Visiting a Buddhist Temple

My Experience Attending a Buddhist Service

I attended the morning service on March 18, 2007, which started at 10am. The national background of the temple is Japanese, and is affiliated with the, "True Pure Land" school of Buddhist thought.

I parked my car on the street next to the temple because the parking lot was very small and looked like it was already full. There used to be more space to park, but they had recently turned the lot into a small middle school. I walked up to the temple, and noticed how the roof resembled somewhat of a Japanese pagoda. At the top of the roof was the icon symbolizing the Wheel of Law. The Wheel of Law could also be known as the Wheel of Life or Wheel of Dharma, and symbolizes the Buddhist idea of the Noble Eightfold path.

When I first entered the Buddhist temple, a monk was at the door and greeted me by placing his hands together and bowing. I gave a little bow and asked him if it was okay if I took pictures inside the temple. He made it very clear that flash photography was not allowed so I thanked him and walked in. I saw that next to the doors were a bunch of shoes, so I took mine off before continuing any further into the temple. I was familiar with this form of etiquette, since I'm Japanese and have taken my shoes off before entering my Japanese friends or family's houses.