Tuesday 26 April 2011

Back to Kiama, this time with good weather

Ok, this morning we head off again for Kiama since the weather fortunately seems to be holding up.
And there’s a lot of wind so the blowhole is really at its best.
Unfortunately I;m not able to try the technique I had in mind for a few photos since it’s way too bright and long exposures are simply blown out but that’s ok, the lighthouse goes for a nice use of my ultra wide angle.
Many tourists, lots and lots of families with kids staring open mouthed at the blow hole betting on whichever blow is going to be the biggest.
There’s a nice warm sun and it wouldn’t even feel like the end of April, if it wasn’t for the strong wind.
We take a few photos and then we decide to head north, if the weather is going to stay this way we might make it to the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple of Nan Tien.
Fo Guang Shan Buddhism was founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun and has its major site in Taiwan.
It promotes Humanistic Buddhism, and aims at making Buddhism an important and active humanitarian religion.
They raise million of dollars in charity eery year and whenever there is a catastrophe like the Tsunami in Japan they are the first ones to send money if not the first ones on the spot to help anyway they can.
The temple close to Wollongong in very nice, situated on a vast area on a hilltop and consists of 2 main prayer halls, the Lumbini garden, a library, a museum, a couple of shops and a 5 storeys Pagoda.
Steve and I are captured by the devotion of many visitors, and we both think about our trip to Tibet, although we know that this temple is not similar to the ones we'll see in Tibet.
I've always been drawn to Buddhism, it's like it's calling from a distance and showing me some of the several aspects that I appreciate about it.
But getting over a firm catholic upraising has been very hard and the reasons that brought me to reject its principles are still very strong inside me.
This doesn't mean that I cannot observe and try to understand a religion that seems based entirely on the human being and that does not presume the existence of an almighty god.
I'm content to stand aside for the time being and respectfully watch and learn.
We spend a good hour at the temple, recharged by its peaceful atmosphere and then we head back to Sydney, where our kittens are waiting for us :)

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