Sacred Space All Around Us

Jaz peace

Desiring Faith Relationships

One of the hardest parts of living abroad has been being removed from my support system, my relationships, and my usual sacred connections with other people. Recently, I’ve been really missing the sense of communal worship and family that going to church regularly provides. As my last blog post described, I’m a firm believer in the heart being more important than the ritual, but there is something about being in a community of people who love each other and love God that goes way beyond the ritual of going to church.

So, my feeling of lack compelled me to find someplace to go to church these past two weekends. Unfortunately, both church visits yielded a lot of disappointment. Two weeks ago, was my first free Sunday morning since I’ve been in Hanoi. I decided to revisit St. Thomas, the Catholic Church in the Old District of Hanoi. Since the last time I visited this church I had a positive experience (although it was just to walk through), I thought going to Catholic mass in Vietnam was worth a shot.

St. Thomas Cathedral

St. Thomas Cathedral in Hanoi

I was really hoping for some spiritual wisdom to be thrown at me. Well, I ended up at the French service and the three years of French I have under my belt did nothing to enhance my spiritual life. I said a private prayer, but left feeling unfulfilled.

This past Sunday, I decided to try something different- an international Christian church. Well, South East Asia got hit with a typhoon this weekend and the remnants of the rain soaked me on my one hour bike ride to church. (For the record, I am extremely grateful that my only harm from the typhoon was being very wet, and my heart and prayers go out to everyone in the Philippines who have suffered.) I eventually got to church, but sat shivering in the back row while the pastor promoted an ideology of intolerance of other beliefs with which I disagreed. Again, I left unsatisfied.

I was confused, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way I was pursuing my spiritual growth, and I’ve always noticed a pattern in my life that shows that when I put God first, I feel satisfied. Now, I seemed to be going out of my way to do that, and not feeling any benefit. After a lot of thought and trying to figure out how my approach might have been wrong, I realized this: I was feeling unsatisfied because what I wanted was my faith family, my community of supporters, my relationships with people who were living their lives for God and encouraging me to do so.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with me in desiring these relationships, it’s an absolutely beautiful thing to build families of faith.  However, my faith can’t rely on them, because they won’t always be there. But God will, and that is what has to get me through.

Sacred Lifestyles

If you go into any store, home, or restaurant in Vietnam, no matter if the owners or family are very religious or just moderately so, you’ll find a small alter laden with fruit, candies, and fake American money. This may seem odd to some, this may seem normal to others, but I have come to see it as a really beautiful metaphor for how I want to live my life. Vietnamese altarWith this very small gesture each person has made a choice to bring their faith into everything they do.

They make each room (a kitchen, a shed, a bedroom) into a sacred place. The belief is that by putting an altar there, that area will be blessed. Not only is this a blessing for the shop owners shop, but for each person who walks into their store. They want successful lifestyles, they want success for others too, and the way they automatically pursue success is through faith. For me, the message I take from this is put God first in everything you do, bring God with you everywhere, make each space sacred, make every decision holy and your God will always be with you.

Sacred Space is Around Us

When I was frustrated with my church experiences, or missing my relationships, I forgot that I carry God with me, and sacredness is everywhere. My last post talked about how sacred space is between and in us. Now, I want to add that sacred space is around us. It is our relationships, our homes, our journeys, our thoughts. We are sacred and this world is sacred.

JAz boat rideA few days ago our group travelled to the Perfume Pagoda-one of the most important pagodas in Vietnam, and a site for religious pilgrimage and sacred journeys. Our journey started with a 2 hour bus ride, followed by a river boat ride where we drifted between lotus flowers and lily pads, this was then followed by a three kilometer hike up a mountain. If the boat journey wasn’t peaceful enough, and the hike not beautiful enough, sitting in the pagoda at the top was one of the most serene things I have ever experienced.

The Perfume pagoda is sometimes referred to as a Buddhist’s heaven, and I felt like I experienced a little piece of heaven with the natural beauty everywhere. The actual pagoda is nestled into a large cave. 120 steps down brings you into the grotto and more stone steps, slightly wet with drips of water, and interspersed with stalagmites and stalactites. This brings you further into the cave.Jaz grotto

I’ve always felt God through nature, but never have I seen such a wonderful display of combining nature and religion. Some statues of the Buddha are nestled on natural rock, while others are on elaborate altars. Two large natural pillars form the boy and girl mountains of fertility, and water should be caught from the ceiling as if its mother’s milk, a gift from the lady Buddha.

Climbing down into the coolness of the cave, I felt a wave of peacefulness crash over me. There is so much spiritual energy in that place. I started thinking about all the natural beauty the world has, which I believe are all wonders that God has given us. I thought about how we can honor the earth and these precious places of supreme beauty as sacred.

The journey to this cave is also supposed to be sacred. It’s not an easy walk as I, a fit 22 year old, was exhausted and covered in sweat. But Buddhists of all ages make this trek to gain spiritual enlightenment and get closer to the Buddha. The metaphor I take from this is, our lives are a journey to God, we’ve been given a beautiful world in which to journey in, it’s not an easy road, but it’s a beautiful one.Jaz hike

End of the Journey

When, I started this series of posts three months ago, I thought I was going to talk about rooms, buildings, churches, temples, architecture and statues. While, I think I have Jasminedone that, I didn’t realize that I would have the chance to share so much more. I’ve been able to talk about the sacred space in us, around us, that we build for God, and that God has given to us.

I am so grateful I have been able to share my journey with all of the Faith Fusion readers, and am sad my time in Vietnam is almost over. Here in Vietnam, I’ve been studying and learning so many things, and have grown by God’s grace through so many new experiences. Thank you for joining me. I hope you find sacredness in every step of your own unique journeys.

All posts in this series:
Exploring Sacred Spaces
Cao Dai Heaven
Sacred Space With Vietnamese Friends
Sacred Space All Around Us

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