Pluralism Project Part 2

Salt Lake Buddhist Temple

John Keddington
11/18/2015
RELS-2400
The Buddhists from the Salt Lake Buddhist temple follow Jodo Shinchu
Buddhism. The focus of their worship is to be able to show gratitude for Amida
Buddhas infinite wisdom and compassion, and to be able to grow in spirituality
and to help one become enlightened. Their religion has a very rich history and
first starts with Siddartha/Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of the religion and the
first to become Buddha. One thing that is clear about this religion is their belief
that there is no one true path or religion with Buddha having said that there are
84,000 paths to enlightenment which symbolizes an infinite amount of paths to
obtaining enlightenment.

Siddartha was raised as a very privileged prince but as he grew he noticed

how old age affects to all and cannot be avoided. Questions of the purpose of
life and why all need to grow old and die began to bother him. So at the age of
29 he decided to leave and seek the answers to his questions. He learned from
many different teachers and beliefs and also practiced asceticism as he tried to
separate himself from the world and receive answers. Over many years and
through practicing a variety of beliefs Siddartha obtained enlightenment and
became Buddha.

The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple follows the teaching of Jodo Shinshu
whom established a new sect of Buddhism. A with most branches of Buddhism
Jodo Shinshu does not teach different things than Buddha but it expands on and
explains the teachings of Buddha and purpose of Buddhas life. The message of
Jodo Shinshu focuses on the belief that we are able to transfer some of our
enlightenment to other people and it focuses on the goal of all being able to
obtain enlightenment.

The sect of Jodo Shinshu still follows the main beliefs of Buddhism and at
the core of Buddhist beliefs are four noble truths. The first on focuses on pain
and that life is difficult. It is the belief that each of us in this life must confront
facts and situations that difficult and we must decide how we are going to handle
them and live with them. The second truth is recognizing that we are on an
endless wheel of desire and pain and that when we are able to recognize this we
begin looking for ways to help and change.

The Third Truth is that we must extinguish desire to be able to obtain

wisdom and truth and we do this through the fourth truth. The fourth truth is that
there is a path, which we can follow, to extinguish our desires and obtain wisdom.
This path is in-between the two extremes of life, which is to follow desire for
pleasure or to give everything up. They believe there is a middle path where we
can still have a desire for things and for improvement but not become dependent
or addicted to those desires.

The first generations of Buddhist pioneers in America suffered much and

were denied citizenship for a long time. They first established a headquarters for
Nishi Honganji in San Francisco. It was difficult to build a temple here and took
many years of work and saving but in 1912 they established the Buddhist Temple
in Utah and conducted a memorial service in Ogden for the deceased pioneers.
In 1918 they organized the Buddhist Womens Association and the Sunday
school. The Buddhist Womens Association still continues today and has been
key in establishing the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple and in gaining funds. Sunday
school has now been replaced with the Dharma school, which helps the children
become ware of the importance of gratitude and helps them see and understand
the correct path to take whether in a time of difficulty or happiness. There were
some difficulties to establish the Buddhist temple here and to be able to expand,
but they have been mostly welcomed in this community.

The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple follows the teachings of Buddha and the
sect of Jodo and is a very open and inviting community. Their current local
leader is Reverent Hirano who was born in Salt Lake City. He graduated from
the U of U and when to japan in 1983 to receive is Kyoshi ordination. To be able
to become a priest one must have and undergraduate degree and a graduate
degree in Buddhist studies from their graduate school. They must also obtain
further education in Japan and participate in two ordinations. Though there is

Reverent they also have a Temple Board and make most of their decisions
collaboration one with another and discussing the current challenges

They are very welcoming and kind to those who come. The majority of
those who worship and are members at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple are of
Japanese ethnicity, but there is some diversity. Regardless of who you are they
are very welcoming and Buddhism itself is a very understanding and welcoming
religion with one of the main beliefs being that there are multiple paths to
enlightenment.

The Sunday services focus on performing rituals and prayers. They burn
incense as part of the ritual and to be able to cleanse the mind and become
prepared to learn. There is also the opportunity to give a donation. They have
service books that contain the rituals so that all may be able to participate. There
is also an opportunity to go before the altar with others and recite the nembutsu.

There are weekly services throughout the year but they are also other
special occasions and festivals that occur. One is The Naikan retreat, which is a
day of meditation and gentle exercise and nutritious eating. The Naikan retreat
occurs once a year and serves the purpose of helping us remember the
importance of our both our mental and physical health. The Obon Festival is the
largest festival of the year and occurs in July. The Obon festival focuses on the

story of one of Buddhas disciples and has food, music, dancing, and temple
tours.

During both parts of this project I have come to realize how diverse and
varied the beliefs are that surround us and how crucial they have been to
shaping our communities. We live in a area that is often perceived as being only
Mormon, but that is not true and the different beliefs that there are have truly
helped shape the communities we live in. Buddhism is a religion that I have
grown to have a lot of respect for. It is a religion that is very accepting and open
and sees the good in each person and belief.

In all honesty I have never had a very good understanding of religions

outside of my own or what the other beliefs are. This is something that affects a
lot of the community that we live in, which is that people are very unwilling to
openly talk about their beliefs or religion. My sister-in-law comes from the east
coast and in the community that she grew up in everyone was very open and
supportive of one another and would attend each others important religious
events. In this community there is a very real fear of possibly offending another
person and of not feeling comfortable sharing ones belief.

That is something that I felt was happening with the Salt Lake Buddhist
Temple, which was that there is this fear of openly sharing their beliefs. There is
a worry that others wont be accepting or willing to learn or listen to their beliefs.

This is a challenge that all of us need to work on overcoming. It is very difficult to

share openly share our different beliefs and view because there is a worry that
we will become obligated to go to their church or have receive missionaries. It
shouldnt be like that, my community is very diverse but I never learned about
any of these other beliefs because people we are afraid to share.

Before this I knew that Buddhism focused on being at peace and that
there are statues, but that was about it. I have come to realize that there is much
more and many of their beliefs can be helpful others regardless of ones religion.
The understanding that they have about how all of us experience pain and
suffering and how we must strive to obtain wisdom and happiness is something
that is true for all. Meditation and being able to clear ones mind and obtaining
peace is a practice I want to start implementing in my own life.

From what I saw they people at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple are happy
and friendly. They serve those around them and have had a very positive
influence in this community. Even though many of my beliefs vary from theirs,
there are also many beliefs and truths that both of our religions share. This is a
diverse community and the different religions that surround us all have something
good to share. There are many opportunities to learn from one another and to be
able to help this community grow and to serve others together. But I have come
to realize that this all depends on a willingness to share with one another and to

understand one another and as we do this I believe that friendships will form and
the community will become better.

References

http://www.slbuddhist.org/slbt-history.html