Temple Tuesday
Over the course of this quarter so far I have meet every other week Kenzan and or Taihaku our (Amy, Owen and my Buddhism Mentor). As we walk in we take off our shoes and extra jackets and bow as we enter the temple sitting area, once everyone is in the sitting area Amy, Owen and I bow and say “Yoroshiku”, then Kenzan and Taihaku bow and say “Douzo yoroshiku” as a greeting. During our meeting we do a 10-20 minute sitting practice, first you go to your mat and bow to it then turn clockwise and bow to the other people in the room. Once everyone has bowed you can sit, I sit with my back straight, my legs bent but not overlapping making a triangle out of my two knees and my bottom. I put my hands flat on my knees and try to draw my attention to my breath, my mind usually drifts but I try to bring it back to my breath, if that doesn't work I focus on other things I senses in the room, like the cracking fire in the corner behind me, or the smell of incense, the light coming through the curtain in front of me or the ticking clock. Often times during sitting practice my back aches so I have to move around to make it less painful. After the sitting practice we bow to our cushion then straighten it out, stand up and bow again towards the cushion then turn clockwise and bow to the other people in the room. Despues de sitting meditation we all go into the kitchen and sit at the small table for a discussion about our homework which is usually a reading from Seeds For a Boundless Life by Blanche Hartman or researching a precept seeing how that precept applies to us. Once the discussion is done we stand up and bow to each other then walk into the sitting practice room to close with sitting meditation, chanting or practicing lighting the candles on the altar, placing an incense on the altar or placing water on the altar. To close we bow to each other and say “Arigato”.
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Blessing
As I have mentioned before I have received a new years blessing card from the Shao Shan Temple (depicted on the front of the narrative). The blessing said “shin-kai” or open-heart. The week after receiving the card, I noticed how much I love people, platonically of course, I would get up and be excited to come to school to see the people that make my day better just by being around me. I realize that so many people have something amazing inside of them and it is up to you to appreciate that piece of pure love and nurture it so it grows, through hugs, holding hands, listening, telling jokes or just being there for that person. I love my friends and everyone who has contributed to my wellbeing on purpose or not intentionally.