Religious Experience- Buddhism

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Dec 6, 2023

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1 Courtney Hunter Professor Jonathan Wesley World Religions 1101 25 June 2021 Religious Experience Assignment Question 1:  Which religious site did you choose and why?  This should include some assumptions that you may have had about the religion and their worship experience.  Provide information about the respective religion based on your reading from Novak and Smith. The Religious site I chose is Drepung Loseling Monastery. I chose this specific site and religion because Buddhism is something that I am not closely related to, nor do I possess much knowledge of their teachings; I am also interested in a more "hands-on" experience with their beliefs and services. Although I assumed this would be a very impactful experience even before looking into this Monastery, I was hoping to learn more about meditation and how to bring inner peace into my life through their teachings. Before watching any of Drepung Loseling Monasteries services, I assume there will be a good amount of worship through meditation practice. I also understand that people who practice Buddhism are highly spiritual and intellectual people and actively practice inner peace. After reading the chapter on Buddhism in "The World's Wisdom" by Philip Novak, and Huston Smith's "The World's Religions," I understand parts of the Buddhist religion, but I would

2 like to learn more. From what I have gathered, I know that Buddhism is taught by a man named Siddhartha Gotama, also called Buddha or the " Awakened one"(Novak 49). Siddhartha "Buddha" never wished for people to worship him; he only wanted to pave a path for the Theravadas to follow into enlightenment (Smith 124–25). According to the Buddhists, they follow a belief system called the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as a way of life (Novak 65–66). Question 2:  You were to watch 3 full services of the respective religion that you chose. Share the titles, weblinks and a synopsis of the three services that you watched in your own words. Service #1: The first service I watched is titled "Seeking a Meaningful Life Through the Eightfold Noble Path by Geshe Ngawang Phende," and I have also shared the link for the service. https://livestream.com/accounts/7116288/events/3151555/videos/214941084 The beginning of the service started with a few minutes of guided mindfulness meditation. Geshe Ngawang Phende explained that starting with meditation before tapping into the teachings is because it disciplines and cleanses our busy minds to absorb more knowledge, and you have an overall better experience. If our thoughts are not calmed, it makes it harder for us to focus on the topics of the teachings. Through mindfulness meditation, we are concurring our inner demons like depression, anger, or anxiety; our minds are the leading cause of internal

3 pain. Geshe Ngawang Phende taught me that if we recognize the pain in our hearts as a form of smoke, we can release the smoke out of our bodies through breathing techniques. Over time of practicing these techniques, it will help us form a better inner strength. Later into the session, we got into what is the Eightfold Noble Path and its meaning. Geshe Ngawang Phende explained that the first part is the Four Noble Truths and that the "Truth" part is the most important. The ultimate goal is to achieve long-lasting happiness, and this long- lasting happiness can be labeled nirvana, enlightenment, heaven, or whatever you please but remember, the end goal is to seek eternal happiness. Geshe Ngawang Phende also explains that through mental exercise and meditation, we can achieve the Eightfold path. The practice of each of the Eightfold Paths is cleansing our sufferings, and most of our mental afflictions are causes of bad karma. No matter who you are or what you have, if you are under the influence of negative karma, you will always experience suffering. Finishing off the session, Geshe Ngawang Phende talked about each part of the Eightfold Path, how it affects ourselves and others, and how to live by it and make our lives meaningful. Geshe expressed that whatever we accumulated and absorbed through today's lesson, we should dedicate all living beings, including animals and insects. Another point Geshe Ngawang Phende made near the end of the session is that we should dedicate peace to those who passed away during the pandemic due to Covid-19. Overall, we spent most of the time explaining how to commit our lives to the four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. I think Geshe Ngawang Phende is a fantastic speaker, and he is very passionate about his teachings, and I am glad I had the experience of listening to his teachings on Buddhism. Service #2:

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4 The second service I watched through a live stream is titled “Meditation on Compassion to others by Geshe Phende,” and I have linked the service below. https://livestream.com/accounts/7116288/events/3117718/videos/213683279 Similar to the last session with Geshe Ngawang Phende that I watched, we started with some brief meditation before the service. The beginning conversation started off with how we have a biased mindset. We may hold more compassion for a friend or relative than we would for a stranger and enemy. In our mind, we may feel a certain closeness to people we like. Enemies, on the other hand, we have a mental blockage and distance to them. When we base our feelings towards others on this mindset, our compassion becomes unpure. To gain pure compassion, we must start with our minds at ground level and equal to all beings. The reason behind these feelings is our attachment and anger towards others, and we have complete power over these feelings. Through self-compassion meditation, we have the ability to change our feelings. Throughout the session, we talked about compassion, closeness, and attachment to other people. Geshe Ngawang Phende made an interesting statement about how we are naked when we are first born, and our minds are empty. I had my own interpretation of that statement, going off the topic of learning compassion and making friends and enemies; everything we know and everything we feel is taught to our empty minds. Geshe Ngawang Phende explains that our survival skills like talking, eating, walking, and education come from guided lessons. We benefit from the people and beings around us, so it is essential to give compassion back into the universe. Wishing that each and every being is free of suffering and the cause of suffering is what creates pure compassion in our hearts.

5 Service #3: The third service by Drepung Loseling Monastery I watched is “Basics of Meditation & Chants by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin & Venerable Monks,” and the link to also watch the service is, https://livestream.com/accounts/7116288/events/3217909/videos/209363360 The session started with a period of sacred chants and meditation led by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin stated that for the people who are unfamiliar with these sacred chants, work on sitting and listening while allowing the vibrations to feel you. Through this, each and every being can be led to a higher state of consciousness and awareness. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin talked about how we can manifest gratitude into offerings such as flowers to gift to the enlightened beings. They further went into detail on how we can turn our love and compassion into global and conditional compassion for all beings. On the first Sunday of each month, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin does a service on the basics of meditation. The session continued to talk about how we respond to and engage in certain situations in life. Our own well-being and social interactions are healthier and harmonious when we have a solid focus. When we are in tune with our inner focus, we are more aware of our feelings and emotions and can better manage our inner lives. Being in tune with ourselves helps us manage our irritations and feelings better. Geshe Lobsang Tenzin ended the session by noting that we should leave our negative inner thoughts and chatter in the past. Question 3:

6  Describe what you saw and how you felt during and after the worship experiences. Be very specific and detailed in your descriptions and explanations. Right off the bat, I noticed the monks' outfits and the overall surrounding within the temple and their environments. The colors inside were warm and bright, and the atmosphere felt visually welcoming. So, I researched the monks' outfits and the design ideas within the Monastery. The robe cloth that the monks wear is made from a material called "pure" cloth, meaning the unwanted cloth (O'Brien). This pure cloth is repurposed from scraps of fabric that had been soiled by blood or childbirth, used to wrap the dead prior to cremation, or had been chewed on by rats or oxen (O'Brien). The name of the robes is "saffron robe" they acquired this name because of the materials used to dye them. The Saffron robes are bright orange in color and dyed with materials like vegetables, flowers, turmeric, and saffron, hence the name "Saffron Robe" (O'Brien). The significance of these robes is to symbolize the flame and the flame means truth (MacHO). Another thing about these services that caught my eye was the decorations inside the temple, mandalas, and the paintings. Mainly I saw lots of interpretations of the Buddha in statue and painting form; also, there were groups of flowers spread around. The flowers that I saw were the lotus flower, and the lotus flower is the Buddhist symbol for rebirth (Echolls). Mandalas are symmetrical circle designs that are intricate in detail and painted with vibrant sands (Echolls). Overall, the design and decorations are rich in color and aesthetically pleasing. In addition, there was a very comforting and inviting aura the monks gave off. The main things that I noticed during the worship services were the chants and the meditation breaks. I felt very out of touch with the third service I watched, "Basics of Meditation

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7 & Chants by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin & Venerable Monks," because I felt a weak connection to the closed eye meditation chants, they were practicing. During my time joining each of the three Buddhist services, I felt invited into the teaching even though I felt disconnected to the services. Overall, I think the monks and teachers do an excellent job of being passionate and open-minded to potential listeners. I enjoyed how nothing felt pushed onto others, and the services were light- hearted and educational at the same time. As someone who does not practice Buddhism, I think the monks and teachers do a fantastic job of expressing Buddhism in a way that is easy for any person of any religion to join a session. Question 4:  What did you find most meaningful about the worship experiences and why? After watching three services with Drepung Loseling Monastery, I am pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I also like that the monks at this Monastery make it a point to mention their teachings are for everyone, not just close practicer’s of Buddhism. The part of the worship experiences that I found most meaningful was the two sessions by Geshe Ngawang Phende that I joined. Going into these sessions blind and with little to no knowledge of this religion was complicated. The way he speaks about other people and beings in our society is with pure intent. His understanding of Buddhism is very accurate, and he is a wonderful teacher. Being a mildly non-religious person, this experience was very awakening for me. On a day-to-day basis, I do not practice any form of worship or religion. Taping into another person's culture and beliefs for a brief period was refreshing. I had some knowledge of Buddhism through acquaintances and the readings for this class, but that did not give this assignment justice. Being

8 put in a position where I am forced out of my comfort zone was good for me. With a massive disconnect to religion in my life, this experience was the push I needed. The way Buddhism is taught is lovely, very respectful, and peaceful to all living things and beings. After this assignment, I will continue to look into other religions and slowly bring faith back into my life. I enjoyed every second of this and thought that overall, the whole experience was meaningful even though I could not attend these sessions in person. Question 5:  What specific things challenged you about worship experience (for example: the sermon or the lesson, the connection to life and social issues, theological challenges, etc.)? Starting off, I think the hardest thing for me was not being able to experience this assignment in person. Overall, I have found that I never felt a strong connection to any religion most of my life. So having to take in all of this context through a screen is a hard way to genuinely "Experience" what Buddhism is all about. If I were to have attended these sessions in person, I would have had a different outlook on the monks, temples, and the religion itself. With that option being out of the picture for me, I had to do some further research on my own through the Drepung Loseling Monastery website. I ended up finding a good bit of information on each of the monks and the temple itself. Drepung Loseling Monasteries Atlanta location was founded in 1991 and started off doing weekly sessions led by Geshe Lobsang, who is still a monk there to this day ("Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc. Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies").

9 Another disconnect I had was being able to feel and understand each of the services entirely. I respected their teachings and the messages the monks and Buddhists follow, but I have a hard time seeing myself practice this on a daily basis. In the third service I watched, there was lots of chanting and meditation that lasted a little over ten minutes; I did not feel much connection to that meditative period; I wish I were able to feel what they felt. There were some moments where I had a brief feeling of disconnect because of the language barrier. Some of the monks would describe some of their vocabulary terms in a different language, so I had difficulty understanding some of the messages. Overall, I wouldn't say I had a negative experience at all, I thoroughly enjoyed doing this, but I think it would have been a richer experience in person.

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10 Bibliography “Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc. Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies.” Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc. - Center for Tibetan Buddist Studies , drepung.org. Accessed 23 June 2021. Echolls, Taylor. “Buddhist Temple Decorating.” Classroom.Synonym , 28 Sept. 2017, classroom.synonym.com/buddhist-temple-decorating-12086072.html. MacHO. “Why Do Buddhist Monks Wear Orange Clothes.” Buddhism Zone , 23 July 2019, buddhismzone.org/why-do-buddhist-monks-wear-orange-clothes. Novak, Philip. The World’s Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions . HarperOne, 1994. O’Brien, Barbra. “Get an Overview of the Robes Worn by Buddhist Monks and Nuns.” Learn Religions , 18 Jan. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/the-buddhas-robe-450083 . Phende, Geshe. “Meditation on Compassion to Others by Geshe Phende Nov. 22. 2020.” Livestream , 22 Nov. 2020, livestream.com/accounts/7116288/events/3117718/videos/213683279. Phende, Geshe Ngawang. “Seeking a Meaningful Life Through The Eightfold Noble Path By Geshe Ngawang Phende Dec. 15, 2020.” Livestream , 15 Dec. 2020, livestream.com/accounts/7116288/events/3151555/videos/214941084. Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions (Plus) by Huston Smith 50 Anv Edition (Textbook ONLY, Paperback) . HarperOne, 2021. Tenzin, Geshe Lobsang. “Basics of Meditation & Chants by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin & Venerable Monks (Aug. 2, 2020).” Livestream , 2 Aug. 2020, livestream.com/accounts/7116288/events/3217909/videos/209363360.

Religious Experience- Buddhism

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