A house of worship in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sanchong District (三重) has become known as the “cat temple” (貓廟) for the friendly cats that reside there, attracting public attention as well as coverage by international media.
At the Yi Tian Temple (義天宮), playful cats leap around the altar, lie on the worshiping cushions and congregate near the temple’s incense altar to warm themselves on a cold day.
According to temple staff, the cats appear to have attained the same spirituality and perceptiveness as the temple’s worshipers, and seem to be listening attentively during the temple’s regular chanting sessions of Taoist and Buddhist texts.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
The cats also seem to act as hosts, welcoming worshipers by accompanying them through the ritual ceremonies and prayer sessions.
According to the temple’s staff, these 10 pious felines were once stray cats.
The temple is the center of religious worship in the area and it is dedicated to the goddess Matsu.
The front stairway leading to the temple is more than 20m long and several lanterns adorn the front gate. The cats were originally attracted to the temple by these lanterns, temple staff said.
A temple official said the cats stay in the temple due to the kindness of Wang Hsiuh-ying (王秀英), head teacher of the sutra chanting group, who was sympathetic to the plight of stray cats roaming the streets and started feeding them.
Over time, more cats settled in the temple and began treating it as their home, the temple official said.
The felines’ playful behavior has won many people’s hearts and the temple staff have given each of them a name based on their personality, the temple official added.
A worker at the temple said the cats are very tame and friendly, interact with strangers and often rub their body against worshipers’ legs.
He added that when money gets stuck in the slot of the temple’s donation box, the cats sometimes push down the bill with their paw “as if they were the temple’s guardians.”
The worker said that one of the felines was injured in a traffic accident, but after staff hung a protective Matsu amulet around its neck, it recovered from the injury quickly.
He added that a few years ago, a cat named “Niu Niu,” one of the temple’s first felines, went missing.
It was later discovered dead just a short distance from the temple.
Temple staff believe that in her old age, the cat knew she was nearing the end of her life, so she chose to leave the temple quietly for her final departure, a display of its spirituality, the staff added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS