Buddhist Meditation Center On Buddhism

My first experience in a Buddhist temple was quite different than anything I have experienced religion-wise. I visited the Quan Am Monastery (Vietnamese-American Buddhist) at 3500 South Goodlet. I got to experience first-hand how meditation in a Buddhist temple actually works. I was very intrigued to find out how someone outside of the Christian faith, worshipped. As one might expect, the atmosphere was very tranquil. My group members and I called ahead a few days earlier and a man answered the phone and it was very hard to understand what he saying but I know I heard him say “come on Friday so that’s what we did. When we arrived we stepped outside the vehicle we took a look around and there were two buildings outside. One that had

The Orange County Buddhist Church located in Anaheim at 909 South Dale Avenue is one of the few temples that practices and teaches Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America. Although Shinran Shonin first established these traditions about 800 years ago in Japan, it did not reach the United States until the late 19th century by Japanese immigrants. Since then, Shin Buddhism has grown and developed Americanized features that contribute to its message of acknowledging the interdependence of all aspects in the universe as a way to reach a state of self-realization and happiness. With the help of Buddhist believers, the establishment of Shin Buddhist temples continues to grow and more people are welcomed to absorb the unique beliefs about oneness and transcending duhkha.

I was indecisive on where to go do my site visit. While I thought about if for a couple of days, I decided I wanted to learn more about Buddhism. I was unaware that there was a temple in Grand Island until my teacher mentioned something about it in class. I also felt more comfortable that the teacher and other classmates were going to be there too. As the time got closer to go, I got a little more nervous and was really thinking about it. I was thinking about how to not be disrespectful in their temple. For instance, remembering to take off my shoes and not to shake the monks hand when I introduced myself. I was aware about Buddhism before I went there, but still did not know a lot about the religion. For example, I knew they meditated and sat on the floor in front of a big statue named Buddha. I thought I was going to see a “fat” Buddha because that is what I have seen in movies.

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.

The Hsi Lai Buddhist temple is located in Hacienda Heights and is the largest Buddhist temple in the West. The building was constructed to be a religious site by a Buddhist organization in Taiwan. The first thing that catches the attention, is the Chinese architecture of the temple and all of the Chinese words on the outside of the temple. The words on the four pillars of the gate, represent the four Bodhisattva vows the Buddhists take to complete enlightenment. There are many rooms on the outside of the temple that look like they may be used for teaching or for programs being run at the temple. Furthermore, as you walk up the stairs, there are two bodhisattvas on each side of the entrance. Both of these Bodhisattvas are the protectors of the

“The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed” ~Buddha. Out of the abounding religions in the world the 6th most practiced of all the religion is Buddhism, or the worship of the god Buddha. Buddhism has had a colossal effect on the Asian culture and it has had an effect on the way that we (as American citizens) view the Asian culture and the beliefs of Asian men and women. This paper is about into how the culture of Asia has been changed because of the Buddhists believes. Also how their temples have shaped the way that we as Americans view Asian architecture or the kind of things that are in Asia that are because of Buddhism. Many different

I have always been attracted by the study of religion and interested in the different disciplines that study religion such as: psychology, historiography, anthropology, etc; there are many aspects related to religion that can be analyzed. I believe in the existence of something superior; I do not belong to any specific religion, but I sympathize with some specific ideas of different religions. I used to get the ideas that I believe that are more logical and put it in practice. Taking advantage of the research paper ordered in class, I decided to visit a Theravada Buddhist temple. This temple is located in 15200 SW 240th St, Homestead, FL, Miami, and it is called “Wat Buddharangsi of Miami.”

For my religious site visit, I decided to go to the Tibetan Yungdrung Bon Institute in Miami. For the first time ever, I would experience the practices and culture of another religion outside of my own. The Tibetan Yungdrung Bon Institute was not a temple like I expected, but instead, the prayers and rituals were performed in an apartment. Even though it was not a temple, the close attention to authentic decorations was very interesting. After leaving all my anxiety and shyness behind, I entered the building and waited until one of the instructors came down to take me to the room.

One of the most interesting sacred religious spaces I have attended was the SGI-USA Chicago Buddhist Center. The center is a very large brick building with lots of windows; it has multiple rooms for meetings, offices, classes and most important chanting and prayer. The main gathering place is an auditorium; a very large Butsudan rests on the back wall of the auditorium stage. The auditorium is spacious and has extremely high ceilings and the walls are bare. I imagine that at least 300 people or more can fit into the auditorium seating area. The seating is made up of pews and chairs all facing the Butsudan. The appearance and layout of the space are formal yet welcoming. The openness of the auditorium is inviting; however, the large

For my cultural immersion experience, I choose to attend meditation at a Buddhist temple. Lately, I have been very interested in the Buddhist religion so I thought that this would be a good introduction into it. I am not a very religious person nor did I know much about Buddhism before this experience. I did do some research and was able to find a meditation for beginners session at the Temple of Harmony. This specific temple is located in Joliet, Illinois. I did some research beforehand on what to expect for my immersion experience. I quickly learned from looking over the temple’s website that people of all races, religions, and ages came to practice Buddhism at the temple. This made me a little bit less nervous for my experience since

In the living room area it is a big open space with not much furniture. Foldable chairs are used to sit and on a high counter top is where the tea is and bowls are kept. Upstairs there are about four cushions on the left and right side of the rug on the ground. In front of the rug is a desk that has incense, two oranges and monk statues on top of it. Behind the rug are three regular chairs to use if sitting on the cushion is uncomfortable. Under the rug are papers in front of each cushion and chair and on it is the sixth century text that is read after meditation. I first noticed the items once I sat down and we were about to start the seated meditation. To me the incense and the statue of the monk added to the atmosphere of meditating and made me want to try and meditate the way Paul said to do so, but the oranges being there confused and I started thinking what could be the reason for them being

Although the scroll has a small picture, the painting has a vast sense of space and is considered to be a representative masterpiece of the “study-retreat picture.” This painting is another example of depicting the natural world and seclusion, which for Zen monks it was important to the belief of hermit seclusion for inner reflection. In a majority of Shubun’s work, the common theme is the inclusion of a recluse which explains why the building and the figure can barely be seen. Recluse poetry and paintings became common among Japanese Zen Buddhist monks around 1400. There were those whom philosophically identified with the “pure” form of this practice and diligently meditated while living in huts or small temples that were secluded in the mountains far from the Japanese court society. However, a majority of artists that created these masterpieces, like Shubun, did not reside in mountain hermitages far from the court society

Later we went in to the museum this is where we saw many artifacts of the Buddhist culture. These artifacts were from all different branches of Buddhism. We saw a depiction of Buddha in his last moments before he passed on to Nirvana and by this statue there were tiny marble like balls that apparently represent the merit achieved before they passed away. Then there were multiple statues of Buddha and the Bodhisattva and there were multiple art works done by many different Buddhist that the museum cycles through. Although this wasn’t a huge museum it provided with a lot of different material and information. Then at the end of the museum the guide told us a bit about Hsing Yun, the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist movement. This Buddhist

The aspect that was exceptionally evident in the ritual was the prominence of male authority. The temple had a large Buddha statue, positioned higher than everyone else and was in the state of meditation. There

A we entered the “Hando” (main Hall) my attention was immediately drawn to what is known as the Amida Buddha. The Amida Buddha is the Buddha of wisdom and compassion. On the left of the statue sat an alter with lit candles and floral decorations along the edges. In the center of the alter sat a single scroll. Within the scroll was the Nembutsu written in Japanese.