Regardless
of your religious affiliation, I'd recommend that everyone educate
themselves on Buddhism. Though some do, I and many of its followers
wouldn't personally classify Buddhism as a religion. I’d hope that
it wouldn’t be a conflict of interest for any religious devotees to
concern themselves with. It may be better classified as a
philosophy, a lifestyle choice, or simply guidelines by which one who
desires to lead a morally satisfying life can follow (of course this
will raise questions such as "What is morality?" and "Is
morality universal?". Those are better left for a more in depth
debate at a later time.). In the vein of generalities (and oh how I
despise generalities), what follows are the CliffsNotes to Buddhism.
There exists the Four Noble Truths –
four observable,
universal facts*
(*you may disagree):
- Suffering exists.
- Suffering has a cause.
- If there is a cause there must also
be a cessation.
- There is a path leading to the
cessation of suffering - the Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold Path consists of living
benevolently by practicing
positivity through the following: righteous understanding, thought,
speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
Couldn't we all benefit from the daily execution of these?
One of the many Buddhist temples
within walking distance of where I live recently spent three days
celebrating the anniversary of its construction, and luckily I never
mind being the token, out-of-place foreigner. Besides, I'll take
every opportunity I can to spend time at any of the temples for
nothing more than the experience. As I have walked by these
particular temple grounds every day, I've gotten to see the
preparations for the event take place. Observing this commotion is
what put the event on my radar. I initially witnessed the monks
working furiously as they painted their enormous Buddha statue from
white to gold...but I was unsure as to why. Afterwards, I observed
the monks tying white string from any and every point on the temple
grounds to opposing points, creating an impressively intense webbing
suspended seven or eight feet off of the ground...but I was unsure
why. From a distance I watched the monks lay hundreds of thin gray
squares on the ground in a perfectly-spaced, geometric pattern...but
I was unsure of why. And finally, outside of the temple grounds,
conjoined covered tents were erected for hundreds of feet in the
middle of the road...but I was unsure why.
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| Once white... |
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| ...now gold. |
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| Receiving a blessing outside the temple. |
To my excitement, the first day
arrived and the commencement of the ceremonies began. I was in
attendance as soon as the temple grounds were opened and met with a
blessing as I sought answers to all of my questions. The tents on
the road were lined with mothers and grandmothers cooking Thai dishes
that would typical be served to their families. Luckily for me, this
time they were being offered to the temple-goers...for free! What a
way to gain positive karma! After eating an obscene amount of Thai
dishes, I entered the grounds and observed the concrete
checker-boarded with gray mats. These were to be used for the prayer
ceremony hosted by the monks each night. This also brought the
answer to my question about the overhead string. The webbing was
tied to absolutely everything within the temple grounds: the columns,
the statues of Buddha and the Hindi deities, the flower pots, the
fountains, the candle holders, the trees, indoors and out. From the
overhead webbing, a cloth with a prayer on it was suspended along
with a balled-up string. This string was for the taking. We were to
loosen the knot, unroll it, and tie it to our thumb while seated
during meditation and prayer. Now not only were were connected to
all of the physical objects around us but to Buddha and each other as
well. There we sat, hundreds of us sending pulses over this
interconnected web. I was so impressed by this uniquely beautiful
symbolism.
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| Notice the string running everywhere. Inside... |
Hours later after the sun set and a
nightly prayer session led by the eldest monks took place, people
started filing out of the grounds. Radiating positive energy and
refreshed with good karma, I walked home knowing that I'd return for
the following two nights. This was certainly one of the more
memorable and sacred events that I've ever been blessed to be apart
of.
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| ...and out. |
