The Fortune I Drew at Longshan Temple Years Ago

I have only formally prayed and drawn a fortune at a temple once in my life. It was at Longshan Temple (龍山寺) more than 25 years ago.

I had just graduated from college in the U.S. Before starting my new job in New York, I flew home to Taipei for a visit. That day, I met up with my good friend Cindy and a friend of hers.

Longshan Temple wasn’t in our plan. But as the three of us were chatting, we found out that neither Cindy nor I had ever been to a temple to pray. So, at her friend’s suggestion, we decided to go to Longshan Temple.

Cindy and I followed her friend around and copied everything he did, one step behind him. He taught us what information to include in our prayers and showed us how to use the moon blocks (筊杯).

I have long forgotten exactly what I prayed for, but since it was right before I started my first job, I’m pretty sure I asked for a good career and a smooth start to my new life, among other things.

After praying, it was time to draw a fortune stick from a container of 50 (or 100?) sticks. Each stick has a number, and each number corresponds to one of Guanyin’s oracle poems. I don’t remember about the drawing process, but the stick that I drew was label number 18.

Here comes the wildest part: Cindy drew the exact same number, 18! What are the chances of 2 friends drawing the same stick!

What’s even better: oracle poem number 18 turned out to be a 上上籤, an especially auspicious fortune. We were both thrilled to have drawn such a good one!

After that summer, Cindy and I went off to start our new lives, and the fortune slipped to the back of my mind. I’ve long lost my own fortune slip, but I have a photo of Cindy’s, and that’s the one you see here.

This summer, more than 25 years later, I stood in the temple again. This time I wasn’t there to pray, only to walk around and take photos. I noticed how little the place had changed over the years. It was still busy with tourists and worshippers.

When I got home, I pulled up the photo of the fortune slip and asked AI to explain it, then reflected my life.

Was the oracle poem accurate? Some of it seemed right, but I couldn’t quite say. 25+ years is a long time, and a few lines on a slip can’t sum up everything that has happened since. Life has its ups and downs, and mine has had both.

I’m also not sure how to tell “good” from “bad.” Some years were hard, and at the time I struggled. But looking back, those were the years that taught me the most, and I’d even call some of them blessings in disguise.

Back then, I wasn’t thinking about the gods watching over me. What excited me most was drawing the same number as my friend. That’s still what this slip means to me today. It’s a good memory from Longshan Temple with my good friend Cindy, and the only time I’ve ever formally prayed and drawn a fortune.