Field Trip

For my hands on religious experience, I chose to visit the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple. I have passed the Hsi Lai Temple numerous times in my life and always wondered what was inside the Temple. I was extremely excited to visit the Temple but nervous at the same time. I thought that I would feel out of place since I was not Asian. I soon realized that there were different nationalities at the Temple, which took a big load off my shoulders. My dumbfounded look drew attention to a Caucasian male volunteer who directed me to the information desk where I would start my self guided audio tour and end watching a Dharma service. As I spoke with the Bob, the Caucasian male volunteer, I realized that he converted to Buddhism in the nineteen hundred eighties and enjoys spending his free time volunteering at the Temple. Bob raved on and on about the Temple and even gave me a little tour on the way to the information desk.

The Hsi Lai Temple was founded in nineteen hundred eighty eight by the Venerable Master Hsing Yun. The Hsi Lai Temple was built by Master Hsing Yun to provide a spiritual and cultural place to learn about Buddhism, to spread a personable Buddhism and to generate an untainted place. The temple took ten years to complete, from the planning stages to the finished site. It covers fifteen acres of land in Hacienda Heights, California. Master Hsing Yun established the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order in Taiwan in nineteen hundred sixty seven. In Taiwan today, the Fo Guang Shan monastery is the largest seen and is spread over one hundred and forty eight acres. The architecture of the Hsi Lai Temple is a replica of the traditional technique used in ancient Chinese monasteries. Everything from the buildings to the gardens is simulated. Hsi Lai translates to “coming west” and it is significant because it represents the dedication of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order in educating the Western Hemisphere of the Buddha. The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order is a non-profit organization with its headquarters remaining in Taiwan.

The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order preaches the teachings of Mahayana Chinese Buddhism. It is a monastic order that can be categorized into eight differing disciplines: Tiantai, Pure Land, Huayan, Sanlum, Chan, Faxiang, Esoteric and Vinaya. The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order fits in to the Linji Chan discipline. Through a personable Buddhist direction, the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order strives to merge all schools and divisions of Buddhism. Through discussion and ceremonies, the order endorses inter-religious dialogue among all spiritual traditions. The main purpose of the order is to offer confidence, hope, joy and convenience to everyone. Master Hsing Yun has been successful spreading the word of the Buddha throughout Asia for the past thirty years, instituting more than two hundred temples. The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order has more than fifteen hundred monks and nuns serving today.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun built the Hsi Lai Temple, which has a traditional religious foundation, for individuals that want to discover Buddhism and Chinese culture. The Temple spreads Buddhism by way of enlightened endeavors, cares for Buddhist followers with teachings and through Buddhist exercises informs people.

My first stop in my self guided audio tour was the gate in the very front of the Temple. The words “International Buddhist Progress Society” are listed in the middle of the gate in English and in Chinese. The four great vows of Buddhism are written in Chinese on the reverse side of the gate. The four great vows are “Save all sentient beings, eradicate all worries, ceaselessly study the Dharma, and continually ascend to Enlightenment.” In Buddhism, formulating vows is essential because binds people to complete their exercises.
My next stop was the Bodhisattva Hall, which was my favorite place in the Temple. Bodhisattvas are enlightened individuals who have promised to selflessly, lovingly and compassionately free everyone from suffering. Each Bodhisattva, known as a “Buddha in training”, has a worthy Buddhist eminence in them. Individuals will visit the Bodhisattvas for assistance in obtaining the worthy qualities each Bodhisattva has. Individuals visiting the Bodhisattvas light insence and place them at the bottom of their feet and bow out of respect for the Bodhisattva. Bowing also represents humbleness and self control. Gifts, such as fruit, flowers and beads, are also given to the Bodhisattvas out of respect. The nuns selling the offerings were absolutely beautiful with their shaved heads. There are five Bodhisattvas inside the hall and two outside on each side of the hall. The two Bodhisattvas outside the hall are outstanding individuals and people seek their guidance. The other five Bodhisattvas inside the hall are known as Samantadhadra Bodhisattva, who symbolizes immense preparation, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who is recognized for his immense oath, Maitreya Bodhisattva, who is the next Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, who symbolizes compassion and love and Manjusri Boddhisattva, who symbolizes immense wisdom. On my way out, I donated one dollar in exchange for dharma words.

Next, I visited the Arhats Garden, which houses the eighteen Arhats. An Arhat is an individual who understands the true meaning of no-self. Arhats have eliminated all attachments to worldly possessions and desires. They are above ignorance, greed and anger. Arhats have been inspirational to individuals searching to become a Bodhisattva. On the opposite side of the courtyard is the Avalokitesvara Garden. In the back of the garden sits Avalokitesvara Buddha, surrounded by her two assistants, Shancai and Longnu. The four Deva Kings enclose the pond and are Virudhaka of the Southern Kingdom, Virupaksa of the Western Kingdom, Dhanada of the Northern Kingdom and Dhrtarastra of the Eastern Kingdom. These kings are guardians who protect against evil. The four Dragon Kings and the Four Seas border the guardians and worship the Bodhisattva. The flowing water represents dharma water to clear everyone’s mind.

The Courtyard was my next stop and was absolutely a beautiful site because at the top of it was the Main Shrine. The courtyard, known as the “way to Buddhahood”, is where outside events and meditating retreats are held. There are several concrete blocks all the way up to the Main Shrine and inside the cracks of the blocks is grass. This is symbolic because through Buddhism, an individual can eliminate everything corrupt if superior seeds are planted. The lions at the corners of the courtyard symbolize courage, strength and ignorance awareness. Bob informed me that weddings are held in assembly hall on the right side of the courtyard. Depending on where the bride is from and how wealthy her family is will illustrate the colors that she will wear on her wedding day. Meditation classes are also held in the conference and assembly halls.

Above the Main Shrine are the Memorial Pagoda, which houses books, the International Translation Center and the Meditation Hall, where meditating classes are held.

The Art Gallery was my next stop, which displayed beautiful works of art. The steps on the way up to the Art Gallery had beautiful little statues along the way. Traditional Chinese and Buddhist artifacts from around the globe and works of contemporary artists were also displayed in the Exhibition Hall. As I stopped by the book store, I saw the dining hall to my right and to my left were two ladies making little vanilla and red bean pies from scratch. The red bean pies were absolutely delicious.

As I walked up the side steps of the Main Shrine, I witnessed a Dharma service. It was absolutely beautiful. This is the most significant location inside the Buddhist monastery and literally means “Precious Hall of the Great Hero.” It was offered in the name of Sakyamuni Buddha, who founded Buddhism. Sakyamuni Buddha possessed compassion, wisdom, virtue and evil suppression. Followers can honor the Buddha here, in search for their sacred home. There are three large Buddha statues portraying enlightenment on the back side of the shrine, just as Jesus is behind the priest during mass. On the right hand side of Sakyamuni Buddha, who is in the middle, is Siddhartha Gautama and on the left of the Sakyamuni Buddha is Amitabha Buddha. Gautama found truth and insight while meditating underneath the bodhi tree. Once he reached enlightenment, he was named Sakyamuni Buddha because the Buddha is “the enlightened one.” Amitabha Buddha is the educator in the Western Pure Land. Over ten thousand Buddha statues are on the walls of the main shrine. As I witnessed the Dharma service, I noticed that followers would light insence and then place the stick to their forehead as the bowed to the Buddha. Because I was wearing shorts, I could not enter the Main Shrine but viewed the Dharma service from the outside. There was repetitive chanting throughout the service, which was completely filled with additional followers viewing from outside. Even though I could not understand what was being said, I felt the dedication that a Buddhist has for his or her religion.

I could never image just how beautiful Buddhism is by reading it out of a book. It was amazing to understand why Venerable Master Hsing Yun gave us this beautiful Temple in order to spread the word of Buddhism. The Temple itself is amazingly beautiful. The Bodhisattva Hall was my favorite because I felt comfortable in there. I felt like they could help me understand Buddhism. I felt embarrassed to visit Sakyamuni Buddha because of his status and because of my ignorance of is religion. By visiting the Temple and taking in what I learned about, I have started to incorporate Buddhist beliefs into my everyday life. I have realized the importance of people in my life, the pettiness of material objects, the significance of integrity, compassion, discipline, a promise, tradition and the search for wisdom. Incorporating these qualities in my life has given me a grounded sense of confidence and self knowing. I feel like my head is not filled with nonsense and the power to accomplish anything that I put my mind to. Maybe I will not convert to Buddhism from my Catholic background but I have to say that in my opinion, I have become a better person from visiting the Temple and practically learning about Buddhism.