Research Paper on Religion

In considering all of the world’s religions, I chose to do my research and paper on Buddhism. I chose this religion because it seems very interesting to me, and also because Buddhism is a completely different religion than my own. I visited the An Lac Temple on Sunday September 28, 2003 from 10-12. It is a Mahayana Buddhist temple. My boyfriend went along with me on this visit. When we first arrived, we were greeted and I explained to them who I was and that we would be visiting their temple for the day and they kindly took us to a sister who could speak English and was happy to answer my questions. Her name was Thanhtrang and she proceeded to give us lots of information about their temple and the Buddhist religion.

Location and Affiliation:
The An Lac temple is located at 5249 E 30th Street in Indianapolis. The neighborhood that surrounds the temple appears to be pretty run down. In the area there are a lot of trailer courts and tattered homes. The temple has been there for 10 years and it consists of 2 house-like buildings. One of them is the actual temple and the other is a building in which teachings for the children are held and the dinner after the service also takes place there. The meal after the service takes place to remind them where the food came from and the hardships it took to get the food. They always know what they are eating and will eat the food even if they do not like it because it helps them practice not to discriminate, even with something as little as food.

The purpose of the temple is to offer a place where people are able to come and learn about the Buddhist beliefs, and also to learn and to keep cultures from the country where they originated. The temple hopes that with their teachings, when their children grow up they will know virtues and not bring bad habits into the world. In schools, they never learn how to take care of his or her soul. In the working world, all people care about is themselves and fighting to get what they can. The temple tries to fight these things to make the world a better place. (Thanhtrang)

Social Context:
As far as I can tell, it appeared to me that the people who attended the temple were middle class. I noticed that they all drove nice cars and were nicely dressed. Nothing I noticed was really fancy or there was nothing that really stood out. There were people of all ages in attendance on Sunday. The ages varied from children to the elderly. In total there were approximately 50 people that attended the service. There were about 30 females than 20 males. All of the people that attended the temple were of Asian descent.

Material Dimension:
One way a sacred place is designated is that shoes are never worn into a place that is considered clean or holy. Of the two buildings that were there, only the actual temple where the service is held, do they take their shoes off. They do not take their shoes off to go into the other building where the meal is held. I think that they only take their shoes off in the actual temple because it is the place where the worship and praise actually takes place so they show their respect in that way to Buddha. The worship space consisted of an open room with Buddha statues in the front, surrounded by flowers, candles, incense, and fruit. As a way to show their respect and love for him, their ancestors built the Buddha statues. To remember what Buddha has given and done for them, they recite his teachings, pray, and bow to him. The incense is also to give Buddha thanks. It is believed that the smoke goes around in ten different directions. The candles stand for wisdom. The flowers come from the story that when Buddha died, the sky rained down flowers. It is believed that in the forest where Buddha died, all of the trees bloomed flowers. Flowers are always used in remembrance of Buddha. The fruit is meant to remind people that there is an outcome. Also in the front is where the sister who gave the message sat. In the middle of the room were round pillows for the members of the temple to sit on during worship, as they sit and kneel on the floor. The women sat on the right side of the room and the men sat on the left side. In the back of the room were a very large bell and drum. (Thanhtrang)

The first hour of worship is what is called the dharma talk, which means teaching of the Buddha. The second hour consists of chantings, which are begun by the sounding of the drum and bell. During this time, the children have classes in the other building. There is not a certain age one has to be in order to attend the talk or chantings. However, teachers want the children to have a full understanding and appreciate their religion before attending. During the talk, Thanhtrang sat with us and she informed us what the talk was about as the language that is spoken there is Vietnamese. The main point of the talk was about practicing patience. If you become frustrated with someone, concentrate on not putting his or her feelings down. (Thanhtrang)

During the service, all of the members of the church wore plain grayish colored robes. These are worn so that attention is not drawn to one’s self and is a sign of humbleness. Another reason why these are worn is so that everyone looks the same and people do not have to worry about whether their clothes are as fancy as someone else’s. (Thanhtrang)

Social/Institutional:
Positions of authority are chosen based on how long a sister has been ordained as a nun. The longer she has been a nun the better her chances as becoming a leader. They also look at her practice and her virtues. This church is affiliated with other Buddhist churches all over the world. Also, all the nuns are connected with each other and can call for help and advice. The nuns have to take classes which are called sutras and mean teachings of the Buddha. These classes teach them rules and manners. They also have to know all the precepts and practice them very well. They must have a great understanding of the sutras and things they have been taught. As well as taking courses in public speaking. (Thanhtrang)

Ritual/Practical:
As everyone entered the temple, they bowed to the Buddha statues. Then they sat down on their pillows. Next, the sister then began the dharma talk and it lasted for about an hour. After the talk, there was a short break and at the first sound of the drum, the congregation was seated again, only this time they were on their knees with their hands together in front of them. The drum and bell were played for about 5 minutes and then the chantings began and lasted for about another hour. They chanted Buddhist teachings to remind them of what he has taught them and to send love and word into the souls all around. After the chantings were over, everyone was welcome to a meal. (Thanhtrang)

During the service there was no choir, however they did use two instruments, a drum and a bell. The bell is used to keep the people and the souls around awake. The drum is used simply to keep the beat. After every activity is finished, they pray and offer virtues to Buddha. (Thanhtrang)

Experiential/Emotional:
The people of the temple seemed very passionate about their worship. They paid very close attention to what the sister was teaching them during the dharma talk. During the talk, they sat very still and attentive. There was not very much talk during the service besides the sister giving the message. Every now and then someone would make a comment to express what he or she was thinking or to answer a question the sister had asked the congregation.

Narrative/Mythic:
During the service there were no stories told. They concentrate on maintaining a healthy life and worshipping Buddha. On the walls of them temple were a few banners that stated a few things Buddhists are very thankful for. The first stated, “Very happy we have Buddhist teachings.” The second stated, “Very happy that Buddha existed.” The third one stated, “Very happy to have a harmonious Sangha.” (Thanhtrang)

Legal/Ethical:
Buddhism is usually family connecting. However, if Buddhism is not in one’s family and someone would like to become Buddhist, he or she must promise to keep the 5 Sangha precepts.
- Promise not to kill and to protect lives
- Promise not to steal and to protect other’s property
- Promise not to lie and to say the truth
- Promise not to perform sexual misconduct
- Promise not to do harmful things to your body, no drugs, no alcohol, or anything else toxic to your mind or body.

These rules come from the early teachings and ancestors of the Buddhist religion. (Thanhtrang)

Doctrinal/Philosophical:
The most important rules or guidelines of the Buddhist religion are the 10 precepts.
Body: -Do not kill
-No Sexual Misconduct
-Do not steal
Mouth: -Do not tell lies, always tell the truth
-Do not say things to break up a relationship
-Do not be two-tongued (two faced)
Mind: -Do not have cravings
-Do not have anger
-Do not have bad views or perceptions
-Do not be ignorant

These precepts will help one build and cultivate their soul and can help one achieve a good afterlife. In the afterlife there are 2 stages, the Buddhisattva stage and the Buddha stage. The Buddhisattva is where people realize the truth and do not care about mind and body. They are just around to help and protect others. The Buddha state is when one overcomes the universe. They are no longer anything but becoming everything. One will know about lifetimes before and after him or her. They can become anything and overcome self and mind. (Thanhtrang)

Distinctive Features and Comparisons:
One could easily tell what was important and valued in the temple. It was the statues of Buddha. The statues were constantly being bowed and prayed to. The congregation also said chantings to these statues to express their love and gratitude towards them. Flowers, incense, fruit, and candles surrounded the Buddha statues. All of these things were another way the people showed their love and gratefulness to Buddha. (Thanhtrang)

Subjective Reactions:
The most surprising thing about this place was the fact that they take their shoes off and they sit on the floor. This surprised me because it is something that I am not used to. Another thing I found surprising was that the talks and the leaders of the temple were women. This surprised me because I am used to church being led by a male. During the visit, I was very intrigued to learn more about the Buddhist religion. It was a great experience in that I learned a lot about a different religion. I also learned some different cultures and ways of life that take place right here in Indianapolis. I liked the fact that everyone was very friendly and inviting of us into their temple. While on our visit, we felt very welcomed into their temple. The only thing I did not like was the fact that the talk and the chantings were in Vietnamese. Nothing could change this, I would have just liked to have been able to understand everything that was being said and chanted.

Conclusion:
This visit and project helped me to greater realize the wide variety of cultures and religions there are throughout the world. It is amazing to me how many religions there are, and they are all very different in their own ways. One needs to be open in learning about other religions of the world in order to be appreciative and to greater understand their own religion. From this visit I also was reminded not to judge other religions. Before this visit, I had assumptions of the Buddhist religion and the practices they performed. Turns out, a lot of these assumptions were not true and they do things a lot differently than I had expected.

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