You are about to observe Good Friday in a not-so-familiar place and you are alone.
That was my situation more than a decade ago when I stayed in Hong Kong for almost four weeks after a friend invited me for a vacation and later to look after her place while she was overseas attending official functions.
The bunch of travel brochures I had earlier collected didn’t offer much interesting suggestions for a place that provides an occasion for reflection, solitude and meditation in an urban jungle, where the Lenten season is not part of the national calendar of holidays.
And then I came across a modest pamphlet that described a place of serenity and retreat amid the hustle bustle of a metropolitan city life.
With the details on how to get there, I marked my schedule for the following day – a 25-minute train trip to Kowloon’s Diamond Hill Station, where the Chi Lin Nunnery is just a 10-minute walk away.
A well-manicured path from the main road led to steps – beside which an old Prunus plant stood – to the entrance of the Buddhist temple complex, considered one of the most majestic religious shrines in the country.
The place for solace combines wooden architecture and greenery, providing a picture of ancient tranquility.
As the travel pamphlet described, the nunnery architecture is reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty style wherein structures were built without using any nails.
Chi Lin was built almost 100 years ago – in 1934 as a place of retreat for Buddhist nuns – and was rehabilitated in 1998.
Indeed, it was an ideal place for reflection as only few visitors – less than 10 – were in that Good Friday afternoon.
After a quick tour of the courtyards and corridors, where wooden carvings and some gold work were showcased, I settled in one corner beyond a lotus pond, where I had a good view of another attraction – the Nan Lian Garden, a similarly built temple complex across the road.
Unusual as it may seem, but in the midst of that temple complex, I prayed in thanksgiving for the salvation He gave as I reflected on my faith and the meaning of the spiritual commemoration at about the same time Jesus Christ was crucified on Mt. Calvary’s cross more than 2,000 years ago.
With the serenity and solitude the place offered I had a most meditative Good Friday.
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Another profound Holy Week experience took place in the then New Life Camp in Barangay Isio in Cauayan, where I spent my younger days.
With a couple of friends, we brought provisions good for three days. It was a great time to retreat from city life and reconnect with southern living under the rhythm of coconut trees and the gentle summer waves from the depths of the fabled Sulu Sea.
Fraternal ties were strengthened and moments of spiritual devotion and contemplation were shared in our strolls by the sand, the hillside hikes the sundown swim and the late night chats made more pleasant by the cool breeze and the symphony of the waves.
Indeed, a trip away from the city is always rejuvenating, especially when it is spent for recreation, rest and the nurturance of faith.
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You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3) | NWI
