The morning rituals were fascinating. Jeff is a dentist, so we can't show you his face on television, but I took a (shoddy) photograph of a photograph to give you some idea of what the scene looks like.
The observers sat along a wall, facing two low, dark rooms lit by candlelight. In one, a young white female monk was maintaining a small fire, whose sweet smoke gradually filled the air. In the other, monks sat cross-legged around a low table, chanting intensely in unison. To compare, it sounded a little like a sung latin mass, but more on the same note.
Occasionally, there would be a dropping "Yoooo", and a TA-onggg on a mid-pitched bell. At times, an irregular, speeding high bell or saucepan lid clattering sounds rang out over the voices.
At one point, all the observers were led single-file through both rooms. In the first room, each of us offered a cup of tea to the Buddha. In the second, we were told to offer three pinches of incense. I mistakenly went to take it from the receptacle, rather than the source, was interrupted by a hurried, "No, here!" by the guiding monk.
We were then seated again for the remainder of the ceremony, which lasted an hour. While tuning in to the drone of the chanting, I sketched the room for a visual memory. Take nicked off "to the toilet" (a cigarette).
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