ways I choose to spend my free time are sometimes questionable.

I was soon befriended by Yugi, who either recognized my confusion at where to go or had a great desire to practice English. Yugi was a yogi and part-time English tutor, who had decided he didn't want to spend his New Years Eve with his wife and two children. He helped me book a bed for the night and figure out when everything was happening. He also told me all about himself, but I was surprised by his complete lack of interest in anything about me. He didn't ask why I came to Taiwan or to the temple, what I was doing with myself, how long I had been here, or if I had tried stinky tofu. I have grown so used to answering these questions when I meet someone.

After an hour of trying to give me a tour, but getting lost repeatedly, Yugi asked me what my name was. Once I answered this question his interest in information about my life quickly faded and the conversation shifted.

"People ask me if I want to move here," he told me.

"But I have too many responsibilities, my kids are still young, I have to take care of them, I have to work. I don't really want to, but I have to, you know?"

"How old are your kids?"

"15 and 17. Maybe when they are older I will stay here longer."

He was eager to eat. We looked at the meal schedule for the day.

"That's weird, why don't they call the meal dinner?" I was asked, although I don't think he was expecting an answer.

"That's because there is a rule saying that they aren't supposed to eat meals after noon, so it's called medicine meal instead." My month spent at a temple in July paid off with at least one piece of information.

"So it's a way to get around the rules then" Yugi concluded.

He didn't seem at all surprised that I knew things about his religion that he was unaware of.

In the evening the rain picked up and the new years ceremony began. Yugi was excited for the large bell to be rung. He told me how many times it would sound, but the number escapes me now. 108 times? Does that have some significance? I didn't ask.

He led me to the area under a tent facing the stairs to the large bell, it was set up for attendees that didn't have the black robe, which is given to those who have taken the Buddhist precept. The ceremony began with chanting while ringing the bell, followed by more chanting and ringing of the bell. This went on for over an hour and I slowly caught onto what the chant was or at least something I believed to be close to it. Eventually we walked in line up the steps and circumambulated the bell. I'm sure to have gained some merit or good karma for that. If nothing else, I will be rewarded in my future life for the night's events.

My merit continued to increase as we returned to the tent for more chanting and bowing in the direction of the bell. "Alright, I could use a stretch" I thought to myself, but this all seemed to take forever and I lost interest before it was over. I was hoping to at least experience a trance state from this repeated action, but I guess I was too focused on having to use the toilet. No luck for life changing spiritual experiences this time.

The New Year rang in with a final bang of the bell and an announcement by a young woman on the TV screens around the bell. Then came a speech by the founder of the temple and a chance for me to run to the washroom. I had built up so much merit in the past few hours I figured that I didn't have to stay for the speech.

Goodnight Buddha.
-------------------

* 加油 (jia you) is a common phrase in Chinese that literally translates to "add oil." It is used as a way to encourage people, telling them "you can do it," "press on," or "go! go! go!"

The Tourist and the Temple

2008-10-14T05:03:11Z

Take a walk through the Ngong Ping Village and you can have a Journey of Englightment, well at least that is what the sign tells you. The “village,” which is a series of shops and restaurants leading you around a small part of the mountain, also has shorter journeys for those too busy for enlightenment; you can take a walk with Buddha or maybe a trip the Monkey King Theatre. It is the dharma of the consumer here on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, so you might as well go for a ride on the Ngong Ping 360,, a cable car heading the rest of the way up the mountain, before building up some merit at the giant Tian Tan Buddha statue nearby this tourist village.

[Read More]

Where could I be?

2008-10-07T04:07:46Z

Friday I was all ready for my weekend trip to Hong Kong. My bags were packed and my plane ticket booked, but I’m sorry to say that something didn’t work out as planned. I took the bus from Taipei to Taoyuan, got to the airport, ticket in hand, and then onto the plane I went. At this point all was still going well, I was on the plane, “everything is fine” I thought to myself, it was time to get ready for my Hong Kong adventure. What could go wrong from here? Well I’ll tell you what happened… my plane didn’t go to Hong Kong at all!

It took me a until Saturday afternoon to realize the airline’s mistake. Friday night I slept in the airport and airports all look the same so you can’t blame me for not realizing at that point. On Saturday morning, all those Chinese people speaking Cantonese must have fooled me, but in the afternoon I figured it out. As I walked up from an underground crossing to see a car with a two-row licence plate, driving around a roundabout on the left side of the road with those blue road signs hanging above, it hit me. I knew at that moment that my plane must have gone the wrong way because I was not in Hong Kong I was in England!

Hong Kong is part of China, isn’t it? Yes, I just checked, the always-reliable resource, Wikipedia and it says that the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the People’s Republic of China way back in 1997 and I certainly was not in China. China is not like this, not Beijing, not Guangzhou, not Shanghai, and definitely not rural-back-end-of-nowhere-China. I should have figured it out sooner, like when I saw the abundance of curry-flavoured snacks and Lucozade in the convenience stores, but I was foolish enough to trust my airline to take me to my proper destination.

Eventually, I left the large Chinatown of whichever British city I had entered and took the metro, which made sure to tell me to “mind the gap,” down to an area known, oddly enough, as Hong Kong Island. Here my assumptions were clarified, yes, I was in England. All I had to do is look around at all those people in business suits with British accents or the multiple Marks and Spencer locations. So next time you get on a plane, make sure it is going where you think it is headed.

Ghost Month

2008-08-30T07:55:41Z

All month I have seen tables outside stores and office buildings that are covered in food and paper money with sticks of incense stuck into them. Often a small fire accompanies these tables, which people use to burn the money. It’s all part of the Chinese Ghost Month. During Ghost Month the gates of hell open allowing all the ghosts to come up to our world, so watch out because they aren’t the friendliest. I’ve been told that they can take control of your Barbie doll or drown you in a swimming pool, so it’s best to keep your dolls and swimming trunks in the closet for a while.

The tables covered in offerings of food and paper money function to feed the ghosts. Hell doesn’t have the best selection so they’re hungry creatures.

This year there has been a little controversy over offerings to the ghosts. It’s not the food, cause we’ve all got to eat, but the pocket money (What do ghosts need to buy anyway? I guess ghost month is their vacation from hell though). The problem is not actually about giving the ghosts some cash, but environmental and health risks caused by burning the money. The Taipei Times reported that the carcinogenic chemicals in the money cause respiratory tract problems when burnt and can stir up asthma in kids. Families will burn the money inside their homes, which causes even more problems because of lack of ventilation, and some people now fear the resulting health risks and the rising cases of asthma among elementary school children.

I know, I know, these doctors and environmentalists are always trying to bring us down with these reports. It’s the tradition here, why are they destroying all the culture?! Well, the movement against ghost money has gone so far to spawn the ultimate in modern protest…a facebook group. The group, “People Against Ghost Money,” argues not only that ghost money “causes everything from birth defects and asthma to leukaemia, lung cancer and skin disease,” but also that it has nothing to do with the original ghost month practices. The group says that ghost money did not come from Daoism, Buddhism or local religious movements, but from the wife of a paper maker. She invented the money to make more real money for her family and was able to convince the locals that they needed to burn it so their ancestors would not be poor. The facebook group currently has around 350 members opposed to ghost money.

I am not sure of the origins of the story about the paper maker’s wife creating ghost money, but I also do not know of the origins of the festival itself. Practiced by Daoists, Buddhists and Chinese in general, the festival is thought to have developed from folk religious belief and was mixed together with a Buddhist festival during the Tang Dynasty.

It may sound a bit odd that people would hear of the health risks and continue to burn the money, but these kinds of rituals are quite popular in Taiwan and it is unlikely that burning ghost money will come to an end anytime soon.

differentghosts @ 2008-08-19T18:19:00

2008-08-19T10:19:51Z

I move on August 26

Dan Murray
No. 11, 3F, Lane 23, Yongkang St.
Taipei City, Taiwan
10650

毛道義
永康街23巷11號
台北, 台灣
10650

differentghosts @ 2008-08-09T02:44:00

2008-08-08T18:45:30Z

living in up in the big city now, so this is a bit dated.
here is my meditation retreat schedule
5: wake up
5:20 tai ji and sitting meditation
6:30 breakfast
8:00 walk, sit, walk, sit, walk meditation
11:30 lunch'
12 walking meditation
12:30-1:30 break!
1-3: walk, sit, walk, sit, walk, sit
3: afternoon tea meditation
3:30-5:45: chores (mine was sweeping) and free time
6: medicine meal
7: chan talk
8:15-9:30: walk, sit walk, sit, walk
10: lights out

for daily life in taibei my schedule is
7: cell phone alarm
9-12: teach kids
after 12: wander around the city

differentghosts @ 2008-07-10T12:40:00

2008-07-10T04:41:22Z

Since last Tuesday and until next Monday my typical day has been

5:30 wake up call; 6am tai chi and meditation; 7am breakfast; 8-11am lectures; 11:30 lunch in dining hall with chanting; noon waking meditation; 1pm sitting mediation; 2pm fo guang shan propaganda hour/cultural activities; 3-5:45pm free time/personal project/wandering around rural taiwanese town; 6pm dinner in dining hall with less chanting; 6:30pm calligraphy; 8pm Q&A session, lecture, or "dharama talk;" as of yesterday we do vespers at 9pm and then sleep at 10pm. Long long days.

Next Tuesday we start a seven day silent meditation retreat, and then we go on a five day cultural tour of Taiwan. For August I will work for a Summer camp in Taipei and then start regular teaching and Mandarin language school in September.

differentghosts @ 2008-07-06T15:46:00

2008-07-06T07:48:12Z

today at the dining hall i saw a nun fall asleep while the abbot was talking. it was great.

things here are going well, very busy though. i will show you pictures soon.
i think i'm taking the train to taipei tomorrow to do a health check for work. so much for a day off.

differentghosts @ 2008-06-04T20:35:00

2008-06-04T22:53:55Z

Yard Sale Yard Sale Yard Sale

Saturday, June 7, 2008
10:00am - 4:00pm
60 Fleming St

CDs, records, tapes, books, books, books.
Lots of other stuff.
Want a TV? a dvd player? a bookshelf?
Everything must go!

differentghosts @ 2008-04-25T11:34:00

2008-04-25T13:53:14Z

YARD SALE

Saturday, April 26 10:00AM

60 Fleming Street

CDs, Cassettes, Records, DVDs, VHS, Books, Books, Magazines, Comics, More, More, More

differentghosts @ 2008-04-22T15:18:00

2008-04-22T17:37:48Z

I have a lot of stuff for sale.
Too much to type up on the internet right now.
Do you like stuff? If so, you should come and see if you want to buy any.
Wicked deals.
Books, CDs, cassettes, records, VHS, DVD, magazines, and other things too.
Some of it is pretty good.

differentghosts @ 2007-11-20T10:12:00

2007-11-20T13:33:33Z

Registered for the last semester of my undegrad degree a few days ago, I can't wait to be finished. This is why I make online journal entries when I have a paper due at 2pm.
Six courses, eww.

ANTH 4412: Modern Cultural Theory (August Carbonella)
RELS 3150: Early Christian Thought:1st Five Centuries (David Bell)
RELS 3320: Mysticism in Judaism/Islam (David Bell)
RELS 3431: Readings in Daoism: the Laozi and Zhaungzi (Lee Rainey)
RELS 3812: Religion and Disney: Not another Mickey Mouse Course (Jennifer Porter)
RELS 4999: Honours Essay (Lee Rainey)

differentghosts @ 2007-11-10T12:38:00

2007-11-10T16:09:32Z

DO YOU LIKE TO MAKE BIG PUPPETS???

Eastern Edge will be participating this year in the Santa Clause/Christmas Parade which takes place on November 25th.

We want you all to be involved! Or send this on to any teens, kids, adults and youth that you think would love it.

The project:

Visual ART: Life sized puppets for children and adults of EYES, blue, green, brown, hazel, all types. Focusing on the Visual Sense these eyes will parade with the letters A, R and T, spelling ART. Eastern Edge, St. Michael's Printshop and the RCA Gallery are celebrating VISUAL ART!

Workshops to make the eye puppets and organize the parade elements will happen on the following weekends from 1-4pm
Sunday November 11th
Saturday November 17th
Sunday November 18th

We will meet at Eastern Edge Gallery.

Materials we are collecting to create these puppets:

Light to medium gage wire
Non-toxic paints
Glue sticks and glue guns
Decorations to make eyes unique and eyebrows and eyelashes interesting

Volunteers and participants in the workshop please call the gallery to confirm: 739-1882
We are looking for artists and their children and anyone else who wants to support the arts, Eastern Edge and have fun in the Santa Clause Parade!

differentghosts @ 2007-10-18T18:41:00

2007-10-18T21:07:15Z

finally developed the photos from disposable cameras

here are a few

statue from group of dancing people

municipal house

me in a tower

more here http://flickr.com/photos/danplusdan

differentghosts @ 2007-10-09T17:43:00

2007-10-09T20:08:40Z

livejournal, it's been so long!
maybe i just love life more than the internet.....no no, that just can't be the case.

is anyone else planning on going to the 2 openings/receptions at the rooms friday? the details about the shows on on the website http://www.therooms.ca/artgallery/

is anyone else planning on going to see the orchid ensemble on saturday? they have some mp3s and videos on their website http://www.orchidensemble.com

if you're going to either, we should go together.

differentghosts @ 2007-08-27T19:55:00

2007-08-27T19:01:13Z

I went to the Muzeum Miniatur today, this is photo from their website. The camels are on a single hair that is placed within a safety pin.

Although I foolishly left the charger for my digital camera behind, there are plenty of other people have taken photos from many of the places I've been going to. This is a view close to one I had at some point today.

Here is another photo someone else took, it is of Old Town Square.

My own photos will probably turn out badly as all I have to use is a disposable camera and a cell phone. Jeeze!

differentghosts @ 2007-08-25T22:17:00

2007-08-25T21:27:18Z

On my way to Sonic Youth I wasn't really all that excited. I guess getting a chance to see all these amazing sights caused me to not spend time thinking about it. So before they started I was probably midway through the crowd , but by the time the first half of Teenage Riot (the first song they played) had passed I was up in the second row in time for Thurston to crowd surf over me.

Really, the show was so good. Played lots of hits, a couple newer tracks and lesser known ones. It was probably the first band that I wanted to wait around to see the encore and although I didn't cheer too much for the second encore it was worth waiting around for too.

Carsick Car opened for them. They're from Beijing and it was their first time playing outside of China. I was surprised that they weren't all that tight and at how awkward their minimal stage banter was. Still, the songs fun and fit well with Sonic Youth. Good band, worth checking out.

So anyway, great night. Even convinced me to buy a t-shirt.

differentghosts @ 2007-08-25T08:37:00

2007-08-25T07:37:57Z

Yesterday I saw a bottle of beer in the grocery store that cost the equivilent of $0.25 Canadian.
Conclusion: Jeff Rose should never come here.

---

On Wednesday in Stoke I picked a huge amount of blackberries in a pretty short amount of time. They tasted so good.

differentghosts @ 2007-08-21T17:44:00

2007-08-21T16:48:06Z

I have a bunch of funny photos of an fairly empty Heathrow where almost everyone is asleep on their bags, on the floor or cleaning staff at the airport. I can't show you though because the battery on my camera died and I forgot to bring the charger with me.
I was in Manchester today and had a lot of fun. Crystal Castles are playing there tomorrow, but it doesn't seem likely that I'd be able to make it for that. Whatever, at least I got a keychain of the Monkey King.

differentghosts @ 2007-08-19T16:11:00

2007-08-19T18:33:57Z

NOISE PARTY

GRAVEYARD WATER

SEAGULL (FROM BC)

At Turner's Tavern
Tonight (Sunday) 8pm
Free

differentghosts @ 2007-08-03T01:47:00

2007-08-03T04:11:19Z

art collaborations are fun

from this

to this

differentghosts @ 2007-07-31T20:53:00

2007-07-31T23:16:48Z

Gabe and I have a band called Graveyard Water. We make noise and are playing a show on Thursday at Roxxy's. More details here.

differentghosts @ 2007-05-16T13:01:00

2007-05-16T15:25:16Z

tomorrow