Visiting the Theravada Buddhist temple

Sebastopol is a unique area in Sonoma County, it is the most liberal and the least ethnically diverse community in the county. It is filled with weird art (beautiful, fun, funky, but weird), with people who wouldn 't live anywhere else, but judging by their socks and 'stocks, I suspect many lived in Berkeley in the 60 's. Sebastopol is the home to Luther Burbanks ' original experimental gardens, and the Gravenstein apple, untended orchards cover the landscape. And just a couple blocks from downtown this odd looking complex called the Enmanji Buddhist Temple. The temple seems to always have a community event or fundraiser going on, often surrounding barbecues in the summer months. Barbeques usually involve meat, aren 't Buddhists vegetarians? Who are the people who attend services here, is this truly Buddhism, or some hippie highjack of another culture? I want to understand all of these things, and about this seemingly out-of-place temple, what their faith is all about and the people that come here.

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.

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.

The Sangha, the Buddhist monastic order, comprises Bhikku (monks), Bhikkuni (nuns), laymen, and laywomen. While the Bhikku and Bhikkuni depend upon the laywomen and men for economic support, the lay community depends on them for spiritual guidance and ritualistic practices. This well-rounded mutual relationship is clearly a division not only amongst religious status, but determined by gender as well. This is quite a contradiction with the Buddhist belief that your physical self is impermanent and ultimately attachment to your illusory self will cause you suffering. The second Noble Truth states that suffering originates from our ongoing desire, a clinging to possessions, attachments, and self. Why would a religion founded in the idea of shedding attachment focus so much on gender, which is an attachment? I feel that the Buddha’s hesitation in allowing women to be initially recognized in the Sangha originates from his early childhood convictions of women, fear of the Dharma becoming further compromised, and ultimately leading to the deterioration of Buddhism altogether. The Buddha’s hesitations regarding women becoming monastics seem to be questionable because of the way women have responded to this discrimination even during the Buddha’s lifetime. These women are evidently devoted to the ideals and teachings of Buddhism because of their ability to shed attachments and embody a fully monastic lifestyle. As they are shedding their attachments they give up their gender.

Zen Buddhism did not vocally voice that they did not want to associate their religion with

Howard P. Chudacoff, a professor of history at Brown University, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal titled, “Let’s Not Pay College Athletes.” Chudacoff outlines the reasons why athletes in the major two collegiate sports, football and men’s basketball, that participate in a power five conference; Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big XII, Southeastern, and PAC-12 Conferences: should not be paid for their services to their institutions. Chudacoff provides examples of academic centers and practice facilities to strengthen his point that collegiate athletes are given enough royalties to go along with a free education.

Upon arrival, I was given a brief history about of the Buddhist temple. The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the United States. Although it was established in 1907, construction wasn’t completed until 1937. During World War II, it was served as a home to many Japanese-Americans released from internment camps. Today, the temple continues to play an active role in the lives of their descendance

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr disregarded an order against all protests and led more than 1,000 people on a nonviolent protest which led to his arrest. While in jail, a couple of Clergymen made negative remarks about his demonstration in Birmingham and King responded with the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” King denounces the Clergymen’s argument by dissecting it and airing its invalidity with airtight unarguable reasoning.

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.

developing in India. Theravada recognizes the primacy and humanity of the historical Buddha. The Buddha was an exemplary figure. Enlightenment is an arduous task, available only to monks who explicitly pursue the path of Shakyamuni himself. Theravada is the dominant form of Buddhism today in Sri Lanka as well as Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. The subject matter of Buddhist art from these traditions focuses on life events of the Buddha.

The speaker started the service by speaking about Buddha as a philosopher, not God. This Buddhist temple practices Theravada, and bows to 3 things: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Theravada is one of the four types of Buddhism. The other three types are Mahayana, Tibetan, and Zen/Chan. Buddhism exemplifies as a very pragmatic religion (The Four Noble Truths). “The followers take joy in a straight-forward approach to life, and they do not indulge in metaphysical speculation about first causes. As most religion have a theology and worship a deity, Buddhists do not have one. This religion believes that it is impossible to make a permanent relationship with anything because the world is constantly changing” (The Four Noble Truths).

As a piece of ethnography, the work is competent, but draws little attention to the classic anthropological methodology of participant observation, characterized by long-term engagement with local cultural practices. Instead the claims made are gathered through an analysis of publications and dialogues within the Thailand Buddhist community, mostly centered on a

Sexism against men is becoming an overwhelming problem in the United States, and has been on its way ever since the times when women started to declare that they had no use for men. Men are beaten (ignored), and radical feminism uses the shrinking wage gap and non-existent “oppression” as an excuse to abuse men without a second thought. Abused men are not taken seriously by others, including our own police force (which has become a joke in and of itself over time). Men are not protected from abuse—being beaten with shovels, for example—that could eventually cause death, but women are babied and kissed on the forehead by society if their boyfriends or husbands even bat an eyelash the wrong way. Why is that?

I was always fascinated in the Buddhist religion and this class assignment was a great opportunity for me to take advantage of my curiosity. I decided I would visit a Buddhist center. With the company of my mother, I went to the Diamond Way Buddhist Center in Miami. According to my interview with the Buddhist that instructed the meditation service, every Monday and Friday they have a meditation service for the 16th Karmapa meditation from 8:00pm to 8:30pm. This center is part of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism (Anonymous). Upon arriving, I realized that it was in someone’s home. Many Buddhist offer their homes for Buddhist centers and are unpaid for their services. However, they do accept donations. Before entering the house,

Buddhism is religion that is based off of peace and spirituality taught by the teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gotama. Many who follow its teachings believe Buddhism to be more of a way of life or lifestyle choice rather a religion. Buddha is not a god, but one man that taught his followers a path of enlightenment from his experiences and values. Buddha’s main teachings were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths were teachings about suffering, pain, disease, happiness, loneliness, and aging. It explained why we as humans can overcome certain obstacles in our lives by looking at the more spiritual side of things such as “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own