Visiting a Different Religious Site

Visiting a Different Religious Site

The religious site I visited is the Zen Center of New York City – Fire Lotus Temple, a Buddhist temple situated in Brooklyn, near YWCA and adjacent to Roulette. I attended a Sunday service on 26^th June 2022 from 9.30 to 12.30. It was one of the best encounters I have had, and I will certainly visit this place again since I resonate with some of the practices I experienced on that day, even though I am not a Buddhist. The extent to which this temple welcomes all people regardless of their religious backgrounds is fascinating and is something worth noting and appreciating. The temple is more focused on the wellness of individuals and the community at large rather than who they are, where they come from, or their religion. I learned a lot from the worthwhile visit.

From the outside, the Zen Center of New York City – Fire Lotus Temple looks like a normal building. I would not say there were any unique elements from the outside. However, things were different on the inside, owing to various Buddha statues. There were several Buddha and the faith’s images that were telling of the Buddhism religion. The burning incense sticks, as well as fruit and flower offerings, surrounded the major Buddha images. Additionally, there were altars as well as the worshippers’ and monks’ spaces. Any other feature inside just told more about the Buddhism faith.

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Before attending the service, I pre-registered online and secured a space for this specific day. This seems to be the best way to go about it, particularly because spaces are given on a first-come and first-served basis. Since I did not want to miss the chance to attend, I had to book online. There were people of all kinds in the service, including varying social classes and ethnic backgrounds. Both males and females from approximately age fifteen to age sixty were present. However, determining their ages was difficult, so this is just an approximation. I did not see very young children in the temple. Also, I could not count the number of people present because of the high concentration required in the service’s practices. Seemingly, the congregation’s participation was emotional since everyone engaged in nearly all the practices that took place during the service.

I would say that the opening was rather dramatic, considering the point that I had never been to a Buddhist temple before. The service began with liturgy chanting, which is basically a formal veneration and worship service rehearsed in the temple. People were seemingly stating some mantras or Buddhist teachings. At first, I was somehow uncomfortable when the chanting began, but I gained confidence in no time. As such, I just chanted some personal affirmations since I am not very conversant with the Buddhist teachings.

After the chanting, the zazen began, which is essentially sitting meditation. This practice is intended to give an understanding of the people’s true nature. In this practice, people sat in the lotus position and fell into a meditative state. The temple was very silent during this time. There was so much peace and calmness in the meditative process, and when the meditation ended, you could tell how relieved people were. I had never experienced this kind of calmness in a religious gathering, even with some troubling things going on in my life. I have previously practised meditation, and I know how beneficial it can be, especially in remaining calm. Even so, this experience was like no other. What followed was the walking meditation. In this practice, people just walked in silence and took deep breaths while in the process. After the walking meditation, a teacher gave a religious talk which helped me learn a lot about the Buddhist religion.

Moreover, much of the service was ritualized. This is because there were processes and organizations into how the practices could happen, from the beginning to end. Members or people who have been there before seemed to know how it goes. Typically, they were aware that the liturgy chanting comes first, and the service ends with speaking from one of the teachers. As such, there were no spontaneous activities in the service. I think people actively participate in the religion to show respect and devotion to the Buddha’s teachings. All the practices that Buddha proposes, like meditation, require people’s participation.

Just from this one experience, the main message of this religion is peace, love, and happiness. Meditation helps people become peaceful, loving, and happy by understanding themselves better. If people are happy, they will give happiness to others, and if they are sad, it is definite that they will offer the same or more sadness levels to other people. For that reason, people better concentrate on happiness to make the world better. Religion encourages positive thinking since it promotes good living, good leadership, and harmony in working with other people. According to Low (2010), Buddhism upholds and spreads positive thinking. By evaluating the liturgy chanting, Buddhism is an approach to learning and portraying commitment to the Buddhist teachings. Notably, the mantras and chanting are associated with meditation since they are other methods of mind concentration. Chanting entails repeating some words repeatedly, referred to as mantras. In walking meditation, the perception is that most people walk with the intent of getting from place to place. On the other hand, if they were walking in a sacred place, they would do it silently, taking every step gently with respect, and as such, it is recommended that people walk like this on earth.

In conclusion, I found this experience at the Zen Center of New York City – Fire Lotus Temple extremely rewarding, and it is one that I would consider partaking in frequently. I think this is what all religions should entail and even if they currently do, the teachings are not as emphasized as they are in Buddhism. If meditation encourages peace and calmness among people, then if all people were to engage in this practice, the world would definitely be peaceful. The world is seemingly complex and full of hate because this is what people have on the inside. The experience was typically more than I had anticipated. I was under the misperception that Buddhism religion could be somehow scary, but the service proved otherwise. The service gave me a different perspective because of the peace I experienced with each practice. In addition, the people I talked to told me that the temple helps them face the world stronger, not forgetting that the daily practices make their day positive and full of love. They said that the teachers are very conversant with the Buddhist principles and teach them extremely well.

References

Low, K. C. P. (2010). Buddha, Buddhism and Positive Thinking–The Way Forward In Our Lives. Insights to a Changing World, 2010(3), 115-124.

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Two Site Visits (Due June 8 and June 22)

Each student must observe two religious services that are completely different from his/her own
religious tradition. Students may attend a service in groups, but each student must submit an in-
dependently written paper using independently written notes. Most religious places welcome sin-
cere students as visitors. Students are not required to actively participate in the service, though
they are encouraged to do so to the extent that they are comfortable. Remember to be quiet, re-
respectful, appreciative, and appropriately dressed. Your paper should include the following items:
1) Give the exact date and time of the visit. Give the full name and exact address of the site. The
student can only visit a site that is more than one mile away from St. Francis College. The stu-
dent may not visit a home shrine.

Visiting a Different Religious Site

2) Describe the outside and inside appearance of the building, the way visitors are greeted,
and the sort of people in this group, i.e., apparent social class, ethnic background, gender, aver-
age age, number present, etc.
3) Describe what happened from the beginning to the end of the service. Try to give some
sense of the emotional tone and subjective spiritual meaning. Was the opening dramatic or casu-
al? Is the congregational participation emotional or reserved? Is much of the service spontaneous
or ritualized? As far as you can tell from this one experience, what is the main message of this
religion? Why do you think people actively participate in this religion? Did you find the experi-
ence rewarding or disturbing? Was it what you expected? What misperceptions or assumptions
did you have about this religion and how did this experience help to clarify these?
4) Talk to someone from the group. Ask them to help explain what you saw and heard. Ask
them other substantive questions about the building, the history of the congregation, and their
place within the religious group.
5) At the end of the paper, the student must include a picture of himself/herself at the place of
worship. The student’s face must appear in the picture. The picture must be inside the building
with other people and religious items in the background. Any papers received without a picture,
or with a picture lacking the proper requirements, will be given a severe grade reduction.

Two additional notes: You must visit a service that is completely unfamiliar to you. If, for exam-
ple, you are a Roman Catholic Christian you may not attend a Protestant Christian service. Sec-
ond, you must attend a service when other people are there for worship.