Field Trip

            For the field trip assignment I decided to go to the Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple, located in Hacienda Heights.  The construction of the temple was started in 1984 and was not completed until November 1998.  The temple is nestled into the surrounding hills with spectacular views of the local areas.  I happened to go on an overcast rainy day, with the smell of incants lingering in the air giving me different feel as if were not in California but maybe some remote part of China. 

            The temple is absolutely beautiful.  It has granite floors everywhere, I had to be very careful I am a bit clumsy and walking on the wet granite could have put me in a great deal of pain if I weren’t careful.  The architecture was so amazing with the bright red and yellow colors.  Once I climbed up the stairs from the Gateway into the Bodhisattva Hall, I was able to see people meditating in front of the Maitreya Bodhisattva or the Future Buddha.  Seeing this statue of Maitreya Buddha I realized that it was one of my favorite in the whole temple, compared to the rest of the statues is the happiest with a huge smile on his face.  From the Bodhisattavaa Hall I went to the Arhats’ Garden.  This is a very pretty area displaying the Eighteen Arhats.   From their I went to the Courtyard this was my favorite part of the temple, even though I got a little wet, it is so open and well taken care of.  There were cement blocks with grass growing in between them that are said to represent rice patties.  As I made my way through the courtyard and up to the Main Shrine I saw this big black thing where they would burn their incants before entering the temple. 

As I entered the main shrine the first thing that caught my eye was the huge statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha, which sat in between two other Buddha’s.  Along all of the walls were little statues or figures of Buddha and this is said to symbolize that Buddha is all around.  I took special note of the red rows of seats at first I thought that it would be really awkward to sit in one of these chair things but after seeing others sit on them and watching them I was able to see why they use those seats as apposed to a pew or a normal chair.   Leaving the Main Shrine I saw this enormous black bell hanging from the outside corner of the Main Shrine.  They said that the bell is only used for special occasions but I thought that it was really cool, I have to admit though I was kind of scared to walk underneath it in case it were to fall.  Going down the stair into the courtyard was just as great as going up it is so pretty.

From their I went to the Avalokitesuvara Garden which I liked more than the other garden because it had a pond and an fountain, it was really pretty as well as peaceful.  This is where the audio tour ended so I returned the headset and went to the museum, which was rather small and had a large tour group of school aged children.  Not wanting to be a distraction to them I went to the gift shop and looked around a bit, and eventually I mad my way to the tearoom and the dinning hall/ bookstore, I did not have anything to eat or drink because I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, but if I were to go back I probably would give it a try.  After leaving the dinning hall I took one last stroll threw the courtyard and then through the Bodhisattvaa Hall and then to the parking lot. 

This was really a positive experience for me everyone that I encountered was extremely nice and friendly everyone had a smile.  The people there made me feel as if they were happy to see me there.  It was very peaceful and quiet.  There was a strange feeling like slowdown breath and take it in that came from everyone in the temple.  I have a friend who likes learning about different religions and was interested in going with me to the Buddhist temple but our schedules conflicted, if he still wants to go I would me more then willing to go back again and learn more.  It was a really positive experience for me.