My Encounter With Buddhism In Shanghai

Finding Buddhism across the world.

The street was packed when the bus dropped us off at the corner. I walked along the crowded sidewalk dodging beggars, solicitors, and the multitude of incense sticks burning on the ground. The sidewalk was crowded with tables of people selling lighters and some type of fire sticks. I was traveling to see the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai on Saturday, January 12th, expecting to have a fairly typical tourist experience. I had no idea, however, that I was about to witness something remarkable and utterly different from anything I had seen before: Buddhism.

As I rounded the corner near the entrance of the Buddha Temple, I saw a tremendous line sprawling across the faded yellow wall. The line didn’t faze me because my tour group was able to head right inside the Temple, which apparently was unusually crowded. As I walked inside, I saw pure and total chaos. Instead of gazing at tourists taking pictures of the golden statues or the ancient-looking Chinese courtyard, there was fire. So much fire and smoke hovered inside the illuminating red walls, which were packed with people. There were people buying incense and individuals standing near giant cauldron contraptions where fire was highlighting the anything-but-lonely courtyard. The instant I stepped inside the Temple, I was smothered in white smoke. Eager Chinese individuals flocked towards the various statues inside the buildings.

At first, I didn’t understand what was happening. Since it was winter and off-season, the other tourist destinations I had been to in Shanghai weren’t exactly busy. This was the complete opposite. I couldn’t help but notice that people were holding up lighted incense and bowing down in a circle: they were praying. The more I looked around the courtyard, the more people I saw praying. They were anxiously waiting in short lines to go inside the different temple rooms and had their palms facing each other in prayer. I squirmed my way inside one of the rooms from the courtyard and saw people kneeling in front of the various Buddhist statues.  They would kneel upon a red mat and bow up and down praying in front of a grandiose relic. Many people also donated money into a red box.

I absolutely couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. I would walk into a room with the most beautiful golden Buddhist statues and then I would see people praying or giving offerings to what appeared to be the statue. Our tour guide told us that it was crowded because it was the first day of Buddha, which was celebrated on the lunar calendar. I was watching a kind of Buddhist New Year Celebration by accident!

Looking back on that place, the Jade Buddha Temple, and that time, the first day of Buddha, I wouldn’t change anything. Yes, the Temple was packed, and yes, my hair smelled like burnt ashes for the rest of the day, but I also got to see an ancient religion and an ancient culture still practiced in a modern day. More importantly, I realized that I loved seeing locals participating in such an old ceremony and worshipping Buddhism.  When we travel, sometimes people tell us not to visit certain places because it will be crowded with locals, but the special holidays are what can define the culture and the people you are visiting in a most unique manner.

Amanda Purcell

Amanda has traveled throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Her secret travel tip: visit places during off season. She loves walking around cities that she's never been to before, especially if she can't speak the local language.