Temple Puja Research Paper

Shantessa Pama (cousin) born on March 5 is a retired American elite gymnast who grew up in Kailua,Kona Hawaii. She started her education at kahakai elementary until she was about 8 years old she is now a residence of Dana Point California where she continued her education at Dana Hills High School and graduated in 2009. Shantessa quotes “I missed home a lot when I moved but there was no competition here for me I was no longer allowed to compete here and gymnastics was my passion. I wanted to turn gymnastics into my career”. Shantessa Pama was one of the only 2 female gymnast to complete a triple tuck dismount but the first to complete it at the age 13.

Las Posadas is Spanish for “The Inns”, and it is a religious festival celebrated across Mexico and some parts of the United States. It is held between December 16 and 24, and lasts for nine evenings. The Posada begins with the recitation of the Holy Rosary, a beautiful prayer to the Mother of Jesus, Mary. It finally ends with the Posada and Midnight Mass on December 24th. It commemorates the journey that Joseph and Mary made from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a location where Mary could give birth. When they weren't able to find lodging in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary were forced to seek shelter in a stable, where Jesus was born. The tradition of the Posadas was brought to Mexico from Spain in the 1500's by Catholic Missionaries, and are not to be confused with simply a Christmas party. Instead, the Posadas should be seen as a religious event.

According to History.org, the stele of Naram-Sin is a monument composed of a single column or shaft typically erected to commemorate an important event or person. The Akkadians under Sargon dominated the Sumerians about 2300 BC. Naram-Sin was Sargon's grandson. The god-like Akkadian kings ruled with absolute authority. Naram-Sin's title was "King of the Four Quarters" meaning "Ruler of the World."

The Hindu people who are pictured in the video segment, Budanilkantha: A Hindu Wedding, are practicing a custom of many Hindu people. A custom is the frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes a characteristic of the group of people performing the act. Although not all Hindus participate in arranged marriages, the acts that occur during the marriage are very similar. Before the wedding takes place, the bride receives a jewel that marks the central part in her hair which is a signal of her marriage.

“The silk offering may be knotted around the base of the mirror or wheel, with its ends twisting upwards on either side of the offering bowl” 6. It may be colored white, yellow, red, green, or blue since these colors represent the five elements of the Buddha. The last offering towards the Buddha could be in the form of music such as bells called ting-shak. Music is used to propagate the Dharma but sometimes they place instruments such as a damaru to represent the offering of

One may know the Stonehenge of England, The Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt, and the Roman Coliseum in Rome, Italy. What one ought to have known is The Great Ancient city of Tikal.

The service began with the strike of a gong by Rev. Nakai followed by a brief moment of silent meditation. Afterwards, the Three Treasures, also known as saranagamana, were recited. The three treasure state, “I go to the Buddha for guidance. I go to Dharma for guidance. I go to the Sangha for guidance (budtempchi.org). Furthermore, these three treasures serve as a foundation of Buddhism (Irons 1). Although the Buddhist Temple of Chicago is moving towards a more radical approach to Buddhism, the temple still uses some traditional traits of Buddhism.

Plant the ball of your back foot into the mat and bend your forward leg’s knee over your ankle to create a ninety-degree angle. Sink your tailbone towards the ground and Square your hips open to the front of the room, then raise your hands up to the ceiling with intent. Though easy, Anjaneyasana or more commonly known as crescent lunge, is very beneficial to your body. It engages more than 5 muscles and joints, and has many long term benefits.

School lunches across the US are about to offer healthier choices to the students. After a successful test run Greek yogurt maker Chobani has announced that they were chosen to be a permanent choice on the lunch menu.

The first dimension used to understand a religion is based off its rituals. Buddhist perform rituals as a way to offer respect to the Buddha and find peace from within. The common ritual practiced by Buddhists is meditation. Meditation is all about focusing and purifying the mind. In meditation, Buddhists go through the steps called Samadhi (calming of the mind) and Vipassana (self-contemplation). During these steps they must adjust their body, breath, and mind, in order to achieve the goal of meditation. The rituals are an important part of Buddhism.

The followers for Theravada Buddhism take refuge in the three jewels (which consist of the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha), they also hold high regard for the teachings of Karma, Samsara and Nirvana. Celebrations are a major aspect for Theravada Buddhists but they only have 3 celebrations annually; Buddha’s birthday, the day Buddha was enlightened and the Luna Quarters (crescent moon, first-quarter moon, gibbous moon, and full moon) it is shunned upon to celebrate occasions other than these because they believe it decreases the value of festivities.

In addition, Hindu Temples such as Malibu Hindu Temple has a correlation to the universe itself and to the body of divine beings. In the case of India, followers believe that a single glimpse of the temple tower is enough to destroy one’s sins (P 317). Apart from the practice of temple worship followers of Hinduism their devotion to spiritual teacher or to their deities through puja rituals that are performed at home. Followers of Hinduism set aside some spaces of a cabinet shelf at their home to act as a shrine to hold small images or pictures of their revered figures. In addition, family members engage themselves in daily puja whereby they recite prayers, they offer food to their deity, and they light oil lamps and incense sticks. Similarly, Hindus engage themselves in elaborate rituals such as giving an offering to the Satyanarayana on the days of the full-moon. Most of the domestic rituals are conducted by women, for example in the case of India, women come together on certain days of the year to celebrate the goddess by fasting, feasting, and engaging themselves in auspiciousness rituals for the happiness of their

Puja is a Hindu ceremony that centers on the offerings to a deity, this offering aims to earn the deity’s love and gather blessings. This ritual is symbolic, and an individual who performs Puja is offering the body, soul and all that there possess to the deity to receive what the goddess may have to offer.  During puja, an individual seeks a connection with the goddess through the experience of Darshan. In the context of darshan, a Murti is an absorption tool in which the deity is seen, and an individual sees god through that Murti. The ceremony is a personal devotion declaration of love and loyalty to a deity and establishes direct communication through mind and body.

The temple contains the images of many bodhisattvas,Buddha's, and disciples. The images of the Buddha's and bodhisattvas are the focus of the rooms and outside. For example, in the main shrine and Bodhisattva hall, the focus are the images. Another example is the garden of the eighteen arhats in which the Buddha is surrounded by his first disciples. The other garden that is in the temple is the Vessel of Compassion for Universal Liberation. The main image in this garden is that of Avalofitesvara Bodhisattva. The other images depicted are of heaven kings. The bodhisattva is important because the vows of this Bodhisattva are of a compassionate mind and the power of wisdom. This bodhisattva answers the prayers of sentient beings no matter where they are and manifests in different forms. These eighteen arhats extinguished all defilements and afflictions. They had reached nirvana and their righteousness is exemplary to all Buddhists. Comparatively, symbols play an important role in buddhism and we can see this through the offers made to the Buddha's and bodhisattvas. For example, incense symbolizes inner peace, a lamp offering symbolizes the brightening of our vision and the enhancement of our wisdom. In addition, in the images, mudras or certain objects are a symbol of important rules to follow. Such as in image of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, the elephant symbolizes practice. The sounds that are used are that of instruments during the service in the main shrine and the sound of bells which usually mark the initiation of a service or other announcements. Furthermore, the smells that are used throughout the temple are incense. Incense is used as an offering and it is meant to help the Buddhist concentrate and focus on meditating. Lastly, taste is used in the ritual of eating vegetarian meals

Puja, which means offering in Sanskrit and worship in Pali, is one of the principle ceremonies in Buddhism. It can be conducted either at home or a Buddhist temple and has no specific time or rules. Puja integrates the principle beliefs of Buddhism which are the three Jewels, Four Noble Truths, marks of existence and karma, samsara, nirvana through the elements of bowing, offering, chanting and meditation. It is with these elements that the principle beliefs of Buddhism are demonstrated.