(At Doi Suthep, a Buddhist temple in Thailand. I didn't dress very well in Thailand...I had a lot of weird thoughts about visiting a developing country, first time out of the US)
I'm always looking for new experiences, so of course exploring various religions interests me. I have a vague knowledge of Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism and even Baha'i Faith (after I found out Rainn Wilson, aka, Dwight Shrute from The Office was Baha'i, I realized I had never even heard of that!) I was raised as a Christian but I've never been particularly religious. I feel that each religion has very important things to teach us and I agree with something I read that the Dalai Lama said about religion being like medicine...different medicines work for different ailments and people...Christianity works for some, while Islam works for others.
So it was with this mindset that I decided to visit Karma Thegsum Choling (KTC) in Jacksonville for their Saturday meditation and teaching. Taken from their website: "KTC Jacksonville is a Tibetan Buddhist Practice Center of the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddha Dharma. The Kagyu lineage is one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism & is often called "The Whispered Lineage" because its highest teachings are still passed in an unbroken line from teacher to student since the days of the Buddha."
I was not the only new visitor; one girl was there as part of a class she was taking at UNF (local university) and she had brought her two sisters with her. The man who was in charge (not sure what to call him, similar to a pastor?) was so kind and welcoming and took about 10 minutes to give us a brief introduction to Buddhism and an overview of their temple and the service we were about to participate in. We were offered tea or water and were asked to remove our shoes before being shown into the shrine room. I visited several Buddhist temples when I was in Thailand, but my role was only as a tourist. I knew to take my shoes off and I was instructed to wear conservative clothing so as not to offend anyone, but other than that, my only job was to stare in awe at the gorgeous statues and temples with my jaw dropped open.
For the service, we each had books with various prayers written in Tibetan (in the Tibetan alphabet and the English alphabet) and the translation in English. Each prayer was sung as a group in Tibetan, similar to a Catholic mass I once attended where the priest and congregation would sometimes sing together various prayers The "pastor" said that we could say the prayers in English, but we would have been way off if we hadn't used the Tibetan words! I tried to read the English translations while we sang and they mostly were about giving thanks and about the gloriousness of various figures (sorry that's vague, my memory is the worst!)
Most of the service was singing these prayers, probably about an hour total. I felt like I was transported back to my childhood, squirming in my seat and longing for church to be over. In the shrine room, you may sit at the back in a chair but really you're supposed to sit on a cushion on the floor. I was trying to get the full experience, so I chose the floor. I immediately regretted this decision. I wish I were more Zen and didn't have so many complaints, after all, these people were so hospitable and all I could think was, "This is taking SO LONG. My ankles hurt from sitting Indian style. I'm pretty sure my joints are suffering irreparable damage. Would I really be the rudest person of all time if I just got up and left?" I'm very aware that none of these thoughts make me look like a good person, but I really tried, I promise. And, I made it through the whole thing! I have a sneaking suspicion that he hurried it up for us newcomers because the website said that it went until noon, and we finished by 11:30 am. There were only 5 people in the shrine besides the 4 of us who were visiting, but I felt like we ruined their Buddhist service with our anxious energy!
I am glad that I joined KTC Jacksonville for their service and I feel a bit closer to Buddhists after taking part. I don't think I'd be a very good Buddhist, I'm too antsy, but I really appreciate their views on acceptance, non-judgment and loving kindness. If you're interested in finding out more about Buddhism or KTC Jax, you can visit their website at www.ktcjax.org. I'm thinking my next exploration into religion will be a Jewish temple, I'll keep ya posted! :)
Has anyone else explored various religions? What were your experiences? Please be respectful and kind and let me know in the comments!
