Humanities 2300

             Do you suffer from high stress, back pain, want to find answers to questions? Then do I have a cure-all for you -- meditation, more specifically transcendental meditation. What may you ask is transcendental meditation? According to dictionary.com, it is “a technique, based on ancient Hindu writings, by which one seeks to achieve a relaxed state through regular periods of meditation during which a mantra is repeated.” Medical research is finding more and more conditions that transcendental meditation improves or even heals. Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as Buddha, used meditation in order to reach enlightenment under a papal tree after the paths recommended by others did not help him find peace from suffering. Members of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple participate in meditation as a form of religious service. The purpose of this paper is to understand how mediation is used in religious services held at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple and how the people at the temple use meditation to better themselves.

            Buddhism is based on Siddhartha Gautama’s journey and the enlightenment he received after much meditation in order to reach a state of inner peace. During enlightenment Buddha received “The Four Noble Truths” (slbuddhist.org).  After receiving enlightenment Buddha then gave his first dharma talk to his old companions.  Although there are many sects of Buddhism, all sects are based on some basic building blocks of Buddhism.  One of the most important of these building blocks is the first dharma talk given by Buddha, “The Four Noble Truths”. The first of the Noble Truths is dukkha, which means “Life is Difficult”. The basic idea behind this is that life is tough, but there is a way to alleviate the suffering that individuals experience in life. There are eight types of pain in the dukkha, which are birth, sickness, old age, death, separation from those we love, having to associate with those we don’t like, not always getting what we seek or want, the difficulties of growing in both mind and body. The eight pains of the dukkha are things that all mortals experience and the way that each person deals with those life events will determine their suffering(slbuddhist.org).

The second noble truth is samudaya, which means that there is some reason for the pain we experience. The cause for the pain is craving or desire. There are certain things that all people want because it’s in their human nature. Some examples are to be rich, to be loved and to be with our loved ones.  These are desires that never go away. The Buddhist perspective is optimistic that individuals can deal with the never-ending wheel of cravings and desires(slbuddhist.org).

The third noble truth is nirohda, which is nirvana. The basic idea behind nirohda is that nirvana can be reached by eradicating craving and desire. When this occurs wisdom takes place of the cravings and desires that were there before (slbuddhist.org).

The fourth noble truth is magga, which means “the path”. The path is what enables us to replace our cravings and desires with wisdom.  This path is one of middle ground between two extremes. The first extreme being is to follow our senses for pleasure and the other is to give up everything so that we will no longer crave any of them. Everything that Buddhists at the Salt Lake Buddhist’s Temple do to worship is focused around these “Four Noble Truths” (slbuddhist.org).

As I entered the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple for the first time I noticed that the outside architecture was simple and not flashy at all. I entered the front large black door. I was welcomed by the sound of basketball being played. It was a warm feeling, though I was anxious and nervous at the same time. The basketball court was to the right of the doorway. Directly in front of me was a kitchen with a woman sitting at the table in the center of the kitchen. I asked if the service started at 10:00 am to make sure I was in the right place at the right time. She confirmed that it did and stated that the reverend was performing some kind of instructions and that I was welcome to check it out. Turning around and facing the black door that I entered through earlier, I then looked to my right and found the room that the woman was talking about. I signed the sign in book to the left of the door and entered as quietly as I could. It was a woman sitting on a pillow speaking to about 8 people scattered throughout the room. I tried to follow what she was talking about. She was talking about test driving a car and that she wanted something flashy that was good for the environment. The lecture ended quickly and I just sat in the pew. I had chosen the center pew halfway down the room. I just took everything in. There was gold or gold plated stuff everywhere. In the center above everything was something written in Japanese with gold letters. There was a statue in the center of the room made out of gold that I would later find out was a statue of Amida Buddha or  the Buddha of Infinite Light. As I sat there just taking everything in a woman in her 50’s walked up to me and said do you want to know how to perform Oshoko. I said sure. She walked me up to two altars with a large round bowl in between and explained to me that I walk up to the Onaijin or altar and bow, then pick up a small amount of incense and put it in the altar to burn then put me hands together and bow again, take one step back with my right foot and bow again without my hands together. Later when I interviewed her she explained to me what the statue of Amida Buddha was and its significance.

I returned to my seat and awaited the start of the service, watching everyone young and old perform Oshoko. Everyone who was a member of Sangha or Fellowship of Buddhists or members of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple had respect but there was one man in particular who caught my eye. As he was approaching the altar the reverend wanted to speak with him and he motioned to wait for a moment. The amount of respect that he showed when performing this ritual took me by surprise. He bowed with precision and dignity. I was in awe.

The service schedule for the Sunday service of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple was as follows: They welcomed guests, recited the “Threefold Refuge”. The “Threefold Refuge states, “I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dharma; I take refuge in the Sangha.” In a 2004 issue of “Buddhist Thoughts”, a newsletter put out by the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, Reverend J.K. Hirano wrote,

“This is an ancient tradition of taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. In fact, this is the traditional method of declaring that one is Buddhist. There are other ceremonies that may vary from tradition to tradition. However, in accepting the three treasures or the threefold refuge, we are declaring that we are Buddhist.”

            Next it was time for meditation.  The male reverend rang a bell that was inside a big pot during meditation that reverberated throughout the building.  The meditation lasted only a minute or two.  Afterward we went straight into the sutra chanting. The sutras are chanted to praise the virtues of the Buddha and can be chanted by anyone who reads English or Japanese (slbuddhist.org).  Although it is written in classical Chinese as well as English characters, the Chinese pronunciation is not the same as in the Japanese language. In this case the sutras were on two large televisions. I stood up along with the congregation and looked on the television and observed those around me and tried to pronounce the Japanese words in the sutra chant. This continued for about 20 minutes. The reverend would start the chant and then the congregation would copy what the reverend had chanted. In the interview I asked if the sutra chanting was a part of meditation. She informed me that it was and that the chanting helped her to focus opposed to allowing her mind to wander. By just focusing on chanting it allowed her to mediate. I asked her what the purpose of meditation was for her, personally. She told me that it was to find inner peace and focus on the inside so that she can then focus on being interconnected with everyone. After I concluded my interview with her I spoke to two other members of the congregation.  I found two men about my age and asked what the purpose of meditation was for them.  The first man that I interviewed answered similarly to the first woman that I interviewed. He said that meditating made it so that he could focus on one thing and calm himself down. The other gentleman explained that he had three children, including newborn twins, and in his own home once everyone was asleep he used meditation to find inner peace. Both gentlemen agreed that they focus on themselves first, and once they find inner peace they are able to focus on others and become interconnected with those around them.

Next we sang a gatha, which is a Buddhist hymn. After that we recited “The Golden Chain.”  “The Golden Chain” is one of two verses that is recited in Dharma School. It is intended to teach Buddhist doctrine to children, there is deeper meaning that can be found in the doctrine. “The Golden Chain” is intended to teach that each individual is a part of something much bigger and that we are all interconnected, not only as human beings but also with the environment around us. It teaches that each individual is a part of a bigger ecology (slbuddhist.org).

The dharma talk was given by the reverend.  He talked about bullying and how one of their mantras is to do no harm and to help fellowmen. He said that if you taking part in bullying, then you are not living the Buddhist life.  He talked about a woman who only had three fingers and a stub and suffered many struggles during her life. He expressed how a group of cheerleaders showed her kindness and how that changed her life from one of depression and helplessness to one of hope and happiness.  He compared the effects of bullying versus the effects of kindness. He strongly encouraged the congregation to be kind to everyone and to not engage in bullying.

When the reverend was finished giving his dharma talk announcements were made, and then we all sang the closing gatha or hymn. Everyone was thanked for coming and people started making their way out the door and others who were late performed Oshoko. For the Buddhists who attend at the Salt Lake Temple the rituals are not only a sacred spiritual experience for them, it is how they can refocus on what is most important in their lives and connect with their world around them. By truly focusing on themselves and clearing their minds of all the things competing for their attention they are able to receive the wisdom they seek. 

I really enjoyed going to the Hindu Temple it took me two times to do it though! The people there were really great and they are just trying to become a better person by helping those around them. That was actually what the Reverend spoke about was if you did do something if you saw someone being bullied or if you were the bully then you were not practicing your religion and there is no point to coming to church and that you are not practicing your religion.