What exactly happens during the Buddhist equivalent of a religious service? Also, what initially made you interested in Buddhism?

Question: “What exactly happens during the Buddhist equivalent of a religious service? Also, what initially made you interested in Buddhism?”

Different schools/traditions and temples have different forms of service. It’s very rare to find two temples with identical forms of services. In most cases it involves meditation, a Dharma talk and chanting.

I “found” Buddhism by accident, really. I’ve been meditating almost twice as long as I’ve been practicing Buddhism, unknowingly meditating Buddhist techniques. When I was about 14-15 I did some major soul searching. My then religion was just not cutting it. I didn’t believe in someone or something telling me how to life my life. I wasn’t atheist, I just thought that all these prophets and messengers were extremely high on something to be getting “messages” from god.

For a good chunk of my younger teenage life I considered myself a Pagan or a Spiritualist. I was extremely interested and fascinated by spiritualism and mysticism, so that became my religious/spiritual path for about 7-8 years. When I started college my interest in spiritualism and mysticism was slightly diminishing and I felt like even though I have great interest and respect for this, it wasn’t giving me any answers or what I needed.

My meditation was getting stronger and my mind clearer, but I just didn’t know what to do with it. Freshman or Sophomore year of college I read my first Buddhist book and until today my favorite, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh. It gave me a guide and a path that I felt like I was already living, so that was my initiation into the world of Buddhism.

In early 2011 I watched PBS documentary The Buddha and something clicked in me and I felt like it changed my life. That summer I traveled to Thailand for 3 months and did a solitary meditation retreat. From there, the rest is history. I took my precept and refuge vows and eventually my Bodhisattva vows, and hopefully one day my ordination vows.

 

Smile and be well!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: