My Visit to Albuquerque Vipassana Sangha
I decided to take a trip to the Albuquerque Vipassana Sangha to study Buddhism for my religion experiential essay. On August 4, 2016 I found myself in a setting in which I never would have thought I would see because I was raised a Christian Baptist who was once taught that her religion was the only true and accurate religion. As the time for the meditation and dharma talk approached, I began feeling nervous and excited to try something new.
As I exited the bus I turned down Rosemont Avenue and searched for the temple, I was met by a beautiful and long path. As I approached the location I was amazed at how peaceful everything around me looked, as well as how the temple was far from what I imagined. Instead of one great …show more content…
Before starting the service the dharma teacher began by waking and inviting the bell followed by explaining the process of meditation. Waking the bell is an act of consideration not just for the students but the bell itself. If unused for some time, it is best to wake the bell before inviting it to sound. Meditation is performed as a way to enhance concentration and mindfulness thus helping one become aware of true reality. As I sat with my eyes closed and full attention on the instructions I inhaled and focused on my breathing as I was told. Kathryn explained that for the next 40 minutes we would be meditating and offered various forms of proper posture techniques to help keep from falling asleep. As the temple became surrounded by silence I continued to focus on my breathing. As I attempted to keep my mind on meditating, I began to feel thoughts unrelated to my current experience seeping into my mind. I remembered during the meditation instruction that it was stated that this was normal, but to immediately place my mind back into focusing on
I decided to take a trip to the Albuquerque Vipassana Sangha to study Buddhism for my religion experiential essay. On August 4, 2016 I found myself in a setting in which I never would have thought I would see because I was raised a Christian Baptist who was once taught that her religion was the only true and accurate religion. As the time for the meditation and dharma talk approached, I began feeling nervous and excited to try something new.
As I exited the bus I turned down Rosemont Avenue and searched for the temple, I was met by a beautiful and long path. As I approached the location I was amazed at how peaceful everything around me looked, as well as how the temple was far from what I imagined. Instead of one great …show more content…
Before starting the service the dharma teacher began by waking and inviting the bell followed by explaining the process of meditation. Waking the bell is an act of consideration not just for the students but the bell itself. If unused for some time, it is best to wake the bell before inviting it to sound. Meditation is performed as a way to enhance concentration and mindfulness thus helping one become aware of true reality. As I sat with my eyes closed and full attention on the instructions I inhaled and focused on my breathing as I was told. Kathryn explained that for the next 40 minutes we would be meditating and offered various forms of proper posture techniques to help keep from falling asleep. As the temple became surrounded by silence I continued to focus on my breathing. As I attempted to keep my mind on meditating, I began to feel thoughts unrelated to my current experience seeping into my mind. I remembered during the meditation instruction that it was stated that this was normal, but to immediately place my mind back into focusing on