The Buddhist Experience
The Image of the Buddha
Ever since the first century, Buddhists have created images and other depictions of the Buddha in metal, wood, and stone with stylized hand-positions called mudras . Images of the Buddha are often the focus of reverence and devotion. Download (PDF) The...
The Practice of Mindfulness
People commonly equate Buddhism with meditation, but historically very few Buddhists meditated. Those who did, however, drew from a long and rich tradition of Buddhist philosophical and contemplative practice. Download (PDF) What the Buddha “saw” in his...
One Hand Clapping?
The Chinese Chan, Korean Son, and Japanese Zen traditions emphasize meditation practice. In addition, other practices are commonly used, such as the presentation of koans , or questions given by a master to a student, intended to break students free of...
Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat
Intensive Zen meditation retreats, or sesshins , such as one in Mt. Temper, New York, are designed for participants to focus intensively on monastic Buddhist practice and meditation. Retreats include many rituals to allow students to fully immerse...
Chanting the Sutras
Chanting scriptures and prayers to buddhas and bodhisattvas is a central practice in all streams of Buddhism, intended both to reflect upon content and to focus the mind. Download (PDF) Additional Content Chanting is part of the practice of most streams...
Creating a Mandala
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the mandala (“circle”) serves as a diagram of the cosmos. Creating a sand mandala can take weeks and requires intense concentration, but the ritual practice requires the mandala be destroyed or dismantled after its completion. This...
Becoming a Monk
The many streams of Buddhism differ in their approaches to monasticism and initiation rituals. For example, is it common in the Theravada tradition for young men to become novice monks as a rite of passage into adulthood. In some Mahayana traditions...
From Street Gangs to Temple
In Southern California, some Theravada temples have taken up the practice of granting temporary novice ordinations to Cambodian American gang members, with the hope of reorienting the youth toward their families’ religion and culture. Download (PDF) Today...
Devotion to Guanyin
The compassionate bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, also known as Guanyin, is central to the practice of Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists in America. A bodhisattva is an enlightened one who remains engaged in the world in order to enlighten all beings, and...
Buddha’s Birthday
Buddhists often consider the Buddha’s birthday an occasion for celebration, and Chinese, Thai, and Japanese temples in America all celebrate differently. Download (PDF) On a Sunday in May, in the great hall of the Hsi Lai Temple in California, over 400...
Remembering the Ancestors
In Olympia, Washington, the Vietnamese Buddhist community connects with ancestral dead through the celebration of the Ghost Festival. Similar remembrance traditions occur in many other Buddhist traditions, both in America and elsewhere. Download (PDF) A...
Celebrating the New Year
Although the Lunar New Year is not a particularly “Buddhist” holiday, many Thai and Chinese Buddhists observe the occasion with celebration and visits to family and activities at Buddhist temples. Download (PDF) The New Year is not a particularly Buddhist...
Building a Pure Land on Earth
Pure Land Buddhists pay respect to Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, who created a paradise for Buddhist devotees called the “Land of Bliss.” Pure Land Buddhists in America seek to create a Pure Land here on Earth through ritual acts of devotion...
Monastery in the Hudson Valley
The Chuang Yen Monastery in Kent, New York, is a prime example of how Chinese Buddhism has flourished in America, in all its richness and complexity. Download (PDF) When Dr. Chia Theng Shen, his wife Woo Ju Shen, and other leaders of the Buddhist...
