Day 4: Buddhism

As I've said each day, I am really enjoying all that I am learning about!  Today was no different.  We spent the day learning about Buddhism through some readings, a lecture from a professor from Aurora University, a visit from Cindy, a practicing Buddhist,who graduated from Naperville Central High School last month, and two different visits to Buddhist temples.  The first temple we visited was at Wat Buddha-Dhamma Meditation Center where we led through sitting meditation, standing meditation, and walking meditation by Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn. Additionally, he explained meditation, mindfulness, and awareness with some real world examples that we could easily relate to.  After that amazing practice, we headed to I.B.P.S Chicago (International Buddhist Progress Society of Chicago) to learn from Venerable Youheng about Humanistic Buddhism. 

Seth has asked us to really think about the religious identities of Cindy, Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn, and Venerable Youheng and compare the three B's: beliefs, behavior and belonging.  He would also like us to think about which "B" was most prominent and which one was the most powerful in shaping their identities.  This should be easy...not, lol. 

Cindy shared that she practices Shinnyo Buddhism.  Shinnyo Buddhism comes from Mahayana Buddhism which utilizes symbols and chanting to achieve a sense of spirituality. She shared that she believes  Buddhism is about bettering others and controlling one's anger, greed, and selfishness.  Cindy shared a lot about her behavior as a Buddhist.  She shared that she her practice includes giving "happy donations" to benefit the community, giving service to others, and bringing others to the faith. With regard to belonging, Cindy talked about how important the community is to her parents and family but shared that there weren't a lot of young adults within her temple to engage with. She shared that as she has gotten older and matured she has begun to connect much more with those at her temple. Cindy also shared that she was the only Buddhist that she's aware of during school years so didn't have that connection at school either.

Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn practices Theravada Buddhism.  From my google research, Theravada is the closest Buddhism to the one taught by The Buddha himself.  Theravada Buddhism focuses on self-liberation through practice of "letting go" and "not clinging" to things as they aren't permanent.  Meditation, mindfulness, and awareness are critical toward obtaining enlightenment.  Thapakorn demonstrated and then discussed his practice of meditation and mindfulness throughout his day.  He didn't share much about "belonging"; however did share that all are welcome at his temple.

Venerable Youheng practices Humanistic Buddhism which originates from Chinese Buddhism.  According to the literature she shared, Humanistic Buddhism's focus is on integrating Buddhism practices into all aspects of everyday life by creating a Pure Land on earth.  Venerable Youheng shared that Humanistic Buddhists socially engage and apply Buddhism into their daily lives, promote their cultural activities, promote their education to sustain moral guidance to teach people to purify their minds and to be good people, and try to better society through charity. She also shared that meditation is an important daily practice. Venerable Youheng provided some information about her community but I didn't get a sense that belonging was as much of a focus.

All three of them have very strong beliefs. While they all believe in Buddhism, their specific beliefs are diverse based on the type of Buddhism they practice.  What I found to be the most prominent was their behavior.  I was able to observe this behavior through their dress as well as what each of these individuals shared (and my google research :).  They all discussed their practice and importance of meditation and mindfulness. Belonging, while it sounded like it would be something they might all appreciate, appeared to less of a focus for each of them.  

Becky