Arhat Temple

chinanews.cn, August 2, 2006

Chongqing, China -- Recently office workers in Chongqing find new places to relax themselves: temples. They are not followers of Buddha, but believe they can find relaxation by staying in temples.

"Daily routines at work have made our life dry and dull, but fortunately we still have such a quiet place in the din of city life," said a staff member of a company. He often visits Arhat Temple with his relatives and friends at weekends, enjoying the leisurely and placid life there.

Arhat Temple in Chongqing's downtown area fascinates many office workers. Ms. Zeng, wearing fashionable costume, was praying before figures of Buddha in the temple. A company manager, she admitted that her pressure was huge, but she still believed visit temples regularly could help her handle complicated matters in the company.

Like Zeng, many other young office workers also frequent temples, but they seldom pray like Buddhists. They just stroll around the temple halls, watch figures of Buddha and listen to monks chanting scriptures.

Abbots of Huayan Monastery accept some office workers as "temporary monks" in their monastery, where they lead a daily life the same as monks, following the simplest possible life style of the latter.

In the monastery, morning prayer starts at 5 a.m. Monks chant scriptures in the daytime. At dawn, while at night they go to sleep at the beating of drums, indicated these "temporary monks" have no intention of standing aloof from worldly affairs, only hoping to find a carefree mood in the temple, said the abbot.