Today, our objective was to observe how cosmopolitan the religious climate was in the 4 major world religions in Ho Chi Minh. So we went to a mosque, a Buddhist temple, then to a Hindu one, and lastly to a Catholic church.
Next we headed to a Buddhist temple. It had numerous shrines and rooms and landings with more shrines and rooms and while it wasn’t large enough to get lost in, it was pretty big. There was a lot to take in, a lot of aesthetics, statues, flashing lights, candles, motion, etc. While it was great to be there, I never got settled and felt distracted. The room that I liked the most was off to the left of the main hall. Aside from a ringing a bell when a worshipper would enter, pray, and “cross themselves” (I could never figure out what sign the hands actually made), that was the only room that I could find some stillness in. It turned out that room had what was called the 12 scenes of hell in it. I found that interesting for several reasons, it was the least visited room, the quietest and until i was told that, it was the room that I liked the most. Not sure what that means exactly but I did give a pray of confession and praised the Lord for forgivness and walked away appreciating that the Buddhists shared the idea of separation from God (from my vantage point).
Hey Brother, just want you to know you are loved and being prayed for. ( family too) Unbelievable so far! The emotional side of it must be and sounds pretty intense. Touring the different places of worship/prayer looks like alot of fun. Sounds like even in the most empty of places it sure is nice to know that God is still there. I am sure that experience will help you understand the people even more as you get ready to meet and greet with them. Look forward to hearing more!