The Lucky Charm
Eight years ago when my mom was packing up my luggage, I was sitting on the bed quietly and rolling my eyes around. For the past eleven years in China, I had been living with my mom. I listened to her on every trivial thing. Sometimes I felt that lost the sense of being myself. Not that I had no say on what to do or what not to do, but the fact was I did not have an opinion for it. As a result, I carried two luggage of daily use articles with me — toothbrushes, toothpaste, books, pens, pillows…… and many other gifts that my aunts wanted me to carry to her. Out of these things, nothing was too special to me except for my lucky charm. It brought me back to my memory of the old days in my country.
As I kid, I learned the habit of praying in the temple from my mom. Growing up just a few blocks away from a temple, my mom and I both developed a sense of superstition. But what else can we do during our free time? We had been living in the same area for our lives, and we had tried every possible entertainment. There was no computer in my house. Life was mostly about going out to the street. When I was tired, I liked to step out of my house and get some fresh air. I liked to walk around the neighborhood and sometimes shopped for groceries. After all these activities, there was nothing else I could do. Going to the temple then became one of my weekly routines.
My first experience going to a temple was at a very young age. It was too long ago that I cannot remember when. The one near my house is called the “Big Buddhist Temple.” Almost every Sunday, my mother would drag me to the temple and asked Buddha for good luck. At the beginning, I had no particular interest in the temple, but I was not too reluctant to go. Everytime we passed the threshold of main entrance, there were always two rolls of homeless people sitting on the ground and begging for money. Some of them had extremely poor appearance and sanitary condition. The ragged homeless, some of them were missing body parts, did not scared the pilgrims away. Most of these people were even apathetic towards the homeless. As we passed through the crowd, we would stop by at a store to get sticks of incense. After that, my mom would kneel down on a pad in front of the giant golden statue of Buddha. I imitated her action and started praying by straightening and facing my two palms to each other. Then, she started saying “My Gautama Buddha please have mercy and bless my family.” She prayed for good health for the family, and wished that her family members far away in the United States could have the best luck and earn more money. After years of this practice, I developed trust in Buddha and believed that there are supernatural existences in the world.
A special amulet that I received from my mom before immigrating to the United States was a lucky charm from the Big Buddhist Temple. It should bless me the best luck in my academic career. It has the traditional Chinese decoration with two knots sewed to a small wooden block. One side of the wooden block contains the picture of Wenchange Emperor, who is the king of knowledge and studies. On the other side, there is a big Chinese character that translated into “good fortune.” The red color of the lucky charm means good luck in the Chinese culture. I hanged this lucky charm on the wall next to my desk. In my deepest heart, I believed that I should respect it anytime because it is the source of my good fortune. I always prayed to it before any important exam. Not only that, it is also gift from my mom that draws back my memory on the love and hope that she has for the family.
