Deities and Faith
Besides fewer incense offerings, what happens when a temple has no visitors for a long time?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
Alongside religious feelings, some temples face operating difficulties. Visitors’ voluntary donations toward incense and lamp oil help maintain operations. During pandemic restrictions on entry, fewer visitors meant that support was affected too.
From a religious perspective, I see temples as places gathering people’s intentions. When people worship, look at a deity’s statue, and express prayers and gratitude, they form an energetic connection with the deity. Seeing many people share a belief may also strengthen one’s confidence. A temple’s role is therefore connected with people actually visiting and offering their intentions.
When visits declined that year, I also felt the temple’s energy decrease. This was my own religious experience of the relationship between believers and temples. When discussing the effect on incense offerings, I included this aspect as well as the practical needs of continuing operations. It is not merely about how much incense is burned.