BUDDHISM TEMPLE
Provide you with the experience of being a minority and to expose you to cultural differences between yourself and others in an unfamiliar environment.
Assignment 1 is a personal growth exercise – “Becoming a Minority” (Mai-Dalton, 1985). Your task is to go by yourself to a place that you have not been before and observe what you see, and your feelings as being different in that environment.
In order to receive a grade, you must write a reflective essay and you must include evidence of your exercise, e.g., photos, etc. Please ask me if you are unsure as to how to provide evidence of your experience. Your written work must be clear and well organized. In addition, your assignment must be typed, double-spaced throughout with reasonable fonts and margins. You must incorporate the course concepts into your responses. Describe your experience as follows:
a. The date and place where the experience took place and a brief description of the setting.
b. Your reaction to the situation in terms of your behavior and feelings, and the reaction of others to you.
c. What did this experience teach you about being different from others in your environment?
d. How did it feel to be a minority in this way?
e. What insights did the experience give you that you could apply to your current or past work situations?
BUDDHISM TEMPLE
As a catholic I decided to attend to Sokka Gakai International Buddhism temple for the first time on February 1st 2015, I woke up early in the morning thinking if I really wanted to go where I was going to be a minority. I decided to go, I took my car drove 15 minutes, parked and walked in by myself. I get into a big room with chairs and a podium at the end (like churches) but the difference I noticed was that there are no images, no frames, nothing, only the podium with an image at the back and the Buddhism flags around it, this flag has 5 colors which means something. I noticed that the room was completely full of different people, you can see babies, families, but the majority of the people come by themselves, all different ages. They start singing together “nam-myoho-renge-kyo” which means
While saying this phrase they hold Buddhist beads, a rosary is used to count mantras which purpose is counted on these beads serve to clear away obstacles, such as illness and other calamities, and purify one of unwholesomeness. It shocked me that it was completely the opposite of what I thought all my life “the typically fat Buddha man at the back and Chinese posts all over the rooms, people wearing kimono saying things I do not understand” but the reality was different, a bright room with good vibes and people sharing the same thoughts. This fantastic experienced helped me realize that there is more than what we thing, there is something mystic inside us we do not know until we encounter places and people that wants to share something more than a basic “god will help me” yes he will but you have to get it, you are the only person that can achieve all these thoughts. They pray between 45 -1 hour.
After 10 minutes a girl came up to me asking me if I was new and I said yes, she was very happy that I was there she started to explain what they were doing and what it means. She told a friend of her to sit next to me so she can show me a little bit what they are doing, Janet the lady that sat next to me from Argentina, started to tell me her story about how she became Buddhist and how great and in a positive way her life change, she was such a nice persona, she gave me a little book where explains the mantras and helpful information to learn more about this philosophy because it isn’t a religion, which I really liked. I will deftnly go again.
