Voices

All over Taiwan, March brings Mazu celebrations large and small, and Yilan is no exception. I, who had never joined any pilgrimage before, managed to sign up for the 'Taipingshan Welcomes Mazu Day Trip' — perhaps it was Mazu's favour that let me have the good fortune to join these ranks.

The forecast before we set off said temperatures were dropping in north-eastern Taiwan, overcast with rain. We set out from the Luodong forestry site under a faintly cloudy sky, but once we entered the Taipingshan area and climbed with the rising elevation toward Jianqing, the sun blazed down, the mild warmth was delightful, and my heart grew glad and at ease — perhaps this was the hospitality of Lord Koxinga of Taipingshan Zhen'an Temple, and the blessing of all the deities.

The gathering point was Zhulin Station at the Luodong forestry site. After checking in, I felt the first surprise at once: the staff of the Yilan Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency handed out commemorative event shirts to everyone, in a deep crimson-purple. Putting one on brought a youthful joy and a sense of ceremony; this little gift was deeply memorable — and there was a small blessing bag too, of course.

So that we wouldn't just chase the itinerary after Mazu, the Yilan Branch also wanted us to understand Taipingshan's culture and history better. The teacher leading our carriage guided us along the way, explaining the timber-hauling routes, as if we were walking into a time tunnel of the forestry site, following the footsteps of those before us to visit Taipingshan alongside Mazu. At the very end, we also visited the Taipingshan Clubhouse, a historic building of hinoki cypress, and listened to two professional docents guide us through its beautiful natural-history stories.

'Mazu' is among the most worshipped and revered of deities, her incense now so abundant it is no different from that of the Bodhisattva Guanyin in Buddhism. In Buddhism the bodhisattvas and Buddhas are solemn and not to be touched at will, yet this time we not only followed Mazu on a day trip but could draw so close to Mazu and the other deities — approachable, sheltering us like a mother — and were even allowed to touch them. What great luck and blessing it takes to meet such a thing.

As a Yilan native, I had been to Taipingshan many times yet never seen a sea of clouds. This time a thought rose in my heart — a silent prayer that if only I were granted the great sight of a sea of clouds, I would surely write an essay to share with everyone. Sure enough, in no time the sun came out, and the sea of clouds slowly appeared before my eyes; in that instant my eyes brimmed with tears, for I knew Mazu was right beside me, knew the pain and the hardship in my heart, cherishing our toil, caring for us and our families, helping us through our difficulties. In that moment there was an indescribable surge of feeling — of peace, and of being deeply moved. Following the deities to each stop, and above all the Bonbon train, that splendid ride toward Maoxing Station — everything was so special, so solemn and reverent.

Thank you to the staff of the Yilan Branch for arranging such a thoughtful, comfortable and richly filled cultural-festival day trip, making the passing-on of Taipingshan's sixty-year Welcoming of Mazu tradition all the more splendid, and letting us understand the variety and hardship of our forebears' lives in the mountains. Over many years the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency has worked hard to safeguard nature for us all; its care of the forest land and forest resources has let the once-damaged, over-logged mountain ecology come alive and flourish again, becoming the best shield for protecting the environment.