Savannah Alvarado
Professor Kline
RLST 100
02 November 2017
Hsi Lai Temple
For my ethnographic study, I visited the Hsi Lai Temple, a Mahayana Buddhist temple. Mahayana Buddhism has a strong presence in China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Korea. Mahayana Buddhism is influenced by three other Buddhist traditions: Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, and Tibetan Buddhism. The Pali Canon is the primary text that is referred to, along with other sutras. Mahayana Buddhists practice the teachings in hopes of becoming bodhisattvas, something similar to a saint in Christianity, which can be attained by anyone within their lifetime. The bodhisattvas are “enlightened sages who vowed to selflessly serve others with loving-kindness and compassion…each represents a quality essential to all Buddhists” (Hsi Lai Temple, 2017). Mahayana Buddhists believe in waiting to reach nirvana, a state of enlightenment and perfect peace, in order to help others reach nirvana as well.
Upon arriving at the temple, the first sight was the Temple’s gateway, which had listed the four universal vows of all Buddhists on the back: “to save all sentient beings, to eradicate delusion and stress, to study the boundless Dharma, and to attain supreme enlightenment” (Hsi Lai Temple, 2017). The gate was built in a palatial style, with rich colors of burgundy and gold, and the universal vows engraved in a beaming white color. All of the buildings and branches in the temple followed the same color scheme and style. Towards the middle of the temple was the Arhat garden, which seats the Eighteen Arhats. They are disciples of Buddha that have “realized the truth of no-self and overcame the defilements of greed, anger, and ignorance” (Hsi Lai Temple, 2017). They were each adorned with bright, golden-yellow robes and surrounded by flowers, shrubs, and fruit trees, popping with bright purples, reds, greens, oranges, and yellows.
These combinations of colors and statues all work to capture the eye and are aesthetically pleasing. This is done to show an appreciation for art, inspired by the palaces of ancient dynasties in Asia. The architects, from Taiwan and China, designed and implemented the construction of the temple had the buildings from their countries in mind. These buildings are also meant to evoke some feeling of awe when seeing the grand buildings. Also, the Arhats have served as inspiration to many Buddhist followers.
Further up and centered at the top of two flights of stairs was the main shrine. The main shrine, known as the “Precious Hall of the Great Hero”, is dedicated to the Buddha. Upon entering, there were three statues that sat high and surrounded by dangling lights and candles. In the middle was the Sakyamuni Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha, to the left was Amitabha Buddha, the teacher of the Western Pure Land, and to the right was the Medicine Buddha, the teacher of the Eastern Pure Land of Pure Crystal Radiance. In total, there were over ten thousand Buddha statues on the walls of the main shrine.
During prayer in the main shrine, one is surrounded by gleaming statues of the Buddha and candles. The main shrine is kept partly dim to bring peace and quiet. When praying for aid or advice to the Buddha, feelings of despair, happiness, relief, and joy all come into play. These statues all evoke awe due to their monumental size and beauty. However, those feelings from seeing the shrine and the statues are feelings I experienced myself. As an outsider, I wasn’t sure if my feelings were valid even though I didn’t participate in praying or bowing. I didn’t have a religious experience while there, but I was overcome with feelings of excitement and nervousness.
Before I entered the Bodhisattva Hall, a hall dedicated to the bodhisattvas, there were paintings of three wheels with eight spokes on each of them, located on the far-left side and far right side of the walls outside the halls. There were three entrances to the Bodhisattva Hall, and two statues of lions were placed in front of them. In the hall lie the five most revered bodhisattvas: Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and Manjusri Bodhisattva. Along the scaffoldings of most of the buildings were carved lotus blossoms, which were also placed by the statues.
“Traditionally, religions have had an instrumental view of art”, (Kline, 2017) such as using icons for devotion, but the statues and paintings are used for education and teachings of Buddhism. When bowing before a statue of a bodhisattva or Buddha, one is bowing to “[show respect and to seek their guidance to develop the qualities they each represent…and it also signifies our own humility and the curbing of our ego]” (Hsi Lai Temple, 2017). In addition, each wheel is a representation: the first wheel represents the practice of meditation, the second represents abiding by precepts, and the third represents cultivating wisdom. The eight spokes on each wheel represent The Noble Eightfold Path which is the path to the cessation of suffering; right views, right thoughts, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right meditation. The lotus blossoms “symbolize how we rise above the mire of life to become pure through our practice. Yet just as the lotus blossoms grow out of, but are not independent of the mire, we should never remove ourselves from the suffering or ignore the world in the name of practice. Just as lotus blossoms grow in the heart of the summer, we need to turn the bothersome troubles and defilement of our lives into opportunities to further our practice and cultivation” (Hsi Lai Temple, 2017). The flowers are not just a symbol of beauty, but a reflection of what Buddhist followers should practice the teachings of Buddha and live their lives to reach Nirvana, but all while remaining in touch with the world around us.
The rituals and prayers were the first and last parts of my visit that I observed. When walking into the Bodhisattva Hall, there were pews to kneel on and laminated notes with prayers to recite. In front of the main shrine were boxes of incense and an incense burning pot. To the left of the incense was a desk where I saw a woman being given a long skirt, down past the shins, to wear before entering the main shrine. My boyfriend had gone with me and we were both unsure of how to correctly pray with incense so we decided to observe instead. A woman lit one incense and fanned the flame out. Then, she knelt on a low stool in front of the main shrine and started to pray. After praying, she bowed three times and placed her incense in the incense burning pot and made her way into the main shrine.
I noticed people repeating these steps individually. No one had gone in together but there was more than one person at a time in the main shrine. I was unsure if what I was observing was really a ritual or not because only a few people had prayed and done so individually. However, according to Stanley Tambiah, a ritual is “culturally constructed, a system of symbolic communication, [and is in a patterned and ordered sequence]” (197). I was able to conclude that it was a ritual as it included all three elements; it was not done naturally, it had a deeper meaning, and it involved recitation and physical acts (Tambiah, 197). Prayers are said when advice is needed or help is needed at home, financially, emotionally, and mentally.
In conclusion, I observed that the religious art in Buddhism serves a much deeper meaning and is meant to educate its followers and remind them of their vows they need to uphold. Whereas in Catholicism, the religion I practice, the statues and stained-glass windows are to remind Catholics that Jesus Christ died for our sins, to tell a story with pictures, and to show the love that Jesus Christ and God have for his children. However, both religions are very similar in the steps taken with rituals and prayer. When praying Catholics kneel before the cross and sign the cross with their hands when done. They then rise and genuflect before the cross to show respect. Prayers are usually to ask God for guidance, help, protection, and acknowledgment of your relationship with Him. In Buddhism, the same things are asked for and discussed during that individual’s time.