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Avatamsaka Vihara by Randy Causey |
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As my background is Christian and my last visit was to a Muslim Center I chose to visit and explore a Buddhist Temple for this exercise. The reasoning seemed simple enough; "I would now be exposed to the three religions with the largest followings on the face of the planet" (a very democratic move). Using the Yellow Pages and some input from friends, I focused on a center in Montgomery County. My understanding was that there was a facility (sans website) originally set-up by a Buddhist nun. I understood this to be unique in that women in Buddhism do not typically achieve the higher ranks and that it's rarity stemmed from a previous visit by a Lama who recognized a spirit for which they had previously been searching in the previously mentioned woman; hence the monastery was built. I contacted the phone number, which seemed to be assigned to the monastery for which I was searching. The number had been disconnected and messages were being taken by another number. I contacted the Buddhist Center with the forwarding number and was connected with someone whose English skills were infinitely better than my Chinese. We set up a time for the meeting/tour to begin at 2:30 pm. I found this a bit unusual, as I had been told by my contacts that the hours of 2-4pm were typically used for meditation. As one can see by now my preconceptions are already being turned on their noses. As I arrived at the center, a large single level building with a relatively high ceiling (by large, it's meant that the floor space was the equivalent of a moderate sized grocery store), it was painted white and had large gold letters with black trim identifying it as AVATAMSAKA VIHARA. I noticed there was an ample parking lot with only one vehicle occupying space. At this point the wheels began to turn in my head. "Is there no one here? Is there only one person here? Are the only persons here Buddhist monks and cars are not of importance? I parked my vehicle and entered the facility. I was in a foyer, which had a literature table on the right just underneath the windows that were above eye level. To my left was a large wooden case painted blue with a floral pattern and hinged doors. Just to the right of the case was a sign reading "Please remove shoes". I opened one of the doors on the wooden case and notice at least a dozen pair of shoes and sandals, both male and female styles, both casual and work. Directly after the shoe case was an opening; double door size, and as I looked through the entrance I noticed a very large room with alters, rounded cushions on the floors, several tables at each end, decorations and a bulletin board with red strips of paper at the far end of the room. The lighting was sufficient but subdued, the lighting seemed to say "Quiet Please". I faced back forward and saw an office directly in front of me with several tables on the right of the room and a small library along the left wall. Well when in Rome…. I complied with the sign, removed my shoes, placed them in the case, walked to the double doors made eye contact with one who appeared to be a monk and waited outside the double doors. They came to me smiling, and nodding. I stated that I had spoken with Jin Xiang previously and that I was expected. They smiled, nodded, led me into the office and indicated that I could wait at one of the tables on the right. I smiled, sat down and they left the room. Very shortly in came a Buddhist monk, wearing a yellow and brown robe. Their head was sporting a G.I. haircut, and although there were no outward signs and the robe hid the form of the body I was fairly certain that this monk was a female. She directly sat down across the table as I was raising from my seat to greet my guide (At this point, I was a little bit set back thinking that perhaps a handshake might not be appropriate as it would initiate contact between the sexes. I didn't know, I sat back down.) My guide was smiling as I explained that I was doing research for a college class and that my actual knowledge of Buddhism was nil. It didn't take but a second and my guide started talking faster than my pen could write. The explanation started with who "Buddha" was. My guide explained that Buddha lived in the 6th century b.c. and that he was a prince by the name of Siddhartha Gautama of royal lineage... I was given what could be interpreted to a western mind as the Gospel of Buddha... The dissertation of who Buddha was continued and I was enlightened... As I sat in the office/library in which the discussion was held, I noticed a great deal of books on the shelves of the interior wall to my left. In many cases there were several copies of each book. My guide picked up two books as she sat down for the discussion. I noticed that the books, which were placed, on the table had something similar to a Dewey Decimal Code on the spine, but I didn't actually concern myself with this. Many of the books did have ornate illustrations on the covers. They appeared to be divided between Sutras and encyclopedias.
Tour of The Buddha Hall: We entered the Buddha Hall, turned to our left and my guide began our tour. There on the left or west wall (11:00) hung a bulletin board with many slips of Yellow paper containing Chinese characters attached to it. These were prayers or petitions for help. At the center of the north wall (12:00) was a large table, which held 3 large unique statues of Buddha. This was the main object of attention in the room. Then to the right was a bulletin board of red scripts similar to those of the west wall in yellow. I was informed that these were requests for healing. We then moved to large table in the rear, which was in opposition to the main Buddha table. That which was pointed out as being very special was a type of urn into which one could look through an opening. I was informed that this was the remains of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua. These were his creation remains, or in the Buddhist vernacular "His Relics". On the back side of this table was a large "Fat Buddha". I was told that the "Fat Buddha" is typically green. I asked if that had anything to do with the fact that I routinely saw statues of him made out of jade. I was told "no, that it is because he is the future Buddha".
Impressions: My mind was spinning from the onset. I knew virtually nothing of Buddhism beyond a Dali Lama, Fat Buddha, impossible Zen contemplations and vegetarianism. I inquired as to how one became a monk. I was actually thinking that one could show up at a temple and state their desires to learn and follow. The answer could not have been farther from my expectations. The answer came as this:
I stated that an MBA would be easier to achieve. My guide stated only that she had never attempted to earn an MBA. At some point I made reference to the numerous and intricate numbers of different aspects of Buddha I saw. There may have been some slight assumption that there was a western view of graven images. I was assured before I could think that these were not idols but representatives. I was also informed that even the destruction or disposals of pictures were considered due to the energy that spent in creating them originally. I was impressed with the level of English that my guide spoke and I inquired of their origin. I was informed that they were born in Burma and educated in Boston and Los Angeles. AVATAMSAKA VIHARA is of the Mahayana or Northern Tradition of Buddhism. The Bodhisattva is peculiar to the Northern Tradition. My guide at points seemed to impress the importance of the Bodhisattva, or that their teacher actually seemed to have them aspire to returning and helping others and that this was a good thing. AVATAMSAKA VIHARA does have a convent further west in Montgomery County on Beall Mountain Road (their original site, but now retired to the public visitation). When the facility on Beall Mountain Road was acquired, it is believed that the reason the Master chose this place was that over a hundred years ago, when the white men were killing the American Indians and chasing them out of their own territories, the Indians retreated to this final refuge and lost their lives here in the end. The Master must have bought this place in order to help the many resentful spirits that were still around. The hour was now after 5 p.m. and I thanked my guide, I left a gift of 2 boxes of pasta and placed some cash in the large 'Donation" box in the library. I was excusing myself and heading towards my shoes as my guide made it a point to show me some other books with color pictures of the Master and his relics glowing in the dark. I left with a peaceful but knowing feeling that my world had just expanded exponentially. For more information about the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association and The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, visit their Website: http://www.drba.org/index.htm |
| Created by Laura Ellen Shulman |
Last updated: August 07, 2003
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