PaganSquare


PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form
Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in chinese folk religion

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 

 

In the dream, I am standing with a Chinese family before their household shrine.

Beautifully carved in wood, the shrine is elaborate, immense: it takes up an entire wall of the house.

The gates of the central niche are opened. Behind them stands a finely-rendered wooden statue of Kwan Yin.

Kwan Yin is removed. Behind her stand yet another pair of gates. They open, revealing several painted panels depicting colorful female figures that I cannot identify.

“Pagan goddesses!” cries a woman's voice, as if horrified that such figures should stand behind the boddhisattva.

Now the painted goddesses, too, are removed. Behind them stand yet another pair of gates. These, in turn, open.

An outdoor light shines through. The niche has become a doorway.

Through the open doorway, a long landscape spreads out before our eyes: mountains, valleys, rivers, in unending vista, stretching out to a blue and misty horizon.

Behind Kwan Yin, the goddesses. Behind the goddesses, the Land.

Last modified on
Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    "The weeds will inherit the Earth."
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    "Behind Kwan Yin, the goddesses. Behind the goddesses, the Land." I like that. I look out my window and see my garden. The weeds
Pagan News Beagle: Faithful Friday, March 24 2017

A look at ancient traditions surviving into modern China. Lessons from the Bodhisattva path of Mahayana Buddhism. And Jainism's philosophy on death and dying. It's Faithful Friday, our segment on news about faiths and religious communities from around the world. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

Last modified on
Pagan News Beagle: Faithful Friday, November 4

A look at traditional burial sites in China. Muslim Americans join in protests at Standing Rock. And a consideration of the Confucian perspective on politics. It's Faithful Friday, our weekly segment on faiths and religious communities from around the world! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

Last modified on
Pagan News Beagle: Faithful Friday, August 19

Sikhs raise money to fight cancer. A Christian parent considers how to talk about politics with his children. And a look at the state of traditional Chinese religion in Taiwan. It's Faithful Friday, our weekly segment about faiths and religious communities from around the world! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

Last modified on

Additional information