Hsi Lai Temple

[Anonymous]

Our tour guide was great at sharing quirky stories, as well as, his thoughts and experiences as a Buddhist. I particularly found his description of the moral percepts of Buddhism, the sila, to be similar to many of the Ten Commandments. Such as abstaining from killing, stealing, lying, immoral behavior and drunkenness. He went on to explain though that when one sins, or breaks the moral percept, it is because of ignorance (and that the journey to overcome such ignorance takes innumerable lifetimes) and karma.

[Anonymous]

Matt, our guide shared with us that there is a temple of this sect of Buddhism in San Diego so def. check it out to take your kids and find resources. Our guide actually shared this information with us because she was pointing out that their leader at the temple is a women, which is unique to this sect of Buddhism (and I think is cool).

[Anonymous]

So as a teacher of 9th geography I teach a variety of religions around the world. I focus on connecting the religions to history and emphasising the importance of learning how they were created, why they came about and how they affect the people where the religion is practiced. Last year I thought it would be really cool to have Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Christian and Muslim leaders come in and talk to the class. Leaders in the respective communities would be a lot more effective at explaining their religions than I would and I thought it could be really interesting to students. My concern is that, when you bring religion in this way, into the classroom,it can blur the line of separation of church and state and be really concerning for parents of our students. What do you think?

Some of you have mentioned taking your classes to the Buddhist temple. I think it would be awesome for students to see the temple but do you think it might not be an accepted field trip at a public school? I am turning to this forum to see how to effectively teach religion while still keeping with the rules and not interfering with student's person beliefs.

[Anonymous]

I will first state my disclaimer by saying that I really enjoyed my visit to the temple. I did appreciate our guide (Mr. Paul). I am thankful that I was able to have a part in this experience.

now, in this next part, it is not my intention to offend anyone, but the experience was not what I had I had hoped for, or for better words, what I had expected...my frame of mind was set on a spiritual and enlightening experience. I don’t feel like I received this. I expected to find people worshipping, however it is that they worship. I didn’t think that we would be interfering in their worship. While there weren’t a lot of people worshipping at any given time during our visit there, I felt like our walking into the temple and having conversations in the corner while people were attempting to worship was rude and disrespectful. It makes me question why our presence in this way is even allowed. I understand that the Buddhist people want the community and all people on the outside to know their ways, to understand their ways, but does this mean that they must allow us to be intrusive in doing so? I don’t know. It is a temple. It is a place of worship. I felt like we should have been tiptoeing our way around, at least whenever we were in doors.

Then there was our tour guide…with all due respect I say this…
It just wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting a more serious experience. I’m a very religious person. And maybe I take it more serious than I should, or more serious than those around me. While my religion doesn’t entail rituals, I do understand that rituals are an intricate part of worship for people at the temple. These seems like it is something very important, something that should be respected. It just didn’t sit well with me to have to continually hear “I’m a bad Buddhist, so I don’t do this like I should…I’m a bad Buddhist, so I’m not to worried about this part…I’m a bad Buddhist, so I don’t really know too much about that part, it’s not that important to me…” Hearing this throughout the tour made me feel like the spirituality wasn’t being treated right, or taken serious. Aren’t those rituals a very important part of the religion? So, to have someone continually tell me “I’m not a good Buddhist, so I don’t take any of this serious,” just seemed very disrespectful to me. It pretty much ruined the experience that I was expecting.
But maybe I’m putting far too much into this. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be a spiritual and enlightening experience. Maybe the religion isn’t taken so serious anymore. Maybe it is acceptable to say that one is a Buddhist but not partake in all of the rites that are a part of being a Buddhist. I don’t know.

[Anonymous]

While I enjoyed the extensive tour of the temple and delicious vegetarian lunch, I must agree with the previous poster that our guide tended to downplay central beliefs and rituals with the line "I'm a bad Buddhist so..." that was used at least once at every stop on the tour. I believe that his purpose was to present Buddhism ritual as an accessible interest, rather than a "do this or you're bound for cosmic rejection" kind of stern delivery. My first reaction was amusement, followed by frustration, and finally ending with the opinion that I might have gotten more out of the excursion with a little more alone/reflection time.
It is a popular belief among my new students that the Japanese do not have a religion. A discussion about rituals during New Year's, Obon, and funerals combined with a potential visit to the temple in Escondido (district funding, Come on!) would go a long way towards enhancing my students' perspectives on this element of Japanese culture.
On a final note, I still don't understand why I was yanked from the other tour group due to my apparent "lack of focus." Still searching for the focus-

[Anonymous]

In a forum post on the Pacific Asia Museum, I suggested that museums are glass showcases that can be approached in several ways during a field trip but are still quite structural and limited. The Hsi Lai Temple, on the other hand, presents a more open structure and a potentially open field trip experience.

The temple, of course, is a place of worship and designed to fit the activities of the religious institution it is. A field trip project could be based on a plan map of the temple with numbered stops. At teach destination point, students would explain what an object or building was and why it was important. The rubric would specify how many numbered stops had to be addressed for which grade. Again it is important to point out that I think a good rubric/s is a sine qua non for the filed trip experience.

Individual places at the temple could be objects of more intense study. The Bodhisattva Hall, the Main Shrine, the Art Gallery, and the Ashats and Avalokitesvara Gardens would make good objects of study as would the dining experience. Quiet, unobstrusive observation of worship in the Bodhisattva Hall or the Main Shrine might be an appropriate project for some students. With an open area like the temple, I also think of scavenger hunts, which in my mind, are a series of numbered stations with a riddle or problem to solve at each station, while for more highly motivated students the more open and challenging format of diary/journal/photo essay might produce great results. All of these projects could stand alone or be combined with further library and/or internet research.

Now if I can just find the right chaperones, I can give a comradely nod to my old friend Guan Gong, nibble salted fruit in the dining hall, and relax with a few libations in the tea room.

[Anonymous]

Susie, I really like your idea for a symbols of wisdom unit!! Have you done one before? If you have I would really like to see what you have for it so I could "borrow it" and incorportate it in my curriculum.

I also like the idea someone else wrote about really organizing a field trip to Hsi Lai Temple. Students absoulutely need to have a purpose when entering such a place so that they aren't disrupting or seeming/being rude towards those who are there to worship. The preparing would have to come even before students arrived at the Temple, for the greatest effectiveness teachers should introduce them to the statues they will see and their purpose several days before the field trip. Giving them the opportunity to see such a beautiful structure would be an amazing opportunity.

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