INTRODUCTION In an effort to experience a cultural and community experience that is outside my “normal” culture and encourages interaction among people with whom I might not normally interact, I attended The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: The Lamrim Chenmo teachings at the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center located in Middletown, Connecticut on July 8, 2014.
PRIOR TO VISITING THE CENTER Before I visited the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I tried not to do too much research about the Center and Tibetan Buddhism on purpose before attending because I wanted the experience to be fairly raw. I thought the better prepared that I might have been, the less chance that I might feel the
…show more content…
However, I arrived at the Center nearly 20 minutes early, which also gave me a level of anxiety because I did not want to interrupt if other activities were going on, nor did I want to be sitting awkwardly within the Center itself alone for arriving too early.
DURING THE VISIT TO THE CENTER As I approached the Center, I could feel myself growing nervous. However, this is not an uncommon feeling for me, as I often feel nervous when there is timing involved. I never want to arrive too early nor too late – I want to be exactly on time. As I came up to the Center I began to realize what some of my expectations had been (I had attempted to think about these before I went to the event, but I realized that I wasn’t sure what I was expecting until I got there and felt that my expectations were either confirmed or denied). The Center is a house with a porch and a small sign reading “The Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center). I was not expecting a converted house, but rather some sort of stand-alone building, perhaps like a temple, synagogue, or church. As I went inside, I saw rows of shoes from students before me, and remembered to take off my shoes prior to going into the shrine room as I had read on the Center’s
It goes without saying that I learned so much in Religious Studies 101. I was introduced to multiple world religions that were foreign to me prior to taking the class. I never felt the need to explore any other religion besides Christianity because I was content with my faith. However, after learning about different religions and interacting with people that are not Christian, and grew up with different beliefs and values, I now find myself questioning reconsidering my beliefs. By being exposed to the rituals and ideas of cultures and religions across the globe, I find myself wondering what it would be like to follow some of these principles or to try some of these practices for myself. I find myself trying to follow the moral guidelines and principles of the traditions I learn about all the time. It has helped me ask even more questions and broadened my horizons. It 's helping me shape my beliefs and find out who I want to become. I was especially fascinated with Buddhism and have grown a huge admiration for it. In my learning portfolio I will examine what I learned about Buddhism and what about it is so appealing to me. I will also briefly summarize that I learned that Buddhism – just like any other religions, is not flawless and cannot provide a perfect view of life that would be influential enough for me to devote my faith to it. However, there are certain
For this experience, I decided to explore Buddhism in order to enhance my involvement with the religion and build a strong understanding. What intrigued me about Buddhism was the social aspect and diversity that it had to offer. In order to explore this religion from a critical and analytical viewpoint, I decided to attend a weekend service offered at San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin. The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin main temple is located in the Japantown section of Central San Jose. What made this temple stand out amongst the others was its historical standing in the community. It is one of the oldest temples established in the United States. In order to learn more about the history, environment, and community as a whole, I decided to contact the temple’s staffs. After a brief phone call, I was able to schedule a tour. In preparation, I decided to do a brief research on Buddhism to familiarize myself with the religion beforehand. With all preparations and research necessary, I was ready to visit San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin.
When I visited the Phat Da Buddhist Congregation in San Diego, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in San Diego, I was taken by surprise that the service was given in Vietnamese. The decorations on the wall, the sacred images displayed at the altar, and the vibrant color of the monk’s robe were still familiar, but what was being said was (very) foreign to me. I quickly became impatient and preoccupied with the question on why I was there in the first place. What would I write about for my final Buddhism assignment if I could not understand what was being said? One thing was clear, the day I visited, they were celebrating Buddha’s birthday with huge display of rituals and ceremony, and a big birthday cake at the end.
The life experience during the kid’s time is one of most important time in the life. I have learned this by the hard way. When people looking for how should their kids to learn, I think people should pay more attention to what are their kids learning. Times are changing, the old thought of teaching might not fit in today anymore. I am always hoping one day today’s student could teach kids, because today’s student knows more about what kids like, what should kids know at this time of the day. SEU’s CCU class’s Cultural Engagement Assignment have given me a chance to see my childhood dream in life. I have decided to go one of the activity on Saturday. I have gone three times, first time I want is because I have to; the second time I want is because I like it and I want to do something I can to help the kids, also I want to know about the kids grow up in the family that not so good. Before I want the activity, my understanding of “Cultural Engagement,” is the connection between the people and the cultural, but after I want the activity, my understanding of “Cultural Engagement” has changed, it became what kind of culture for the kids have been growing up have affected to their dream and behavior. I will never forget a point that so many pastors have mentioned - Christians should never need to tell others that they are Christian but people should able to tell that we are Christian. As being Christian, we need to show the love to others and share the God’s words and
I visited Red Clay Sangha (Atlanta) (https://redclaysangha.org) on February 19th. Red Clay Sangha is a young Buddhist community which offers meditation, chanting, study and fellowship. Around 100 people belong to the community. This community is dedicated to bringing the compassion and wisdom of Buddha's teachings and practice to all without disparagement. Their organizational and spiritual leaders are chosen their own to represent the values of RCS as a whole. Their policy is that all members should feel that their voices are heard. They are dedicated to consensus as a process of decision making.
My cultural immersion focus is on the religious war in Nigeria. One of the interesting things I found in my research was that, in Nigeria the Christian faith and the Muslim faith represents the greatest percentage of religions. I also learned that the Christians and Muslims pray every day several times a day. With that being said, I wondered if they believed in a higher entity prayed every day, who they are praying to? And what is their belief system based on? (question 1) Since their Christian faith seems to be divided into Catholic, Protestant or some other, I decided to attend a typical Catholic Church service and a Friday mid-day Muslim prayer service. Maybe I should not have used the
A Turning point signifies a change in the past that has a great impact on the lives of people or an individual. The 1963, Buddha Riot is considered as a turning point in Vietnam history, it impacted the lives of Vietnamese people forever. It also captures the attention of millions of people globally and locally. There are many minor events that occurred in history that did not significantly affect individual’s lives like how the Buddha’s Riot printed the hearts of the Vietnamese people. However, the turning point that is chosen to be discussed in this research paper is the event that took place many years ago on June 11th, 1963 in Vietnam. The Buddhist Riot was not just an event that occurred out of pleasure; it was a dramatic event that
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Buddhist mon, writer, and peace activist (Ogilbee,164). He asserts that the point of spiritual teachings is not to believe one specific teaching over another, but rather the overall experience of the transformation. From the description of his teachings, it does seem accurate to sacredness to wherever Thich Nhat Hanh engages in Zen Buddhism rituals. His gathers attract all faiths. He creates a community of pilgrims where all are welcome. Each is taking a journey that strips away responsibilities so that pilgrims can look within themselves and address fundamental issues. People are able to release fears, worries, and anything else that they have tried to avoid. They can let them go and reconnect with the world (Ogilbee,168).
Thesis: By being more familiarize with the Buddha, you will have a greater appreciation of the Buddhist culture.
Buddhists define enlightenment as “the state of perfect knowledge or wisdom, combined with infinite compassion” held accountable by the 4 Noble Truths of “suffering, origin, extinction and the way to its extinction” (Nyanaponika 296). Whereas the Western ideology defines it as the “acquisition of scientific knowledge, increasing social justice and maximizing human happiness” (Angel 1). These two definitions highlight the contrast between the two different philosophies and what they stand for. In the nonfiction narrative book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard uses Eastern schools of thought, such as Taoism and Buddhism, as the direct antithesis to the Western schools of thought, Christianity and Judaism. Comparable to the core attributes of Taoism and Buddhism, Dillard believes the world is an ever changing activity that ceases to stand still. She writes the book in a way that allows each individual reader the opportunity to interpret what she has written in a unique and unparalleled way. Dillard provides a guide for one’s self discovery of oneself and the path to “consciousness [through] heightened awareness that opens to all at the great door” (Dillard 82). She suggests consciousness opens the doors to full awareness but “self-consciousness, however, hinder[s] the experience of the present. It is the one instrument that unplugs
In class, we watched a documentary movie called, “Cave in the Snow”. The movie discusses a Tibetan nun named Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, formerly known as Diane Perry, a journey where she spent twelves years practicing a Buddhist meditation in a mountain
Since 1976, the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas has occupied 700 acres of land in my hometown of Ukiah Ca. When I was growing up in elementary school our school and many other schools would take a field trip to the Buddhist Temple on the Chinese New Year to watch their celebration and have lunch. This had been my only time visiting until this research project. I had always wanted to know what it was like but never had the chance to visit until now. When I went home for Spring Break I decided to take tour of this religious community with my sister. Before our visit I had called to see when the perfect time to get a tour would be so we showed up around 8am when they first open. When we drove in we went
For my second culture immersion project I went to eat at a Mexican restaurant. I went with my group members Ryan, Brian and Brian's girlfriend. I went this pass Tuesday after we had our group meeting. I don’t recall the name of the restaurant but I know it was downtown Appleton near by the Walgreens. . This was good choice for the project because I never have eaten at an actually Mexican restaurant before.
Milarepa’s captivating life story depicts a man willing to commit sins on behalf of his mother’s command to one that decides to leave his family, in order to achieve enlightenment. This autobiography allows him to remain to be a beloved yogin because of his drastic and fulfilling spiritual transformation, thus encouraging Tibetans to seek a similar path to nirvana in their lifetime. However, Milarepa proves that one’s journey to liberation and enlightenment has to be earned and fought for spiritually and psychologically.
As I took off my shoes before entering the main temple before the first worship session began, I began to feel a sense of peace within myself as well those that were attending the worship session. Inside the main temple was a huge statue of Buddha surrounded with white silhouettes of the Lotus flower, which seems to be the symbol of peace. Tens of incense jars filled with sand litter the alter the room. The room smelled like incense, pleasant and peaceful. There were twenty rows of small cushions that were used for kneeling and sitting, and twenty rows of small raised shelves that were used for holding the prayers that were going to be recited during that session. People were filling the room really quickly, and seats were being taken