I Visited The Wat Buddharangsi

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

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.

The Kannon Bosatsu, or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, is a carved wood statue of a Bodhisattva figure standing about two and one half to three meters tall. This statue shows a high level of detail on the Bodhisattva 's body, and is carved so smoothly that it could be mistaken for a stone carving. The show of skilled craftsmanship can be seen around the shoulders with the interaction of the cloth with the jewelry the Bodhisattva. The statue is placed on an ornate pedestal to cause the figurine to appear taller, giving it a feeling of authority, which contrasts with its calm, expressionless face. While the figure appears to be standing in a meditative state like the Buddha, the jewelry present all over the body of this figure distinguishes this figure as a Bodhisattva instead of a Buddha. In his book, The Story of Buddhism a Concise guide to Its History and Teachings, Donald S. Lopez Jr. establishes the importance of imagery in Buddhism. One major point he makes concerning the worship of Buddhist figures, is that the disciples of Buddhism not only believe that the figures are a mere representation of Buddha, but that the figures actually become and are animated by Buddha, an argument which seems to hold merit as truth.

Buddhism is a religion that focuses more on the individual and the actions of that individual, which was prevalent to me when I made my way into Portland and set foot in a Buddhist temple. The man I met within the walls of this temple was far from my stereotypical thoughts of Buddhist monks. The man I met looked like your plain old, average Joe, American man. Before I delve into the depths of my visit to this inspiring place, I need to sum up the Buddhist religion and why I chose to study this particular group of people.

While at Texas State University, I have encountered many like-minded and different minded individuals, yet I still get questions about my beliefs every time it is brought up. The days of Buddhism being bald temple-dwelling monks have long since passed. Buddhism is what you make of it, and of what dogma you subscribe to. Some members of the new westernized Buddhism subscribe to relieve their cultures stresses in the process of making new waves of Buddhism. (Wilson, 2013) Many monotheistic religions believe that any sort of concurrent worship outside of their own is idolatry. With the image of Buddhism, comes the inherent image of Buddha statues, which are prayed to and worshipped. (Question 5 and 6)

In Rabbi Diamond’s Interreligious Experience and Engagement class, I have learned how to show respect and appreciation for all beliefs and religions across the world. In just Los Angeles alone, there countless religions practiced. It is important to educate oneself about other religions to understand the world around us, while also strengthening our own faiths. Most of the semester, we have focused on the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths and how to show interfaith relations between the two. On October 10 at 9:30 AM, for my interfaith field experience, I took the time to visit Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, a Buddhist Temple in Culver City, California at “12371 Braddock Dr., Culver City, California 90230”. I thought it would be interesting to visit a place of worship much different from what we have studied in class thus far.

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.

For more than a hundred of years, Buddhism has played a moving role in the United States. At first, the teachings of Buddhism were quietly practiced among Chinese and Japanese immigrants on the west coast, but it quickly became a thriving religion in the United States performed by millions. These ambitious supporters have produced millions of books, magazines, television shows, and even movies. Different volumes on “The Art of Zen” are shelved in bookstores, [. The] the Dalai Lama has been characterized in Hollywood movies, and [the] civilian’s new fascination in Buddhist [Buddhism] has published in the NY Times magazine. [New Paragraph] This religion originally [, which originated] from India [,] has appeared in social movements, and sports across the country, [.] and Buddhist studies are taught in universities from Portland, Maine to Honolulu, Hawaii. This American version of Buddhism has been adapted and publicized for the wrong reasons by millions of Americans. Instead of focusing on the religion and its teachings, Americans have patented its spiritual essence. Fashion industries have printed the famous elephant, one of Buddha Shakyamuni’s previous incarnations, [and] rock bands are named after the Buddhism term Nirvana, [. There are also] and nightclub bars are named ‘Buddha’. However, there are small instances when Buddhism is used correctly. One type of Buddhism has been majorly focused on. This type is called Zen Buddhism. The instance in which Buddhism is used

Within the time period in which it was crafted, figures of the Buddha, like that of Sarnath, have begun to displace the stupa, a mound-like structure that contained relics, as the norm in sacred Buddhist Architecture. The sandstone sculpture depicts a seated, soft, and full-bodied depiction of the Buddha; these soft and relaxed characteristics are evident in both the sculpture of the Seated Scribe from Egypt, as well as many other pieces of Buddhist art. A monastic robe covers both of his shoulders and his heavy lidded eyes are downcast in meditation. The figure of the Buddha is shown above the infamous wheel of law; this wheel was used within ancient representations in order to signify royalty or a universal monarch. In addition to showing the wheel of law, the figure is depicted with its hands in front in the Dharmachakra-mudra, otherwise known as the gesture of preaching or ‘turning the wheel of law’. Furthermore, there is a certain idealism applied to this statue of The Buddha, much like other Buddha representations that are created elsewhere, in order to emphasize spirituality. The earlobes of The Buddha are elongated, a symbolic reference to the former wealth of The Buddha while he was a prince. Although The Buddha left the palace to become an ascetic while on the search for the

He is in a very vertical upright posture, this represents the chakras being aligned and that he is in nirvana. The lotus that the buddha is sitting on represses the buddha's pure nature, a lotus is a beautiful flower that emits from mud in swamps. The mud slowly slides of the flowers pink surface and then has a pure nature. He sits on a wheel atop a platform that is represented with the unity of a mandala. The mandala represents the universe, but the wheel below the lotus represents the Buddha's law or his teaching of nirvana. The wheel is a symbol of the teaching of the path to nirvana, also know a s representation of the eightfold path. The buddha's hand gesture, wisdom first, this identifies him as a Vairocana buddha. The hand gesture in the Vairocana shows a celestial and transcendent being and nature. This hand gesture shows that the buddha his almost cosmic. His robe drapes across his arms and sits loosely on the rest of his body. This is similar to the Hellenistic style in Greece. Although his robe is similar to the Hellenistic style his robe is actually a monk's robe, which the sacred usually wears during rituals. He is very symmetrical, other than his fingers, which are in the wisdom first pose, and his overlapping right leg. The buddha's overlapping right leg is a mudra position associated with his hand position. The mudra is the hand position and the leg to complete a ritual

From the mini shrines to the scent of incense, there were signs everywhere that my house was Buddhist. I considered myself a Buddhist for a good part of my life, did not question it, my parents were, so I assumed I was too. At times, the idea of divine intervention and reincarnation sounded outrageous, but I assumed that the afterlife itself was quite unknown, and could not be disproved. Live a good life, promote peace and harmony, make visits to the temple, give offerings (often money), and you will find yourself in a good place my parents taught me. This all sounds good but often times however, I would find myself at odds with my actions. It just all seemed like common sense and I had no prayer thoughts whenever I went to the Buddhist temple

I am Christian. Ironically, my mother is a converted Buddhist and although she is not a super devout one, it was helpful for this assignment. I explained my assignment to her and asked her to take me to a Buddhist temple / ceremony. I never thought this would be such a fascinating experience. We visited the “Wat Buddharangist of Miami” temple in the Redlands of Florida, which is a Thai Buddhist temple. At first I was a little uneasy because it was a new experience that I had not encountered before. Upon entrance, I was forced to remove my shoes and the atmosphere was very colorful but simultaneously peaceful. This was a place where people were easily welcome to come meditate and enjoy a moment of peace. Ironically the first thing that caught my attention was their religious art.

In the city of Kamakura, Japan sits The Great Buddha of Kamakura, or in Japanese, Daibutsu. This large bronze statue is located in Kotokuin, a Buddhist temple and stands at 13.35 meters (almost 44 feet), weighing in at 93 tons (Figure 1). Cast in 1252 in the Kamakura period, the statue sat under a wooden structure for cover. But the building was destroyed by a tsunami in the 15th century and the statue has since endured the elements. The Buddha statue is actually the second largest Buddha monument in Japan, is considered a National Treasure and is at the center of what many think is one of the city’s greatest cultural heritages, the Kotokuin temple (Daibutsu 2). This monument is impressive not only for its size but also for the importance it holds in Buddhist culture and belief.

One of the best approaches to acquire a perception of Buddhism religion is to immerse yourself into it. For the midterm assignment, I had the opportunity to immerse myself into a religion that is interfaith. Through my interfaith visit, at the Jade Buddha Temple in Houston, Texas, I was able to learn about Buddhism.