Buddha made me a believer

Jenny and I visited the Nan Tien Temple last week. Located just outside of Wollongong, Nan Tien is the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. Jenny has been anxious to go since we arrived here, but me...not so much. Unfortunately, I'm not a very spiritual person. But after this visit, I'm pretty convinced by this whole Buddhism thing.

First off, this place is GORGEOUS. It sort of sprouts out of nowhere, though you can see the pagoda from miles (or kilometers!) away. I could be wrong, but it seemed like the temple was surrounded by mainly industrial areas, which makes it all the more ironic. But again, the area within the temple grounds was absolutely beautiful.

Nan Tien isn't one single temple but a series of temples with different statues and religious icons in each. Obviously, I couldn't take any photos within the temples, but I did zoom in on one temple that had five huge Buddhas within it (they each represented different ideals), though I could only get two of them in the frame.

Anyway, you had to take your shoes off before entering the temples. Some temples smelled really fragrant and lovely because people were lighting pretty lotus flower candles as their offering to Buddha to answer their prayers. Other temples, however, smelled really strange--like a mix of body odor and incense. Oh well, it's religious so I got over it.

What I like about Buddhism is the focus on putting your beliefs within yourself, not someone else. Some would say that's self indulgent, but I think it makes perfect sense. But then again, I have been called self indulgent on more than one occasion.

Before we left, Jenny and I stopped at the temple's small cafe to try the lotus tea. It was really delicious and we drank it out of tiny wooden cups, which really added to the atmosphere. The tea was presented in a glass teapot with an actual lotus blossom floating in it. Sadly, the lotus flower was a bit withered and the leaves kept getting in our tea. So much for atmosphere.

We went on a Sunday, so the place was quite busy. Some people were there to actually worship, while others (including myself and Jenny, of course) were there to take dorky photos with the baby Buddha statues scattered around the grounds in different poses. I truly hope we weren't being too disrespectful, but Buddha seems like he's a pretty laidback guy.