Buddhism and Chung Mei Temple
Yesterday we dove into researching Buddhist beliefs and practices in order to prepare for our visit to a Buddhist temple. We broke into small groups of one or two people and covered six different topics.
The first was the Life of the Buddha. The Buddha was named Siddhartha and he was a prince that was prophesied to become a great King that would end suffering of his people and bring the kingdom to new heights. However, he had seen very little of his kingdom and did not know about any ailments in the community. When he was 29 years old he left the palace and saw suffering in the form of illness, old age and death for the first time. This lead him to want try and find the answer to end suffering. By suffering in various forms and meditating he was able to become enlightened. He then spread what he learned to everyone he could. He took on many disciples and then by the age of 80 reached nirvana.
The philosophies that the Buddha passed on to his disciples were what he learned in the deep meditative state when he reached enlightenment: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths are ideals that will relieve the follower from suffering. The first is Dukkha, Sanskrit for suffering. This is that life will always involve suffering, even when we are happy there will be some form of suffering present. Inside of Dukkha there are three subsections Dukkha Dukkha, Sakhara Dukka, and Viparinama Dukkha. These are all types of suffering that occure in the mind and or body. The second truth is Samudaya, the cause of suffering. These are caused by greed, ignorance, and hate. The third is Nirodha, the end of suffering. The end of suffering is only temporary unless enlightenment is reached, but it can be ended through purification, awakening, and detachment to material positions. The last truth is Magga, the path. This is living on the middle path by finding balance in every aspect of life. Magga is achieved by following the Eightfold Path.
Lastly we learned about Loving Kindness. It has for qualities, friendliness, compassion, and appreciative joy. These are done by showing care towards everyone in your life and keeping an open mind to evoke kindness towards yourself and others, without expecting anything in return. The hardest part of this for many is loving your self before loving others. Another difficult aspect of Loving Kindness is showing love towards those you dislike.
After learning some background information we visited the the Buddhist temple, Chung Mei, along with the Chinese Culture J-Term group. We started off by having some amazing food. Some of the food we had looked like meat, however the whole meal was vegan! It was amazing. There was a lot of left over as well so we brought it back to the school to share.
After lunch Mr. Allan gave us a presentation about Buddhism. This gave us some more back ground information about Buddhism and its philosophies. Then on of the temple nuns had us do little exercise, it was very tai-chi-like, to prepare us for meditation.
Many of us were fascinated by the meditation pillows that we got to sit one because they were very comfortable and helped us sit correctly. Once the meditation was over we were allowed to go and explore the temple. It was very beautifully decorated for the upcoming Chinese New Year. There were red lanterns everywhere. However, none of it took away from the beauty of the temple. The Buddha statues were beautiful and the walls were also covered in smaller Buddhas as well. The outside garden also had many intricately carved Buddha statues, and there was a playground that several of us enjoyed.
The first was the Life of the Buddha. The Buddha was named Siddhartha and he was a prince that was prophesied to become a great King that would end suffering of his people and bring the kingdom to new heights. However, he had seen very little of his kingdom and did not know about any ailments in the community. When he was 29 years old he left the palace and saw suffering in the form of illness, old age and death for the first time. This lead him to want try and find the answer to end suffering. By suffering in various forms and meditating he was able to become enlightened. He then spread what he learned to everyone he could. He took on many disciples and then by the age of 80 reached nirvana.
The philosophies that the Buddha passed on to his disciples were what he learned in the deep meditative state when he reached enlightenment: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths are ideals that will relieve the follower from suffering. The first is Dukkha, Sanskrit for suffering. This is that life will always involve suffering, even when we are happy there will be some form of suffering present. Inside of Dukkha there are three subsections Dukkha Dukkha, Sakhara Dukka, and Viparinama Dukkha. These are all types of suffering that occure in the mind and or body. The second truth is Samudaya, the cause of suffering. These are caused by greed, ignorance, and hate. The third is Nirodha, the end of suffering. The end of suffering is only temporary unless enlightenment is reached, but it can be ended through purification, awakening, and detachment to material positions. The last truth is Magga, the path. This is living on the middle path by finding balance in every aspect of life. Magga is achieved by following the Eightfold Path.
The eightfold path is another guide to the end of suffering. There are eight branches that are divided into three categories. The first is Wisdom. This contains the branches of Right Understanding and Right Thought. These are achieved by understanding things as they are and by thinking positively and with love to all things. The second category is Ethical Conduct. This includes Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. Right Speech can be achieved by speaking with care, telling the truth, not spreading gossip, speaking with purpose, and noble silence. Right action is done by being honorable and peaceful. Right livelihood is completed by not harming others and having a honorable that does not hurt others. The last category is Mental Discipline. This includes Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. These are achieved by trying to prevent evil in your life and in others, being aware and attentive, and having wholesome thoughts.
Lastly we learned about Loving Kindness. It has for qualities, friendliness, compassion, and appreciative joy. These are done by showing care towards everyone in your life and keeping an open mind to evoke kindness towards yourself and others, without expecting anything in return. The hardest part of this for many is loving your self before loving others. Another difficult aspect of Loving Kindness is showing love towards those you dislike.
After learning some background information we visited the the Buddhist temple, Chung Mei, along with the Chinese Culture J-Term group. We started off by having some amazing food. Some of the food we had looked like meat, however the whole meal was vegan! It was amazing. There was a lot of left over as well so we brought it back to the school to share.
After lunch Mr. Allan gave us a presentation about Buddhism. This gave us some more back ground information about Buddhism and its philosophies. Then on of the temple nuns had us do little exercise, it was very tai-chi-like, to prepare us for meditation.
Many of us were fascinated by the meditation pillows that we got to sit one because they were very comfortable and helped us sit correctly. Once the meditation was over we were allowed to go and explore the temple. It was very beautifully decorated for the upcoming Chinese New Year. There were red lanterns everywhere. However, none of it took away from the beauty of the temple. The Buddha statues were beautiful and the walls were also covered in smaller Buddhas as well. The outside garden also had many intricately carved Buddha statues, and there was a playground that several of us enjoyed.
Comments
Post a Comment