Oderah Udemadu

LBST 2102-337

Visitation
A Trip To The Charlotte True
Buddha Temple

My girlfriend and I pulled into the parking lot of a small temple and got out of the

car hurriedly as we were 10 minutes late, (a tragic case of C.P.T, to be sure). Right as we

were about to enter, however, a small man blocked us and ushered us to remove our

shoes and set them aside, as there were no footwear allowed inside the temple. We

complied of course and the second we stepped in, the strong scent of incense hit my nose.

My eyes were blitzed with an array of decor, dazzling color, and ornate statues. The very

carpet I stood on was soft and homely (as it was vacuumed every so often). In short, my

senses were pleasantly overwhelmed momentarily. It was as if Id stepped into a different

world.
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Located on 5909 Monroe Road, The Charlotte True Buddha Temple is a quiet and relaxing
place of worship located near East Meck High School. I went on Sunday April 2nd to attend
their introduction to Buddhism class, which was an hour long crash course session for
people with little to no background information on what Buddhism is. Our instructor for
the day was a nice lady named Ms. Lauren who went over the basics of Buddhism and what
you should strive for in this life. The bulk of her lesson revolved around karma, and how
you shouldnt engage in bad activities or decisions as it outweighs the good you do much
faster than anything else. Ms. Lauren, after her lecture, then led us into the lobby to teach
us about the statues that adorned the room. The first thing she was quick to do was to
point out a certain symbol that highly resembled a swastika and explained to us that in
Buddhism it represents eternity, and that the Nazis had hijacked it and turned it into a
symbol of evil and hate. Ms. Lauren then went on to explain the concept of longevity (which
is why Buddha statues have long ears) and she told our group about the 7 beings who
attained peace and longevity. She then went down to the next tier of statues and explained
their purpose and what it would take for them to achieve enlightenment.

The lobby also had unique and interesting objects. There were instruments that were made
in the image of animals, such as a wooden fish that served as a drum. In front of the
temple, the is a large bell pot that is filled with spent incense sticks. Ms. Lauren gave me 2
sticks, lit them for me, and instructed me to place them in the bell pot as it represented (I
think) a spiritual release of negative energy and an embrace is positivity. The focus on
positivity and breeding happiness and content particularly stuck with me, especially when

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Ms. Lauren performed a demonstration where she showed just how small negative words
can weaken a person while positive words seemingly give a person energy to perform.

The visit to the Charlotte Buddha Temple was an overall positive experience, but I was left
wanting more because the tour only lasted an hour. I felt there was a lot more to be
learned, especially in regards to the history of Buddhism. But that isnt to say that what I
learned during my trip was for naught. The basis of Buddhism and its teachings, in relation
to living a good life, were clearly in advocacy of being a good person at all times no matter
what. The building of good karma is so essential to leading a wholesome life and though it
is masked with historical tales, ancient figures, and such, Buddhism is quite simply the
practice of taming your instincts and urges in the aspiration of making it to the next life.

I enjoyed learning more about Buddhism in person, because there was something
authentic about actually seeing it with my own eyes that reading or watching videos could
never come close to replicating. It also opened my eyes to other cultures that have
Buddhism as their central religion. A trip like this is something Id recommend to everyone,
as it also highlights what makes other people uniquely different. I want to visit a mosque
next and hopefully erase any unconscious prejudices I might hold against Muslims as a
result of the hate the U.S has against Islam. This trip was a necessary one on my path to
leading a good life and Im glad I took the chance to do so.

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