May 1st - Lama Temple (Yong He Gong)

On the afternoon of May 1st we went to an old Tibetan Buddhist Lamasery. It used to be a prince's mansion until it was converted into a temple in 1470 or so. It was quite nice. They even gave us mini VCDs with our ticket purchase. When we got inside, Cheer decided to buy incense so she could pray in front of every statue. I was slightly annoyed, but was able to take some cool pictures while waiting for her.
The most amazing thing was the giant statue of Buddha which was carved out of a single White Sandalwood tree. It stood 18 meters tall. I still find it hard to believe that it was a single tree because it was so wide!


在雍和宫我们度过了5月1日炎热的下午时光。1470年左右，这座庙宇从一个王子的宫府，变成了藏式大殿。壮观的庙宇，精致的雕花和画工，还有不可思议的唐卡。就连门票也是封好的小袋子，里面装有迷你的VCD。当我们走进雍和宫，Cheer 决定买香烧来拜佛，我知道她不是真正意义上的宗教信徒。对我来说，迷信有点无聊，但，等她烧香拜佛的时间，却正好令我有了拍些许好照片的机会。
最神奇的是，后面大殿里的佛像时用一棵巨大的白檀木雕刻而成的，地面以上高 18米，地下深埋了8米。
我始终无法相信这是真的。因为它非常非常宽。。


Cheer 说：
我不知道，真正意义上的宗教者是怎么样的，但不管是耶稣，玛丽亚，还是释迦么尼，玉皇大帝。我总相信，在很遥远很遥远的古代，是有这么一个人，做了很多不 平凡的事，不一定像世人流传的神乎其神，但一定是大善事，为民造福不少，所以大家才记挂他。我走近他们，了解他们，所以要尊敬他们。敬香，是我表达尊敬的 方式。



Cheer says:
I don't know, which name for god is correct, but I believe in some sort of deity. I just wanted to show my respect and reverence for the beings that have done great things for humanity throughout history. I show my respect by burning incense and kneeling.