There is a story associated with the above photo. The man is the guardian of the Pagoda. He is said to have searched everywhere for donations and offerings to the Jade Emperor, but found none, so instead he cut out his own intestines and offered them. This is a great story of heroism and self sacrifice. I thought it was funny that as the guardian he is facing the Pagoda not facing outwards on the watch for potential enemies. Either way, for me, it set the tone for entering into the courtyard of the Pagoda.
There were was a pond of fish and and a pond of turtles. It is good Karma to buy a fish or turtle and then release it back into the water. Luan, one of my Vietnamese friends, said that he never really understood why it was bad karma to catch them in the first place. I thought that was a great point. I still loved seeing all the fish and turtles. Some of the turtles had writing on their shells. The idea is that if you write a wish on the shell and then release the turtle, your wish will go to heaven and be granted.
The horse above was the horse of the emperor and was said to be very very intelligent. Many people would come in and touch its head and then touch theirs. I did it, it cannot hurt right?
This is the God of Money! He wears black and white because he was a very bad child. His mother just wanted him to go to school, but he never did. Eventually she passed away with him never doing a single thing that she wished. Obviously he regretted this after she died so he wore black and white in mourning thereafter. Pray to him if you need wealth, and preferably give money. I wonder who takes the money in the end? Sounds like a head of the temple scheme to me.
These reliefs were amazing. There were very many. I only show a couple. They depicted the judgment in hell and the sentencing to your punishment before rebirth. The whole thing reminded me so much of Dante's Inferno. Crazy how the traditions overlap. I wonder if the people who made these reliefs also came to the conclusion that Dante did, that Gods love or just love in general, depending on how you want to think of it reaches even down to the furthest pits of hell.
These are the fertility gods. All women here. You come to them if you would like to have a baby. There are 12 lining the sides one for each month. Very interesting.
Overall the Pagoda was beautiful. But it did not put me into a spiritual place at all. Maybe it is because I was a tourist and just learning about the things around me. I feel the real reason though is that everything seem so modernized and slightly superficial. God of money, and gods of heaven and hell. It all seems slightly pandering and taking the metaphors too literally. Chances are thought that I just was not in the right state of mind.
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