The Hall of Prayers
The Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests is a building within the larger complex called the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China.
Twice a year, the emperor of China used to go up the stairs while saying prayers and performing rituals at every landing after going up nine steps. Then he went into the building and performed more rites, also based on the number 3 and the number 9. The number 3 represents the 3 levels of reality (or existence), and the number 9 represents the number of power.
Good and Bad Emperors
It was believed that good harvests were the consequence of the emperor’s good relationship with Heaven. For this reason, it was extremely important to do these rites. In doing them, the emperor set the intent that the nation would flourish.
Conversely, if the harvests failed, the emperor was blamed, and other clans would make a bid for the throne.
Furthermore, if the country wasn’t doing well in any way, that meant that the emperor had lost the favor from Heaven. That opened the doors for a change of government.
3 Levels of Reality
In ancient East Asian philosophy there’s a belief that reality is expressed in 3 levels: heaven (ideas), humankind (emotions) and earth (actions in the physical realm).
For the emperor to secure good harvests and a good overall life for the people in the nation, he needed to stay in connection with Heaven, to get inspired with the right thoughts and ideas to lead the country.
Then the emperor needed to use his own positive emotions to inspire the people to take the right actions, for the good of all.
How the 3 Levels of Reality are Expressed in the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests
The platform that gives access to the Hall of Prayers and the way the building itself was built, were designed to express the 3 levels of reality.
See for yourself on this video. After you watch the video, keep scrolling to find your homework.
TRANSCRIPT:
The way you access the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is by going up three flights of nine steps. In this photo you can actually count the nine steps in this section.
You have three levels going up to the main platform, and then you have three roofs on the actual building. This repetition of three is a representation of the three levels of existence according to ancient Chinese philosophy, which are also used in all of the branches of ancient Chinese medicine, of which Feng Shui is part.
Here you can see a schematic of the Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests in the Temple of Heaven.
So there’s three levels that you go up to get to the main platform, and then three levels in the roofs for the building.
You go up through Earth, Humankind, and Heaven, and then again there’s a representation of Earth, Humankind, and Heaven in the building itself.
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Your Homework for Video 13
Answer these questions below using the “reply” feature:
1 – Had you noticed on your own that there are three levels of reality?
2 – Can you think of an experience where you first had a great idea, then you motivated yourself through strong emotions, and then took action to turn that idea into a reality? How did that feel?
3 – Is there anything you would like to see happen in your life in the next year? What ideas, emotions and actions do you need to make that happen?
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