Buddhism in Central Pennsylvania
What are the important features in the practice of Buddhism?
What are the important beliefs of Buddhism?
How is Buddhism practiced in the United States?
How has Buddhism influenced American culture?
What is the level of participation in Buddhist worship and community activities in the area?
What resources are there in the community for those who wish to learn more about Buddhism, or practice Buddhism?
Speakers
For further reading
What are the important features in the practice
of Buddhism?
Home practice is very important in Buddhism. Because Buddhists
believe spirituality comes from within, it is not necessary to
worship with many people.
People should have a sacred space
in their own homes for home worship. This space should include
a solid object in the center, often a rock.  Traditionally,
flowers should be placed on the left side of the area. These
flowers symbolize the beauty of life, as well as its changing
nature, since flowers eventually wither and die. There should
also be a cup or bowl of water in the space, to symbolize
the flowing and changing nature of life. A candle symbolizes
the light of the Buddha's teachings. A person should also
give an offering in thanks for being in this world and to
the Buddha for teaching. Buddhists often offer incense as
this offering. This is not meant as an offering to a God figure,
but to Buddha as a person who figured out how to end suffering,
and then taught what he learned.
There are four
major festivals each year for those who practice Buddhism.
These festivals correspond to the four seasons. In the spring,
there is a flower festival, Haramatusuri in Japanese. This
festival celebrates the birth of Buddha. The celebration includes
a festival meal. In traditional Buddhist temples, there is
a statue of the baby Buddha and a bowl of water with a ladle
in it. People come and pour water of the statue in order to
wash the baby Buddha. At the Blue Mountain Lotus Society,
a Buddhist society in Harrisburg, they use a porcelain egg
to represent the circle of life, and then have a party for
the Buddha's birthday.
The summer festival is called Obon
in Japanese. This is a time for people to remember their ancestors.
They focus on their ancestors, or remember another person
or event that had a positive influence in their lives, but
also remember that the person or the experience was not perfect.
This is a time to embrace perfection, and also remember goodness
in difficult people. Candleboats that are sailed at night
represent those people and  experiences.
The Obon festival held by the Blue Mountain Lotus Society
included a "cook out" lunch, lantern boat making,
a martial arts demonstration, a Zen art demonstration and
activity, drumming, a story time, and Bon Odori dancing -
a festive circle dance.
The fall festival, in late October or early November, is called
Sagaki. This is originally a Zen Buddhist tradition, but every
Buddhist group has a similar festival. This time is set aside
for the remembrance of something that is difficult or troubling.
At the Blue Mountain Lotus Society, this festival is observed
with a retreat where people can come to terms with difficult times
or events in their lives and then let go. Letting go does no mean
forgetting; it means embracing that the event happened and that
the person got through the tough time. In the evening there is
a bonfire.
December is the
time for the Satori celebration. This is a celebration that
honors the time when the Buddha was enlightened, and then
decided to teach others of his enlightenment. The festival
represents the height of the Buddha's spiritual journey. According
to Buddhist belief, Siddhartha Guatama lived a very sheltered
life where he encountered no suffering, until one day he saw
the outside world and the suffering in it. He left his family
then and went to figure out how to end suffering. He studied
with many teachers but did not feel that they were helpful,
so he sat under a tree and meditated until one day he found
the answer and became a Buddha, someone who has been enlightened.
He did not think people would listen to what he found out,
but the Gods begged him to teach people, so he taught for
forty years. Blue Mountain Lotus celebrates Buddha's enlightenment
and teaching with a retreat that includes sitting meditation,
discussion, group activities relating to the discussion, and
a liturgy that is geared toward the event.
What are the important beliefs of Buddhism?
According to Buddhists, the story of the Buddha does not begin
with the story of Siddhartha Guatama, but rather many lifetimes
as bodhisattva, a Buddha-to-be. During these lifetimes he
laid the groundwork for his awakening by performing acts of
generosity, moral courage, and self-sacrifice. This concept
of the Buddha reflects the importance of generosity and self-sacrifice
to Buddhists. It also reflects the Buddhist belief in samsara,
which literally means wandering from one life to the next.
The fate of the soul is determined by karma, the
soul's actions. Samsara, the soul's wandering and the endless
cycle of death and rebirth is frustrating because no matter
how enjoyable a life's pleasures might be, they will eventually
slip away. The Buddha set out to find the solution to this
problem with his search for the answer to end suffering. The
Buddha's teachings, Dharma, and their elaboration by Buddhists,
"chart a path out of suffering and into an experience of freedom
from the endless cycle of death and rebirth" (Eckel, pgs 205-207).
Buddhists believe in Four Noble Truths that lead to and end
in suffering. The First Noble Truth is the truth of suffering,
which is expressed as "all is suffering." Suffering is understood
in three ways - things that are simply painful, suffering
that comes when a person becomes too attached to something
that brings pleasure and which will eventually slip away,
and things that cause suffering while causing pleasure. This
last is somewhat difficult to understand, but it refers to
the idea that objects that are considered pleasurable or painful
are no more than a series of "conditioned states" and that
the ideas of "pleasure" or "pain" are imposed on experiences
by people in their ignorance or desire. The Second Noble Truth
states that suffering comes from desire and that desire comes
from ignorance. The Third Noble Truth is the truth of cessation
or nirvana. Nirvana is the end of the cycle of death and rebirth
which comes from the understanding of no-self, the idea that
our "selves" are simply a combination of thoughts, feelings,
memories, and conscious states which are continuously changing.
Nirvana allows Buddhists to take their concept of existence
and let it slip away until they reach a sense of peace and
serenity. The Fourth Noble Truth is the path to the cessation
of suffering. This path has three parts- moral conduct, concentration,
and wisdom. Meditation is an aspect of concentration, which
allows negative tendencies to slip away so that the mind can
see clearly the "flow of phenomena that make up ordinary experience"
and then the clear mind can be infused with the concept of
no-self and begin to unravel the chain of reincarnation (Eckel,
pgs 207-210).
Buddhism is a non-theistic religion. Buddhists do not believe
in an all-powerful God who is controlling all things and whom
we have to go to for forgiveness. God is not a great parent,
as in most religions. Rather, Buddhists believe in something
indefinable that comes through the actions of each individual.
Buddhism believes in the interconnectedness of all things,
past, present, and future.
Buddhism is a psychological religion. Meditation, which is
an important aspect of the religion, has much to do with clearing
the psyche, giving it a needed rest. Psychological studies
have shown that using sound patterns, like the chanting during
meditation, has a calming effect as the chanting evokes a
circular pattern. For this reason, American Buddhists will
often use chants in Japanese or other languages, because words
whose meaning is known can arouse emotions, which is not helpful
for meditation. Incense is used in Buddhist tradition because
there is a very strong connection between the brain and the
nose. The sense of smell is the only sense that is hit directly,
going straight to the brain, without going through intermediary
sensory organs.
How is Buddhism
practiced in the United States?
A very important difference between Buddhism in America and
Buddhism in countries that have a very long and established
Buddhist tradition is flexibility. Because the Buddhist community
in America is rather new and just getting established, there
is no hierarchical structure yet, and more room for experimentation.
Some senseis, teachers, who come to the U.S. insist on doing
things they way they were done in the Buddhist tradition of
their culture of origin. Many senseis in the U.S., though,
use the language of the times, and are innovative in their
programs and worship. At the Satori festival held by the Blue
Mountain Lotus Society last December, 150 people, none of
them born in a Buddhist country, chanted the traditional Buddhist
chant Namu Amida Butsu, "I take refuge in my true self,"
to the tune of Silent Night.
 This
blending of traditional Buddhism and American culture works
well for many people. It is good for Americans because it
makes the practice of Buddhism familiar to them. People who
are born in traditionally Buddhist countries like this also.
One member of the Vietnamese Buddhist community would go to
the Blue Mountain Lotus Society because he liked how they
used the language and culture of today and of America. He
felt that since he lived in America, he should learn how Buddhism
is practiced in America.
Many Buddhist scholars are calling American Buddhism "engaged
Buddhism." This is because of the emphasis placed on social
action and social responsibility in American Buddhism. Many believe
that this will be American Buddhism's main contribution to Buddhism
as a whole.
How has Buddhism influenced American culture?
Aspects of Buddhism are evident in American popular culture.
Many Americans practice meditation for serenity and relaxation.
Medical plans will sometimes cover the cost of learning meditation
for stress reduction and alleviation of depression. It is
important to note, that meditation is only one aspect of Buddhism
and in Buddhism stress reduction is supposed to come with
following the teachings, not simply through meditation.
What
is the level of participation in Buddhist worship and community
activities in the area?
The Blue Mountain Lotus Society, a Buddhist center in the
Harrisburg area, has over 300 people on its mailing list.
These are all people who have come to events at some time
and are interested in the society. When the Blue Mountain
Lotus Society holds retreats there are approximately one hundred
people join in the full day commitment to meditation and discussion.
Many more come to the dojo to ask for help in getting set
up to practice Buddhism in their own homes and learn meditation
techniques.
A South Vietnamese
Buddhist community is centered at the Phap Hao Temple in Columbia,
PA (Lancaster County). Services are held every Sunday,
with a small congregation. On special occasions, such as the
New Year and Buddha's Birthday, attendance reaches into the
thousands.
What resources
are there in the community for those who wish to learn more
about Buddhism, or practice Buddhism?
The Blue Mountain Lotus Society is open to all members of
the community who would like help setting up a home practice,
or who want to come to events.
The Blue Mountain Lotus Society
783 Bluejay Road
Harrisburg, Pa 17111
(717) 566-9707
E-Mail: runninghorsedojo@aol.com
Web: www.bmls.org
View
the profile of the Blue Mountain Lotus Society at the website
of Harvard University's Pluralism Project.
Phap Hao Temple
202 Cherry Street
Columbia, PA 17512
(717) 684-4301
View
the profile of the Phap Hao Temple at the website of Harvard
University's Pluralism Project.
Speakers
Speaker: Virginia
Parkum
Topic: Buddhist History, Practicing Buddhism in America, Zen
art, Incense as a Way of Practice,
Contact: The Blue Mountain Lotus Society
(717) 566-9707
runninghorsedojo@aol.com
Speaker: T. J. Schaeffer
Contact: (717) 697-4116
Speaker: Sensei Anthony Schultz
Topics: Buddhism, psychological aspects of Buddhism, Buddhism
in the Criminal Justice System
Contact: The Blue Mountain Lotus Society
(717) 566-9707
runninghorsedojo@aol.com
For
further reading…
If you would like to learn more, check out the following books
and internet resources:
Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a "Christian
Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse
Nation. Harper Collins Publishers, San Francisco; 2001.
Eckel, Malcolm David. "Buddhism
in the World and in America." In Jacob Neusner. World
Religions in America: An Introduction. Westminster/John
Knox Press, Lousiville; 1994.
Fields,
Rick.How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History
of Buddhism in America , Shambhala, 1992
Min, Pyong Gap and Jung Ha Kim, editors, Religions in
Asian America: Building Faith Communities , AltaMira
Press, 2002
Pluralism Project,
Harvard University:
Seager, Richard. Buddhism in America , Columbia University
Press, 1999
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