Monkey Temple Research Paper

1235 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Meditation experience essay

The milestone that marked the course of my life occurred in Kathmandu, Nepal. In Kathmandu there is a famous stupa. A stupa is a dome-shaped structure erected as a Buddhist shrine. My experience began one late afternoon while looking and contemplating the eyes of the Buddha painted on the four sides of the tower in the center of the stupa called the Swayambhunath Temple. This temple is known also as the “Monkey Temple” because hundreds of “sacred” monkeys swarm throughout the temple grounds day and night. The monkeys belong to the Rhesus Macaque family, which is one of the best-known species of the Old World monkeys. I was surrounded by Tibetan monks and “holy” monkeys. That mesmerizing experience continued through the evening and lasted until Uninterrupted, I felt like floating all night. Just before the light of the day presented itself, I was staring from the terrace of the plaza that housed the temple and its stupa at the visible dense fog below that was pierced by the sporadic lights of the village that was waking up. While the day made its timid, slow entrance, the dissipating fog revealed the roofs of the houses below and the chanting inhabitants, who were walking up the 365 steps. Their voices gradually grew louder step by step until it reached and permeated the square where I was temporarily residing. It was a ritual performed every day at dawn to honor and help the rising Sun. There was no other place on earth I wanted to be. (By the way, I was really happy when recently I saw that the dome and its stupa withstood the recent earthquake, majestically.) Reference: http://albinger.me/tag/swayambhu-before-and-after- earthquake Later in my voyage I had a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Higher Realm of Consciousness in Puri, Orissa, India. It was back in the year 1969 when my trip took

Show More
Related

  • The Amida Buddha in Context

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The statue that will be the focus of this paper portrays the figure “Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light.” Like many other statues of the Buddha, this Amida Buddha was portrayed to be deep in meditation, sitting cross-legged. A viewer could observe that the Amida Buddha is making a hand gesture while in deep meditation. These gestures, also known as “mudras,” are symbolic in the Buddhist religion, and they are used to convey certain ideas (O’Riley 70). In this case, the Amida Buddha is making the mudra of appeasement (“Amida”). More physical observations could be made by pointing out the “balanced form, divine features, and flowing drapery” (“Amida”) of the Amida Buddha. Those qualities represent the nature of the Buddha, revealing him as “transcendent, graceful, and compassionate” (“Amida”). Features common to other Buddha sculptures show up on this Amida Buddha, like the elongated earlobes, the mole on his forehead, and patterned hair. At first glance, the Am...

    Read More

  • The Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...eautiful scenes within the temple. It was very interesting to learn about specific interactions and lifestyles many Buddhists go through when at the temple and their perspectives on life. The location of the temple was one that really provided an atmosphere that was heavenly. The architecture and the buildings were meticulously built. The landscape was very beautiful and the atmosphere was very relaxing. I felt at peace and calm when I was at the temple. I also feel a step closer to understanding my culture.

    Read More

  • Gorilla Research Paper

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    The gorillas live mainly in coastal West Africa in the Congo, Zaire, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Gorillas live in the rain forest. They usually live on the ground but build nest in trees to sleep in. Gorilla troops keep a 15-20 square mile range which often overlaps the range of other troops. There are three different kinds of gorillas. The eastern lowland gorilla the western lowland and the mountain gorilla. They are herbivores and eat only wild celery, roots, tree bark pulp, fruit, stems of many plants and bamboo shoots. They spend nearly half their day eating.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Temple Puja

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    The temple puja is identified as a public and formal form of worship and devotion undertaken by adherents of Buddhism. Within puja each of the steps of the Eightfold path can be approached and there is the opportunity for one to reach Nirvana with puja alone. The last step of the Eightfold Path, right concentration is the end point for the chanting and the meditation. Adherents enter the temple in a physical and mental state of reverence or Puja, and inside they primarily recognise the importance of the Three Refuges. Additionally, temple puja has great significance for the community as it intrinsically reflects on the significance of the community as part of the Sangha, and strengthens relationship and devotion within the community. The temple itself is often in the centre of a Buddhist town or village, symbolising that is the heart and the central point of the Sangha, and acts as a daily reminder for the community to remain devoted. Thus reinforcing a quote written by Buddhaghosa in 5th century India, “[Nirvana] can only be reached, not produced, by the Path . . . it transcends the intrinsic nature of matter . . . being attainable through special insight affected by strong effort” (Stimulus). The quote is explaining that by remaining devoted, one can reach Nirvana through total enlightenment. Temple Puja provides social cohesion in that the role and function of participants demonstrate the social status of the individuals and their connection with each other, for example, the role of members of the Sangha lead the participants in prayer and reflection. Overall, temple puja has a profound impact on the individual and the greater community as it allows them to reach

    Read More

  • A Review of Nirvana for Sale by Rachelle M. Scoot

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following this historical situating, Scott then looks at how the Dhammakaya temple has used discourses on merit making within Buddhism to create a situation where “...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Monkey Garden By Sandra Cisneros

    140 Words  | 1 Pages

    Literary devices are used by Sandra Cisneros throughout the vignette “The Monkey Garden”, to highlight the mood of the piece. For instance, Cisneros uses personification to encompass feelings of mysticality when she says things disappeared in the Garden, “as if the garden itself ate them.”(95) Personification was used by Cisneros to plant Esperanza’s humanlike description of the garden, while creating a sense of mystery and enchantment in the reader. Similarly, Cisneros describes how the tree Esperanza was near “wouldn’t mind if she lay down” (97). In this section, the tree is personified as a friend Esperanza can lay with. The fictional and humanlike style that the situation is described in further accentuates the mystical mood Cisneros is

    Read More

  • People's Temple Research Paper

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    Cult are generally accepted to be a “small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous”. Everyone is taught to fear cults because they’re “dangerous”. Most members of a cult, however, are not deranged, mindless, mentally handicapped people. Most members of a cult are regular people that are attracted to the organization’s message or “religion”. One religious cut that attracted mainstream society was the People’s Temple. The People’s Temple cult drastically changed over the course of its lifetime, when it started out as a church with good intentions, like providing for the sick and needy. Eventually the cult changed under the leadership of Jim Jones, where he went from a kindhearted man to a drugged-obsessed, power crazy monster that committed heinous, unspeakable acts in his journey for dominance. In his quest for power, he isolated his followers in a prison camp known as Jonestown and took the lives of 918 men, women, and children, before taking his own life.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Beowulf

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    When a place like this is built, it shows the people that there is hope and that...

    Read More

  • Wat Buddharangsi Buddhist Temple

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    On Sunday, September 8, 2013, I visited the Wat Buddharangsi Buddhist temple of Miami in Homestead. Every Sunday, they present a meditation service in English for two hours from three to five in the afternoon. Once I parked, the place of ritual was conveniently located across the parking lot. There was a shoe rack outside of the temple. Before I came to this temple, I read the guidelines from their website. The requirements for new guests are to remove your shoes before entering inside. Therefore, when I saw the shoe rack, I was not in shock. I was relieved to see that the temple provided a neat spot to place shoes rather than having them scattered on the floor.

    Read More

  • Jumping Off a Cliff

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I inched my way toward the cliff, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the coldness of the rock beneath my feet when my toes curled around the edge in one last futile attempt at survival. My heart was racing like a trapped bird, desperate to escape. Gazing down the sheer drop, I nearly fainted; my entire life flashed before my eyes. I could hear stones breaking free and fiercely tumbling down the hillside, plummeting into the dark abyss of the forbidding black water. The trees began to rapidly close in around me in a suffocating clench, and the piercing screams from my friends did little to ease the pain. The cool breeze felt like needles upon my bare skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps. The threatening mountains surrounding me seemed to grow more sinister with each passing moment, I felt myself fighting for air. The hot summer sun began to blacken while misty clouds loomed overhead. Trembling with anxiety, I shut my eyes, murmuring one last pathetic prayer. I gathered my last breath, hoping it would last a lifetime, took a step back and plun...

    Read More

  • 9/11 Short Stories

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    The night was tempestuous and my emotions were subtle, like the flame upon a torch. They blew out at the same time that my sense of tranquility dispersed, as if the winds had simply come and gone. The shrill scream of a young girl ricocheted off the walls and for a few brief seconds, it was the only sound that I could hear. It was then that the waves of turmoil commenced to crash upon me. It seemed as though every last one of my senses were succumbed to disperse from my reach completely. As everything blurred, I could just barely make out the slam of a door from somewhere alongside me and soon, the only thing that was left in its place was an ominous silence.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On The Thai Buddhist Temple

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    For my site visit reflection paper, I decided to visit the Thai Buddhist Temple in Homestead. The reason this particular site was my choice was because information acquired from the videos in lecture about tradition and Confucianism in Asia made me curious to learn more about the Buddhist way of life. Because so many South Eastern countries instantaneously adopted Buddhism from India and then China with open arms, I decided to make the visit in the morning to learn the reasons for the international success of this way of life. This would give me a more interactive comprehension of Buddhism.

    Read More

  • My First Visit at the Hindu Temple

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    I decided to visit a Hindu temple because the Hindu religion was the religion that I knew the least about and was interested in. This assignment gave me an opportunity to learn more about this religion and what their worship services and rituals were like. The temple that I went to was called BAPS Shri Swaminaryan Mandir and it was located in Lilburn. As soon as I walked in, I was amazed by the beautiful architectural design of this Temple. It seemed like it took a lot of hard work and dedication to make the place what it is now. While I was at the temple, I watched the Hindus perform an ancient Vedic ritual called the Abhishek, a ritual bathing to honor the murti of their God.

    Read More

  • Church Visitation

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...really enjoyed. I felt like I was close with them. The people of the congregation stood up to shake each other’s hands and hug each other. Many of them were saying a specific phrase, “peace be with you.” Everyone was just walking around with big smiles on their faces greeting each other. I really enjoyed this moment because it was something we used to do in my church before the pastor changed.

    Read More

  • Religious Paths

    2028 Words  | 5 Pages

    While examining different religious paths within Hinduism from the perspective of four patterns of transcendence (ancestral, cultural, mythical and experiential) it is interesting to see how each pattern found its dominance over four segments of Hinduism: Vedic sacrifice, the way of action, the way of devotion and the way of knowledge.

    Read More

More about Monkey Temple Research Paper

Open Document