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For the encounter and dialogue I decided to focus on Buddhism and go to a Buddhist temple, the reason I chose a Buddhist temple was that after learning about it in class I was left oddly fascinated with the religion, because it was one of the religions that we learned that I thought I knew a lot about but actually knew very little about. So four other classmates and I went to Ekoji Buddhist Temple for their weekly Sunday service. Beforehand I called in to make sure that we didn’t need an appointment, and the man on the phone (Andrew) said that we can just show up, and that it is an open service. Going to the temple wasn’t nerve wracking or anything, because I had four other first timers with me, but I hadn’t been to any place of worship in over a year.
The congregation of people in the hall were actually a mixture that I didn’t really expect, when it came to gender there were about an equal amount of male and female. There were a huge amount of adults compared to kids, and when it came to racial demographic I was kind of shocked to see more Caucasian, then any other race. Since the denomination of the temple that we went to was a Japanese denomination and the Japanese influence was strong, I thought that there were going to be more Japanese people then there were. Before the service began there was a piano being played in the far-left front corner and the music stoped, indicating the beginning of the service. The orator of the service greeted everyone and told us that there are service books in the back pocket of the seats in front of us. We were told to open the books, and we did a chanting/ singing. Afterwards we sat down and out of the front shrine, from the back of wall, came two of the spiritual leaders. They sat down, hit a gong, and we did a short meditation and then recited the Nembutsu. The service went on to the chanting of the Vandana Ti Sarana, the chanting of the Sutra, then the Dharma message. The Dharma message was a very nice word of wisdom. One of the spiritual leaders - the younger of the two traditionally dressed leaders in the front - presented the message. The message was about listening and being very tentative. He spoke about listening before every action, listening before you talk and that, when told something, don’t let it come through one ear and leave out the other ear. We then went on with the service but the thing that threw us off was the ‘Dana’ - the collection of monetary gratitude. I know it was not mandatory to offer something, but I would have loved to offer something because the members were nothing but warm, nice and inviting. The Oshoko was also another thing that threw us off because we didn’t know what it was and what to do. While waiting in the line for our turns we observed the members doing it and it wasn’t that hard to catch on:
This happened in unison with three of us at three different tables, it felt so natural and I believe I did it with little flaw, I felt like I had done it before. The service went on till the end. Just before the end there was an informal announcement and question session. This was the time I thought I was going to get to ask some questions, but the sad thing was that my classmates and I ended up not asking during the informal session. The service came to an end and there was a final announcement that there would be refreshments outside the service hall and that everyone is free to eat. While getting up to go to the food area I was kind of disappointed that neither I nor my classmates asked questions, but as we got up to go enjoy some food, there was a man that approached us and said, "hey! Are you guys new? My name is Sean." He extended his hand and shook all our hands respectively as we each introduced ourselves when he shook our hands. He then went on, "I see that you guys are new, so I just wanted to come up and share my story with you and then you guys can be free to ask me any questions." We all said, "sure!" He went on and told us his story. "So I’ve been a Buddhist for about twelve years and it has been a real journey." He went on to tell us that he was Mormon and he did not like the authoritative nature of the religion because he could not merge it with his lifestyle. I then asked, "how was the transition from Mormonism to Buddhism?" He easefully replied, "Rough!" He told us that when he discovered Buddhism and transitioned, his family was totally against it and he lost almost all family connection. He said that his daughter ran away and left him and it took those twelve years to try and rebuild his relationships but he will still stand strong in his choice. I was still quite fascinated with the man’s story but was scared to ask him more about his life because I did not want to be intrusive, so I asked him, "why did you pick Buddhism when you left your Mormon lifestyle?" He looked at me as if I asked the right thing and he replied, "the compassion." He turned to the shrine at the front of the service hall and said, "see the shrine on that wall? It resembles a kimono with open arms, which symbolizes the compassion and tells a message of 'I will take you in if you are willing to take me in.' The Japanese influence is very strong here because that is where the form of Buddhism practiced here comes from." At that point I think he realized that we wanted to go to the food because we had been talking to him for a while so he said his goodbyes and said that he enjoyed talking to us. We were famished and we were completely happy that they offered us food; this was an authentic show of warmth and a true welcoming energy. When I was at the food table I bumped into Sean once more. I could not refrain from telling him that I was Mormon once too, and he said, "yeah everyone finds their truth when it comes to beliefs and some people go down a different path than their peers or family wanted them to; but it’s not all bad, is it?" I replied, "Agreed!" Sean put some meatballs onto his plate and looked at me, "I know, I know 'aren’t Buddhists supposed to be Vegan or something?' But of course this group of Buddhist aren’t," he said before he shot me a half-smile and a wink; and that was the last I saw of Sean. After eating, my classmates and I went outside to the meditation garden to take some pictures and to jump into some leaves and then we left.
After leaving there was still a lingering aura of calmness and stillness that griped me. I could not put my finger on it; I did not know if it was the warmth and hospitality of the Ekoji community, or if it was the tranquility of the building and its location. Nonetheless I felt the calm that this place had left me with, and I will forever remember that. The experience was indescribably incredible! I was ready to attend the meditation on Thursday but I had prior engagements. I really cleared up some of the impressions I had prior to the encounter which were that most of the attendants would be the race or ethnicity of where this denomination came from, and that I would feel extremely out of place and not welcomed. I am not sure why I held such impressions but I knew that I had to experience Buddhism first hand and I am happy that I did. |
We then proceeded to the service hall and before crossing the threshold to the service area we saw one of the member’s bow, so we proceeded and bowed too. He then turned around and with a kind giggle said,
"you don’t have to bow, it’s not required that you bow before you enter the service hall, some of us just do it because it’s a show of
respect." I giggled a bit too and then said, "Then I am more than glad we decided to imitate
you." We then entered the Temple's service hall. The hall was an open room with large open windows that, to the left,
overlooked the meditation garden and, to the right, overlooked trees. There was an arrangement of chairs on both left and right and a middle space for walking that is straight to the shrine
which is front and centre of the entire hall. The shrine was wood board wall with a dark purple centre wall that was shaped like a kimono, with a black frame with
a gold background in it and black writing in
Japanese. There were black tables on the platform with books, flowers and fruit on them
and, in front of the elevated platform, were three different tables with bead bracelets and burning incense.
| Created by Laura Ellen Shulman |
Last updated: December 25, 2017
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