Long Life Ceremony, Tongren

Whilst in Tongren, through a family friend who has had much impact in the region, we were lucky enough to have a Buddhist Long Life Ceremony organized for us. I had no idea what to expect and was admittedly quite apprehensive. The monastery was located further down in the valley, a bright white-lined temple with circular stupas and again, colorful wooden gates and statues. Buddhism architecture is very appealing, with its smooth perfectly symmetric curves and almost ‘friendly shapes’, in stark contrast to Gothic spires or minaret towers. Throughout the countryside we constantly spotted odd shapes off into the horizon, on top of mountain peaks and too far for the naked eye to see. From a distance they looked like trees reaching into the sky, beckoning human tributes, arms heavenwards. On triangular bases were attached prayer sheets, made out of thin material, some visibly worn away by time with browned and ragged edges, others newly erected, breezing in the slightest wind.

Buddhist Lunga-prayer flags

The Long Life Ceremony. Walking up the stairs, removing shoes, entering a large hall with around twenty chanting monks seated in two wooden pews facing each other, between them a deep burgundy carpet. The chants were performed at a very low and resonating decibel level, causing the room and the inside of my body to vibrate. We followed the head monk, walking around the room (clockwise), praying and kneeling at different Buddha representations. I had absolutely no idea how I should be praying, what I should be thinking, if it was a desecration to be going through the motions of prayer without internally worshipping the figures in front of me, just acting out what was expected of the moment. We lit candles, incense, and were seated on a bench beside the monks. The total amount of time we were seated was in reality about half an hour, although time began to melt away once the humming of the resonating room began infiltrating my being. I closed my eyes and tried to focus only on the sound of the monks, emptying my mind. One boy was chanting at a particularly high pitch, his voice rising out of the mass, and I focused on his words. Another monk, seated directly in front of me with his back turned, right in the middle, would carry on the chant every time it faded away and his was the most powerful, deep, resounding voice, almost inhuman and guttural, rhythmical and enchanting.

Long Life Ceremony hall

At first, I couldn't calm my thoughts, they were dancing around in circles: how should I sit, how was my friend reacting, were the others watching me, there goes a camera click, empty your mind, think of a beautiful place, dammit you’re thinking, clear your thoughts, on and on and on… But after a while, the individual voices and tones faded and all I could feel and hear was the flowing, rising, falling of the chants and being carried away by them. Afterwards, when the ceremony was over, we were ushered out and the dazzling bright sun of the outside world made me squint; it was strange to be back in the ‘real’ world, the small universe I had just experienced now closed off to me forever. I was consumed by a very powerful emotion, almost to the point of tears... It was very bizarre. On my way out, I looked back at the monks, still chanting in the same pattern, at a fast pace, never ceasing, and locked eyes with the monk who had been sitting in front of me. We exchanged a silent nod of acknowledgement, mine of complete gratitude, and to have had that tangible connection with one of the monks changed the experience for me - otherwise, I fear I may somehow have felt alienated from the whole thing.

Lighting the prayer candles