Just returned from a beautiful Buddhist Temple

[Gauracandra]

Haribol one and all,

 

I just wanted to share a very nice experience I had this morning. On Friday, at work, a friend told me about a very grand Buddhist temple in my area. He gave me directions and suggested I check it out (he knows I'm into that sort of thing). So this morning, I woke up extra early and got an early headstart (to avoid the traffic). It took me about 1 hour to reach the temple mostly due to the poor instructions by my co-worker The temple was situated in some rolling hills, and I pulled up into their parking lot.

 

The temple itself was HUGE and gorgeous. No one was around except maybe myself and one other person. First I did a quick circumabulation of the temple to get an overall feel for it. The architecture itself was very traditional chinese architecture, with lots of dragon motifs, and lions guarding the gates. The area was very peaceful, and it being early in the morning there was a slight misty fog in the air.

 

Walking up some stairs, I approached the first temple. There were a number of deities of various disciples of the Buddha. In the inner sanctum were three huge Buddhas. I took a single sandalwood incense stick, lit it and offered it to Lord Buddha. It was really serene in the first temple, and tiny little birds were flying around inside it.

 

Next, I walked around to the central courtyard, which was again breathtaking. Everything was very nicely laid out, and there were a number of singular statues of the Buddha each expressing a different mood. Also, there was one section with paper mache sort of creations that had the Buddha, peacocks, and surprisingly a cardboard cutout of Lord Rama and Sita. I figured since the Ramayan is so popular in Southeast Asia that they included this.

 

At the end of the courtyard was the central temple. I walked up the stairs and was greeted by an old chinese woman. She didn't speak english but motioned that I should fold my hands when before the deities. Inside were a few women monks all dressed in brown. The central altar had some giant deities of Lord Buddha (Like 10-15 ft tall maybe). The walls of the sanctum were covered in boxes each containing little carvings of Lord Buddha. And overhead, the ceiling had some huge chandalier sort of arrangement but it was very subdued (don't picture your traditional chandalier, because its not even remotely close, but its too hard to describe

 

I remained very quiet and respectful. One woman monk sat in meditation, another was reading a small book, and one was sweeping the floor. In front of the altar were various fruits and flowers, perhaps as an offering.

 

As I was leaving, I saw in front of me a young woman monk. She was perhaps 18-20 years old, with a shaved head. She started to sing as she crossed the courtyard, and it was very pleasant.

 

The whole experience was really nice. The temple itself was huge by western standards. I was just really impressed by how nice the atmosphere was and the whole setting. Just wanted to share my morning experience. Take care.

 

Gauracandra

[Maitreya]

Gaurachandra,

 

That was nice.I felt like I was almost there.I have a certain feel for Buddhist temples.After 1978 I was not so welcomed at iskcon Hawaii.The many Buddhist temples in the same valley there became a kind of refuge for me.I could sit at any number of them and silently chant on my 1/4 mala[ no bag]and felt right at home before Lord Buddha.No one ever bothered me and I hope I never bother anyone else.Some were very small and some somewhat large, but none as large as what you describe.All were very well maintained.

 

Jaya Lord Buddha