Nan Tien Temple

Nan Tien Temple

(an excerpt from my yet unpublished book iHealeress, A Memoir of a Shameless Old Lady who befriended the Universe)

Time regression. I think it was the year 2008 when I met a young Polish couple, Marta and Marcel. One of my friends from Poland asked me if I could help these two young people settle down in Sydney. They arrived on student visas to improve their English, experience life in another country, and to learn to survive on savings and casual income. We clicked. Since they had a 20-hour work permit per week, I offered them some work helping me with gardening, cleaning, and other chores.

On the last day before they went back to Poland, I decided to give them a memorable farewell gift. I offered to take them on an excursion, wherever they wanted they go. I presented them with a few interesting options, but Marcel insisted on visiting Nan Tien Temple, located 80km from Sydney. At that time, I’d never been there and was not planning to see it, as I knew it was a new complex and assumed it was not worth my time. I’d seen so many old Buddhist temples all over the world.

Marcel insisted. Wow. It was breathtaking: tranquillity, peace, order, and harmony. Thank you, Marcel. You gave me purpose and stimulation for the next two years. On my return from the temple, I studied its website and found a two-day meditation course. I decided to join, as it advertised a the experience of monk life. We were supposed to wear habits and live in accordance with the temple’s formula.

The day came. After arrival, I left my luggage in Pilgrim Lodge, dressed up in the habit and went to meet everybody downstairs. We had the rules explained to us, received our timetables, and were directed to the meditation hall: a big room in the main complex of the temple. It was not cosy, but somehow elegant and harmonious. It was equipped with ascetic, but good quality furniture and accessories that were necessary to proceed with meditation.

The star, Reverend Mao You, appeared. She was a beautiful woman, around my age, radiating warmth. She calmly waited for silence and started to talk in a soft, clear and confident way. The speech was simple, logical, and on topic. She infected us quickly with her peace and we all were happy to surrender to her will. First she explained the communication methods around the temple.

As it was a woman’s order, nuns were communicating by producing sounds using two wooden rods. The required message was coded in a number of beats, as well as by the rate of said beats. We were prepared to decode all sound messages during our stay. Next, she clearly explained small rituals for before, during, and after the meditation period. We were ready!

We went through two deep meditation sessions with a morning tea break in between. There was an unexplained happiness, an unexplained will to surrender to the required order, and an unexplained will to join the organism of the temple. We all naturally put a lot of effort into all our activities; like leaving our shoes orderly in lines with shoelaces artfully arranged inside, and we obediently refrained from talking or looking at others.

At noon we ate a vegetarian lunch in silence, during which we were asked to chew every bite 30 times. Next, we had scheduled one and a half hours of contemplation at the lotus pond. There were a few topics to choose from. I chose to reflect on the connection between three words: I, nature, and meditation.

I was sitting for more than half an hour trying to make sense of these three concepts taken together when I spotted a duck. The duck seemed to enjoy its life very much. I was reasoning that the duck was just happy, not planning anything and enjoying the moment.

Next, I moved my eyes onto a big, majestic tree, and eureka! When I am in the state of meditation there is no difference between me and the tree. I am like the tree! I am nature. I am one with nature. Oneness.

I got it! But then it was only the first level of understanding the oneness.

After contemplation, Reverend Mao You gave us a short and clear lecture on basic Buddhism. Discussed as well were Buddhist ethics: the Eight Noble Paths. Again, with simple and clear words, she told us what was good and what was wrong. She awakened us to a simple world of clarity, order, righteous, and justice. Concepts that recent society buries under tonnes of makeup, thousands of account numbers, meaningless news, and accepted ways of cheating. In fifteen minutes she formulated everything that was important in life; so obvious, so basic, so true, and yet totally forgotten.

After this speech we had a thirty-minute break during the program. I went back to the Pilgrim Lodge to take a shower. The running water took away the remains of contamination and confusion that were left on me and an enormous sound at the deepest core of myself came out, catharsis like a lion’s roar. In this sound I released the pain of the falseness and corruption I’d been exposed to throughout my entire life.

The next day there were more talks and discussions, and a lot of laughter. Reverend Mao You explained her life as a Buddhist nun. Among other things she told us she was allowed to have only four belongings: two everyday robes, one for special occasions, and a bowl. It was funny, because later someone asked her how she wakes up at 4am every morning. She said she has an alarm clock built into her iPhone. We laughed and corrected her that a contemporary Buddhist nun actually has belongings.

She talked also about the pleasures in life. She said everyone has their own ways of perceiving and understanding pleasure. She said that Buddhist nuns have their own fun as well, but in their case, it does not need to be sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I adored her.

Reverend Mao You seduced me completely with her righteousness and simplicity. I was in. When she distributed the pamphlets about the opening of the Nan Tien Institute, an affiliate body of the Wollongong University, I started to redesign my plans to fit the course of Master of Applied Buddhism into my life in the nearest future.

Back to present time. That was 10 years ago. My journey to enlightenment has been continuing since then. I was a healer and at a crossroads. Somehow, I felt a desire to see Reverend Mao You again. I wanted to learn how to be a Great Master from her. I wanted to learn how to implement some of her methods in my work. I also just wanted to stay a while in her aura.

So, in the middle of my radiotherapy I was driving to Nan Tien Temple to experience Reverend Mao You again. After necessary formalities, she appeared. She recognised me and greeted me warmly. Unfortunately this time she was teaching for only an hour. The other teachers, a man with whom I studied with at the temple, tried to pass to us some Buddhist knowledge, but it did not have the same impact. The young nun tried to convey the wisdom of meditation, but it was not impressive, or maybe I had changed. I decided to ask if Reverend Mao You would do more teachings and after finding out she would not, I skipped the rest of activities and left the temple early the next morning.