Malik Watkins's Bloglines

One of the things I absolutely love about Penang, and in general the small Asian Towns, is the organic aspect of it in terms of how it reflects the everyday lives of those who live there…thus, first stop – the neighborhood temple.  Now, I will be the first to say…I have done more than my share of studying various religions…after all, I am a preachers kid and the Grandson of Missionaries 🙂  What’s up Granddad, Nana and Pops!!!!  But, I won’t pretend to be an expert on all the Eastern Religions…what I do know is that most neighborhoods have a temple that is frequently visited by those in that area.

And so, the journey continues.  From the distance, you can see the haze of the smoke!  Seems like a good direction to walk in…and behold…there is a temple…crowded with people.  The haze/smoke came from the incense that were burning.  From what I’ve been told, the smoke from the incense carries the prayers to heaven…and the moving up and down of the incense is to get the attention of God!!  Okay…I can work with that!!  Always, paying respect to someone’s belief…I stood outside for a moment to gather whether it was respectful to walk in…I saw a tour bus pull up loaded with Japanese tourists, so I said…well, Malik…let’s give it a  shot 🙂

Of course, I was paying myself way to much attention…once I walked in…not one soul even looked at me…they were doing there own thing…sounds good to me…so I ventured…walked and explored…

They are focused on their Prayer Business – Nothing But Respect from Me….Love It!!

Absolutely Beautiful…Love the Commitment….

As I observed and studied what they were doing, I got a bit more comfortable and thought I would venture over to, what I would call the altar.  As I was standing there, an old man tapped me on my shoulder…I was like “what’s pops”…and he gave me the stare down…so I gave it to him back…In my mind, I saying “look pops,I was born in L.A. and now live in Georgia, I’m about 6’6″ and you are 5’5” at best, you don’t want none of me”…he was like “move”…and so we gave each other the stare down…then I looked over and saw the sign… “no shoes on the carpet”…silly me…so, I looked back at him…a bit more humble…as this is my blog…I didn’t want Ip Man – Bruce Lee’s Teacher – giving me a beat down in the temple so I could become a part of his blog!!! So I gave him a humble smile..and said “my fault sifu”… 🙂  In all seriousness though…he was a kind gentleman…it is up to me to learn their culture and what to do and what not to do….awesome cultural experience 🙂 My Man!! My Pops!!

The smoke, hopefully it carried up some of my prayers as well…like everyone else, I could use a little help from whomever is going to give it to me 🙂

And they say, the bigger the Incense…the more powerful the prayer…okay, give me the real big one…keep in mind, these Incense were almost as big as me

And, who doesn’t love candle’s….it does wonders for the atmosphere…God must love candles as well…certainly the universe does…a must have…perpetual prayer….

Walking down the street, came across another temple…love how spirituality is a main stay in the built environment…adding another piece to my City & Regional Planning Background:

As I mentioned, many of us need to get over ourselves…there are exceptional places, people, and things all over the world…Okay, still need to rest the feet…walked away without getting a beat down from Ip Man…so I’ll count my blessings…time for some lunch and some sleep…back at it in a bit!! 🙂  Peace!!