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Modern Buddhism

Modern Buddhism
Visit to A Buddhist Center

The Buddhist Center visited had a plain and simple building. The outside was concrete and glass. There was a living room style set up with various couches and chairs. Offices were all surrounding and the meditation room was upstairs. Tufts students lined up to donate the suggested five dollars to the Center. The man at the basket was in his forties and balding. Typically I would imagine American Buddhist to be of younger age. I found this to be false as well as other misconceptions I had about what a real modern American Buddhist Center.

On the way upstairs we took our shoes off a s a sign of respect to the Center. Just the thought of removing shoes makes one infer the ground of the meditation room is sacred. Silently everyone filed upstairs through a winding staircase. I entered the room, then bowed toward the alter as a sign of respect. I immediately observed everyone already sitting down in their meditation positions. The room was perfectly quiet except for the rustling of clothes as people filed in to sit. There seemed to be an odd peaceful silence surrounding the meditation room. The alter consisted of a table with two pictures of old smiling Buddhist monks. One man was the founder of the center, so people bow to his picture as a sign of reverence. There were small glass jars containing water in front of the pictures. Dead center was a large scroll with a single character written on it. Two more smaller scrolls were on either side of the large character in the middle.

An older woman with gray hair faced the twenty or so congregants in the meditation room. People were also seated in a row at the back of the room in chairs. The night was an open house, so many new faces were in the crowd. The veteran meditates could easily be spotted by their perfect posture and quiet, content, stiffness. To see each person in their own position was amusing. Most had their legs in front of themselves, crossed and slightly below their hips. Their gaze was typically a few feet in front of their eyes. Some had their eyes closed and some were simply staring. One woman to my right was sitting with her arms resting on her bent legs, a unique approach. Her old age and heavy weight prevented...

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Category:   Religion

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