Field Trip - Buddhist Temple

There are many different forms of Buddhism in the world. The three major branches of Buddhism are Mahayana, Theravada and Tibetan. Within the Mahayana tradition there are further schools of thought; typically formed based around their geographic and cultural ties.  For my research project, I visited the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights on the Lunar New Year. The temple is run by the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order and they practices Humanistic Buddhism, a Buddhist philosophy I have never heard of before. According to their website, Hsilai.org, Humanistic Buddhism is not a new form of Buddhism because they follow the teachings of Buddhism. Humanistic Buddhism is a modern school of thought combing many different teachings of Buddhism in an effort to integrate their faith in their everyday lives. Humanistic Buddhism, unlike other philosophies, is more concerned with living life in this world than what happens after death. Humanistic Buddhism history begins in the earliest 20^th century when a Chinese Buddhist reformer, Taixu, and the term “Humanistic Buddhism” became a popular terms. Humanistic Buddhism criticized the deification of Buddha that was common Chinese Buddhism. Humanistic Buddhism became popular in China and Taiwan. It is considered a reinterpretation of Chinese Buddhism rather than a reformation, with a mix of Pure Land and Cha’an Buddhism.

Humanistic Buddhism can be characterized by six beliefs, other than the basic Buddhist beliefs. Humanism is one of these characteristics. Humanistic Buddhists believe that the Buddha was a living human being, just like the rest of us. He had parents, a family and lived his own life for many years. Although he was able to reach enlightenment, so too is enlightenment open to us. The second characteristic is the emphasis on daily life. Humanistic Buddhism is not an ascetic order, but it focuses on living fully and rightly each and very day. Altruism is another important tenant, because the Buddha was born to bring joy to all, and all his actions resulted from a deep compassion. So should humans emulate the Buddha. Joyfulness is another belief, the teachings of the Buddha are meant to bring joy and peace to one’s life. Timeliness is another charteristic of Humanistic Buddhism. According to Humanistic Buddhism, the Buddha was born for a reason, and even though he was born 2,500 years ago his teachings serve as a guide. The final characteristic is Universality, the Buddha’s spirit wants to liberate all things. Buddhism is not exclusive to humans. It is an interesting interpretation of Buddhism, one that has more of a focus on the now rather than on the end result.

For my religious field trip, I attended the His Lai temple in Hacienda Heights during the Chinese Lunar New year. I wasn’t able to attend earlier than this but I am glad that I was able to visit the temple during this time. I woke early to journey to the temple with my husband, Nick. I had already visited the Hsi Lai temple website, where I was warned of a lot of traffic and the need to park at a temporary parking lot. After the 20 mintue drive to Hacienda Heights we navigated our way to the temporary parking that was a few miles away from the temple Already at 9:00 am in the morning, there were people gathering. There were a variety of people there, young and old, white and Asian. It was clearly a family event and many people were wearing new and red clothing. The temporary parking lot had a shuttle that would deliver us to the main gate of the temple, so Nick and I crowded into a bus with the rest of what I will call pilgrims. Everyone was very friendly, wishing us a happy new year and we wished it right back. Getting off the bus I was amazed at the beauty of the temple, and the amount of people that were already there. I did not know that it would be such a big event, but it made my visit extra special. I walked up the main steps into the throng of people at the main gate. There were monks and other attendants behind tables selling candy, red flowers, pink and red bags and dharma words. I was very overwhelmed because despite my study of Buddhism in this class, I was not familiar with the practices of Humanistic Buddhism. I happily wandered past the first crowd, smiling and wishing a happy new year to all who greeted me. My husband kept close at hand, simply taking the experience all in.

After the main gate, the temple opened into a central courtyard. There was a line at the entrance of the courtyard for all those who wished to a large metal bell with a mallet and as I walked around, I saw other people throwing money at a statue of a Buddha. My husband and I read the various inscriptions on the Buddha statutes and it was very interesting to see all the poses and incarnations that exist of Buddha in religious art. We were offered tea by what appeared to a volunteer hostess and we wished her a happy new year as we headed towards the main shrine.

I was not sure what to expect as I headed to the main shrine. All I knew was that from the website, at 10:00 there would be the “Thousand Buddha Dharma Function.” I thought this would be a type of service or ceremony, and it was, but it was not what I expected. Visitors of the temple walked to the entrance of the shrine where monks were handing out incense to everyone. I was not sure what was going on, so I asked a women who had a nametag, and she smiled and simply told me to take an incense stick and follow the people. Others were holding the incense in front of them, grasped in both hands, and appeared to be chanting or praying while walking into the shrine. I do not know Buddhist chants, but I took an incense stick while my husband gave a donation, and we held the incense in front of us as we followed the crowd of people. The people circled from the incense stand into the main shrine and filtered out into the temple to pray. It was so lovely temple, filled with golden statues and red velvet chairs where other adherents were kneeling and chanting. I stopped briefly to kneel on the cushioned chair, looked around me briefly, and reentered the throng of people exiting the shrine. From the exit people prayed in front of metal statue that held sand and other incense sticks. I said a final prayer, placed my incense stick in the sand and set about to explore the rest of the temple before I left.

It was very interesting walking around the rest of the temple. Some adherents were chanting and bowing before the Buddha statues, others placed candies and coins in the hands of Buddha. There were people of all ages around and everyone seemed in high spirits. There was lots of food being sold and even a buffet that was going to open for lunch. My husband bought me a few red bean pancake balls, which were delicious. There were many other food vendors, with all different kinds of Asian food from China, Vietnam and other countries. It was a very festival like atmosphere. I stayed for about an hour and half, my husband and I left the temple to return to the shuttle around 10:30 AM. There were additional cultural activities planned for later in the day, and I wish I could have stayed, but unfortunately family constraints made it more prudent to leave early.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Buddhist temple. The festival like atmosphere lifted my spirits and I felt a sense of fellowship and community, even though I am not a Buddhist. The people were very nice and welcoming, and were always more than willing to explain or help me if I didn’t know the right thing to do. In some ways, it seems like the event I attended was more a cultural rather than religious event, but I do not think the two could truly be separated. Even though I did not know the right words to chant during my walk through the shrine, I somehow felt lighter when I placed my incense into the sand pit and bowed. Perhaps it isn’t the theological beliefs that give people comfort but the very act of the ritual itself. I didn’t even understand the depth and meaning of the ritual I took part it, yet somehow felt like a weight had been lifted.  I can only imagine how much more I could have participated if I was able to study the specific beliefs and chants for this event. I see how Humanistic Buddhism focuses more on the current life than on liberation from samsara. Not everyone can be a monk or know everything, but one can have faith and do the best they can, and although it may not result in Nirvana it does bring one’s self slightly closer to this goal.