The, The Buddhist Monastic Order

Buddhist patients believe that space has a great impact on their lives. They believe that the space they inhabit directly affects their health (Das,1997). Spatial interactions can be manifested as patients bringing items from home to the hospital in order to create a healing space for themselves, or it can simply be a patient meditating in their room in order to change the energy in the space. Each patient will have his or her own personal view on space, and the nurse should be sensitive to this.

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 went to Grand Island, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 to the Buddha Matta Phaaphayaram Lao Buddhist Temple. The temple used to be an old Faith United Methodist Church until purchased on November 28, 2013 by local Buddhists in Grand Island. I was not the only one from my class that went. My teacher and four other students were there too.

On October 24, 2015 the New York Buddhist Church was holding an Autumn Festival Service. Amanda and I attended the event from 12-4 pm. This Buddhist Church in particular is Jodoshinshu Buddhism which originated in Japan. This type of Buddhism is also called Shin Buddhism for short, within the school of True Pure Land Buddhism, which is based on Mahayana Buddhism. The main temple is in Kyoto, Japan and was founded by Shinran Shonin. This type of Buddhism is practiced widely in Japan. The New York City location in particular was established in 1938 by Reverend Hozen Seki and his wife, Satomi.(NYBC)

“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.” (Siddhartha Guatamma) This is one of the many wise words spoken from the kindhearted Buddha. After my brief study of Buddhism I feel that these words, as well as my experience, have opened up my heart to a better understanding of the power within me. I think it is fascinating to really comprehend that it is us alone through our mindset and habit that essentially can control how we chose to live out our days on Earth. This teaching and the story of Buddha begins with the son of a king named Siddhartha Gautama which lays the basic foundation of Buddhism. While growing up and being raised to be the next king, Siddhartha, was never exposed to religion nor human suffering. He lived this sheltered life until he was 29 years old when he finally ventured passed his palace walls only to become exposed to the poverty and disease of the people living beyond the walls that shielded him for so long. After his experience he became fixated on escaping the world of suffering. Through the study of different religions, teachings, and passages he discovered meditation which he practiced for six

The woman as a divine being and a consolidator of every belief that adheres to divinity is defined and explained in both Karen Christina Lang’s Images of Women in Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism and in Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospels. As analysis of religious beliefs, the works define the religious and cultural relevance of the woman in the origins of both Buddhism and Gnosticism, as well as the effects that the patriarchal society has changed in this original belief system. Both literatures assert that the role of the woman in religion serve the purpose of being the divine – or the evidence that Gnosticism is a symbol of the feminine, of celebrating the woman as the most significant element that created the world view as well as beliefs. The traditions set forth by both Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism all adhere to the celebration of the woman, her power, her purity, and her importance in shaping the world, and the men who have to purposely oblige to this belief and to create the tradition which the community should follow. Hence, both Lang and Pagels identified that woman, in her own vestal powers, is the main exhibitor of religious participation as well as the symbol of wisdom in humanity.

Lang examines that if a women wants to involve in the community, she would have to change her mind to man. Lang also mentions that Buddhist thinks that the highest goddess is neither a male nor female (Lang 95-103). What she wants to argue is that women should not be tied with sexuality and impurity. Somehow, woman is equal to man because to become a highest goddess, there should not have a gender problem.

In the world today, there are dozens of religions that have spread all over to many parts of the world to promote their idea of spiritual enlightenment and peace. One of the interesting things that occurs with some of these religions is after it spreads to a new area, how it becomes popular with the people and becomes a part of everyday life. The religion of Buddhism is one of these that had this effect when it began to spread from India where it originated, to many Asian countries especially China where it would have the biggest impact. In China, Buddhism would take root and would grow to become a popular religion in the country much like the other major religions of China, Confucianism and Taoism, which together with Buddhism would later be known as the “Three Teachings”. Additionally, at some point Buddhism would began to lose its popularity in India due to Hinduism, which had absorbed some of the features of Buddhism and another famous religion from India Jainism, in order to re-emergence as the major religion of India. In China, this would not be the case, as it would continue to grow and remain strong long after it fell out of popularity in India. This study will explore some of the ways of how Buddhism was able to prosper and survive longer in China where in India it was only able to last until Hinduism re-remerged as the major religion for India.

She then suggests that instead of focusing on the past, we should look at Buddhist works themselves to see how the feminine voice can be included, even embraced (Watson, 2003, p. 27). In this effort, both the androcentric and the androgynous aspects of Buddhist works are examined. On the one hand, parts of original scripture propose that both men and women can achieve nirvana, while on the other hand, monastic writings warn against women as a possible evil hindrance to men, specifically monks (Watson, 2003, p. 28). There is the juxtaposition of the multitude of female deities along with the idea that females cannot become Buddhas (Watson, 2003, p.29), because human males are considered the most heightened form of reincarnation before attaining

Whether it is in a polytheistic or a monotheistic religion, the gender of divinity is always a topic given great attention. Although Buddhism doesn’t put much focus on gods in the teaching, it does include certain religious aspects such as praying to the higher beings. The feminine divine traits in Buddhism can be found with a closer examination on the feminine metaphors in the Buddhist scriptures. While Buddhas are predominantly in male form, divine beings like Bodhisattvas often appears to be female figures including Kwan Yin and Tara. The concept of Buddha nature is described as “tathagata garbha” at times, which means Buddha womb. The imagery of this spiritual womb nurturing the nature for all beings implies the significance of this feminine feature. Another example is how the Buddha’s wisdom is referred to as a ‘she’ in some Buddhist texts. The involvement of both feminine and masculine traits seems to underline the irrelevance of gender in Buddhahood. On the other hand, in Christianity a prevailing image of God being the ‘Father’ is developed. The teachings of Jesus powerfully delineate God as a kind and merciful father accepting and guiding his children with no discrimination. In fact, there is only one explicit example in the scriptures comparing God seeking a sinner to a housewife in search of a lost coin. In addition to the masculine image of God, it is argued that between two human sexes, Jesus as a male is

No one saves us but our self. No one can and no one may. We ourself must walk the path.-Buddha Buddhism is one of few religions that do not worship a God. Instead, the meaning of their religion is to have nirvana. Since there is no God in their religion the religion is formed around the idea that once you reach enlightenment you will no longer be stuck in reincarnation. I will go over the origin, afterlife, and the religion's rituals.

even more. This new competition led to a massive change in the structure and influence of the sects.

Karen Christina Lang's article "Images of Women in Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism" discusses with regard to how women were perceived by early Buddhist and Christian Gnostic communities. These two cultures are generally regarded as being very different, but they both had a very similar understanding of the role of women. Women were seen as being dominated by their emotions while men were rational thinkers and were often influenced to abandon their principles as a result of their relationship with women. The article relates to a series of ideas concerning Early Buddhism and Christian Gnosticism in an attempt to shed more light on the matter.

Under Buddhism, celibacy is the encouraged life choice, with women seen as a temptation away from this. As a result, the Buddha Gautama encouraged women, particularly in religious settings, to actively downplay their beauty, following the example of Khema who reached enlightenment only by acknowledging the transient nature of physical beauty. Even today, Buddhist nuns shave their heads, wear androgynous clothing and no makeup or adornments. Both nuns and monks are encouraged

Beginning with the Nara period, female monks were included in the temple system and were given increased roles in the “priestly functions similar to those of their male peers” (Ambros 55). Japanese women were able to participate in Buddhist traditions in many ways. Women were able to become nuns and even significant female monarchs played a role in spreading Buddhism throughout Japan. The inclusion of women is also seen in several important Buddhist texts, such as the Lotus Sutra, which assured women “of their potential for Buddhahood despite recognizing the physical limitations of their body” (Ambros 50). However, during the later Heian period, the positive views of women in religion began to decline significantly because of anti-feminine Buddhist doctrines. The decline of women in religion is connected with the Five Obstructions, which shows the “need for female-to-male transformation in order to reach nirvana” (Ambros 55), and Three Obediences, which depicts the “pollution associated with female reproduction” (Ambros 55), in Buddhism. An example of these two doctrines includes the story of “The Dragon King’s Daughter.” The story of the Dragon King’s Daughter is located in the Lotus Sutra, a key text in Mahayana Buddhism. The story of the dragon king’s daughter is significant as the story reveals that women can only reach Buddhahood through the transformation into male bodies (Ueki 279). This story undermines the general inclusiveness of Buddhism, which was preached during the Nara period. Also, later in the Heian period, the marital rules deeply added to the exclusion of women in Japanese society. For example, The Tale of Genji, a romanticized Heian story, glorified “forcible sexual violation, meaning rape” (Ambros 57) and “consensual sexual violation, meaning adultery” (Ambros 57). Ultimately, this story normalizes and justifies polygyny and male dominance in marriage. The