We Communicated Without Words
We arrived at Fo Guang Shan in Bussy St Georges, France, excited to experience it and not sure what to expect. I had discovered its existence as I was researching on the internet one night in anticipation of a long awaited trip to Paris. The Buddhist temple, the largest in France, was part of The Esplanade of Religions. We were greeted with kindness and respect, and none of us spoke the same dialect. Still we communicated.
Created in 2012, the temple, church, and mosque are a few meters from each other, and a synagogue is under construction. Buddhists. Christians. Jews. Muslims. In 2005, the mayor at the time proposed to the different religious sects to purchase land in his commune at a “broken price”, provided they sign a charter. The charter committed them to an “architectural sobriety, mutual respect, sharing values in the name of Live together”. I was struck by such a beautiful and unique undertaking and added it to my list of things to see in France.
We were greeted as valued guests who they had been waiting to see and invited to follow as if on a tour. The elegant wood and glass building covered just under 2 acres. A 16 foot tall jade Buddha towered over a prayer room for 400. A lecture was underway in one room and our guide gestured to us that we should remain silent in this hall. In addition to exhibition space and meditation rooms, classrooms for Chinese, French, English, calligraphy, cooking lessons, and a restaurant were part of the complex. There is also a 36 room monastery on the site.
Finally we were left to experience on our own. We made our way to a bookstore and gift shop. Neither of the women running the store could speak English so we interacted with smiles and gestures. As we went to the counter to pay for a couple of items, the ladies reached beneath the counter for a box. In the box, were delicately tied mala bracelets and it was communicated that the older woman had made them. Mala beads are Buddhist prayer beads and are frequently used in meditation. As we admired and showed respect for her work, she chose a bracelet for each of us. She then made it clear that she would not accept money! They were a gift from her to us. She accepted a hug from each of us instead of payment.
To say we were humbled and awed by this simple act is truth. Strangers who did not speak the same dialect had found a way to speak the language of loving kindness. Overwhelming to think that strangers could impact each others lives in such way when we have so much trouble getting along in the rest of the world. Writing this reminds me that loving kindness should be our goal. Each day as we join the rest of humanity, why not think of this and make kindness your promise? “Just for today, I will be kind to all I meet”.