“Mayor” Song – former farmer actually， now real estate entrepreneur in ShenZhen， from the village XiaShaCun – is no religious man. Essentially he does not believe in any gods， but who knows， if not maybe.... and also， no one knows what exactly is going on after death. Actually， “Mayor” Song claims that then everything will be over the way one did not exist before birth， and everything was not even black， but nothing. Like that it was after death， too.
But he does not think about that much， yet (in case that his way of nihilism was proven wrong) wants to leave a small door open， it cannot hurt.
So once a year he visits a temple to engage in the currently prevailing religious
Furnace at the temple.
tasks. An outsider who knows after all that ShenZhen is just 30 years old will be surprised to find that there are many temples in this modern， new city. This atheist country and this newly established city are building temples？ Indeed they do， and better still， there are， surprisingly， even some temples that had originated several hundred years ago. Now industrial or new residential areas have grown all around them. There are chan-Buddhist (known to the West as Zen-Buddhist)， Daoist and Confucian temples， or mixtures thereof， and of utmost interest is that there are temples with Confucian orientation， even though Confucianism is not quite a religion.
But also Buddhism and Daoism (or Tao) are no religions to our understanding of the word. All of them are rather dedicated to more secular aims， to creation of harmony， ethical behaviour and enlightenment through meditation. While there are gods， these are better called ancestors or historical figures， in compliance with the Chinese people’s faith which is enormously revering and respecting one’s ancestors. In contrast to Islam and the Christian religions， theirs are not religions to claim sole representation and don’t urge you to confess your faith. They are tolerant， open， flexible. To Chinese it is strange， altogether incomprehensible， that religion could be a reason for warfare or perpetrating terror attacks. It is just a way to organise one’s life and togetherness in the family and society and to prepare for the fact that there may be an afterlife or a re-birth， until you eventually access nirvana (as far as the Buddhists claim). Why kill for that？
The Chinese religions are rather philosophies and rules， or collections of aphorisms assisting in better understanding life and regulating the cohabitation. Everyone is free to decide whether and how and what he or she believes. Thus it is understandable why the Communist Party and the Government tolerate religions and religious activities (as long as they are not directed against the state) and to build new temples.
“Mayor” Song is old， he has been thinking a lot about life and death. He does not believe in gods， but still a little altar to worship the ancestors is in his corridor， lovingly maintained by his wife and supplied daily with fresh fruit； he does not believe that the various gods of the Chinese will make a difference， but still before any large investment (“just in case！”) he prayed to Cai Shen (财神)， the God of Finances. He does not believe in ghosts， but respects the concerns of his wife who sees them everywhere. Most remarkable he finds that his wife will get off an elevator when stopping on a floor between and no one enters： “Then a ghost has entered the elevator， I would not share that place with it！” But he lets her talk without a word against， smiling softly to himself， shaking his head unnoticeably. He does not believe in reincarnation， but will not
Prayers and offerings.
ultimately exclude anything. (“It cannot hurt.”)
Since he does not quite know which back door to leave open he also is not determined on which temple to visit but changes every year. This year again， it was pure chan-Buddhism’s turn， with the large HongFa Temple (弘法寺) above the botanical garden. It is the only pure chan-Buddhist temple in ShenZhen， and the most modern temple of its kind in China.
There is a varied crowd. Old and young， poor and wealthy， healthy and sick， individuals， unmarried and married couples， groups， adults with and without children – here you can meet a blend of all residents of ShenZhen. In many places memorabilia are sold， such as incense sticks and other accessories which are necessary for the prayer and the offerings.
Wang QingFang’s mother is a deeply devout Buddhist， whatever that may mean. She is studying the books and teachings of chan-Buddhism， and her daughter has shown her (because that is modern) corresponding websites， set up with bookmarks on an older laptop， which she received from her daughter’s husband. She buys CDs of enlightenment， meditation， and training content.
Often she visited a temple， gives offerings and prays. For her daughter shall conceive a healthy baby， no matter whether son or daughter. She is not as crazy as all those Cantonese who want only sons. Where are they supposed to come from if there are no daughters？ So she prays often. Four weeks before birth， they travel together to a temple in the home-town. Wang QingFang’s mother is praying， Wang QingFang herself does not， but she respects her mother. Later she will say， “Yet it helped， you see！” For Wang QingFang has conceived a healthy boy.
Every time her mother is in ShenZhen， visiting her daughter and now also the child， she goes to the botanical garden， not for watching plants and birds， but to climb the little hill， passing through a dense rainforest， and then up the stairs to the HongFa Temple.