Hello from Taipei

[Ghostexorcist]

I am an American who became interested in Daoism though martial arts movies and Chinese literature. I currently live in Taipei, Taiwan where I teach English as a second language. My hobby is to visit local temples and record various rituals. For example, here is a ritual wishing a happy birthday to Qitian Dasheng ("Great Sage Equaling Heaven"), a.k.a. the Monkey King (he is worshiped in southern China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore). I'm not sure of the specific school, though. One scholar I asked initially suggested Chanhe (a school heavily influenced by Buddhism), but later changed his guess to some generic, modern Taiwanese brand passing as Quanzhen.

 

 

[thelerner]

Hi Ghostexorcist,  I think many people here dream of going East, teaching English and visiting exotic sites.  So, to many of us, you're living the dream.  It'd be fascinating to hear more about your travels.  Welcome to the board.

 

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[RiverSnake]

Welcome to TDB. Monkey King is an interesting figure, kind of an enlightened trickster. 

[thelerner]

9 hours ago, RiverSnake said:

Welcome to TDB. Monkey King is an interesting figure, kind of an enlightened trickster. 

It's interesting how many religions have enlightened tricksters.  I don't think Abramic ones have a similar figure.  Or do they, some saint shaking things up?  I'd say the devil plays that role but the enlightened trickster is not malicious.

[Ghostexorcist]

On 12/23/2020 at 12:39 PM, thelerner said:

Hi Ghostexorcist,  I think many people here dream of going East, teaching English and visiting exotic sites.  So, to many of us, you're living the dream.  It'd be fascinating to hear more about your travels.  Welcome to the board.

 

Thank you for the welcome. I originally moved over here in 2017 to improve my Chinese for grad school. My Chinese still isn't all that great, but at least I got a beautiful wife and access to gorgeous temples out of the decision.