Buddhist Church

by Gloria

I recently visited my friend’s Buddhist church in Seattle. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I was a little nervous about going. I went with Stella; this was the first time either of us had visited a Buddhist church.

When we got to the church, my friend’s mom, who is a Dharma school teacher, showed us around. I was surprised – I had been imagining a gilded temple with monks in robes everywhere, like the ones you see in movies, but the layout was surprisingly similar to some Christian churches that I’d been in before—bright classrooms filled with cheerful kids of many ages, walls plastered with colorful crayon drawings done by the Dharma school students. One of the major differences was the room where the service took place. There were still rows of benches with an aisle down the middle, but the front of the room was slightly more elevated than the rest and it had a stand with gold decorations surrounding a statue of the Buddha. There was also a small stand at the foot of the platform for burning incense. The smell was rich and pleasant and lingered in the air of the whole church.

I had a great time, and I also learned a few things. The church was of a branch of Buddhism called Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism. Jo means “pure”, do means “realm”, shin means “true”, and shu means “teaching”. The branch is mostly Japanese. When the service began, we chanted sutras from the prayer book. A gong was sounded whenever the prayer book dictated. The sound of the whole room chanting in unison created an atmosphere that was unique and very spiritual.