Day Four: Following our Rainbow.

Rainbow might be the biggest arhat so far. She drove us two hours to the Temple in Yilan. We walked around the Temple, stopping at the altar of Kwan Yin. Some people were doing sitting meditation; others t’ai ch’i. We all sat for twenty minutes in a small meditation room and then ate a simple vegetarian meal in the Temple. The payment was a donation.

As we were leaving, there was a great uproar. We looked and saw what I thought was a circus clown or buffoon, followed by a crowd. Rainbow told us he was a medium priest so we joined his followers and accompanied him back into the Temple. He was wild and one did not know at what point he might spit his drink into our faces. I loved his wildness and went very close to him. What a fine place to live where the wild spirit is still an accepted part of religion. He reminded me of people being caught by the spirit during Voodoo ceremonies in Haiti. I  lenjoyed the mixture of the quiet meditative temple with the completely drunk seemingly crazy trance priest.

On the way back to Taipei we stopped to buy tea (at left: Sat, Rainbow and her friend with the tea salesman). It was a serious proceeding, listening to where each tea came from, how it was made, how to prepare the water for black, green, red or white tea. We tasted many kinds. Tea is as important in Taiwan as wine  is in France. they didn’t sell Kwan Yin tea.

In the car ride home, my neck was really hurting. Twenty-four hours of flying and then four long car rides. Even though it was a Sunday, Rainbow called her chiropractor and arranged for me to have an appointment the next morning at nine. I was to take the subway to Yongning Station and she’d pick me up and take me to his office.