Before taking World Religions, my knowledge on the philosophy of Buddhism was vague; although I had a deep interest in expanding my knowledge on what I had learned from my own researches on the ancient life teachings. After hearing, early on in the course, of an opportunity to be part of an authentic Buddhist Retreat a short drive from my own hometown, I nearly threw myself at the chance to both fulfill a class assignment and a personal religious curiosity.

The entire retreat itself was an all day event, starting from 9 in the morning with a few words and ending with a home-cooked dinner, was a day of enlightenment and learning for English speakers curious about the philosophy/religion of Buddhism. Being already committed to an activity later in the day, I planned my visit to be about 4 hours long. The entire experience for me began on the drive to the immense Buddhist Center. Never being to Mims before, every road looked strikingly similar and primarily farm land. I couldn’t imagine there being such a beautiful and peacefully secluded ground hidden on the edge of Mims devoted entirely to the religion. After being cheerfully ushered into a parking, I made my way, by myself, down a naturally paved walk way towards what appeared to be a house. I didn’t see more than a few pairs of sandals left at the foot of door, and remembering some research I had done the previous night as to exactly what I should and should not be doing on a Buddhist retreat, shoes are supposed to be taken off before entering a monastery or sacred building. Finally realizing that this house was just that, I quickly made my way off the porch and continued down the path, which became more defined and laid out with pebbles, to a court yard type opening with several robed individuals immersed in their tasks.

Promptly, the day began with a few brief words from a individual whose name I did not catch, unfortunately. Much like a Christian service, a cheery, older individual called everyone’s attention to the front of the monastery (which I describe later) to lead in a songs of praise. Unlike traditional hymns, these songs did not mention any god or any sacrifice some higher being blessed his followers with. Being as the Buddhist belief calls for no god, these songs were mainly focused on positive self energy and appreciation. The man with a relatively thick Vietnamese accent had no issue with keeping the mood bright and his young piano accompanist, something I was not expecting to be an instrument of choice, was interesting in it of itself. The first hour had the basic feel of a church service I was familiar with- introductions, songs, and friendly faces.

Keeping to schedule, the day moved seamlessly from one teaching into the next. At 10:00, Zen Master. Khai Thien, Ph.D., officially began the retreat with “Dharma Talk” which was a neatly organized lecture coupled with a PowerPoint visual of the highlights of his speech on dharma and its importance, not only to Buddhist teachings but its application in everyday life without prejudice of person. He spoke kneeling at an altar that had an arrangement of flowers, a candle and small figurine (from what I could make out), with a few other men at his side, one sitting in a chair, another on his knees before a gong-type bowl that was struck after the leading monk said a few series of Vietnamese words to close his lecture. Behind him, on his right, 3 boys dressed in similar robes but with yellow collars instead, sat quietly behind the older men and the monk. I assume these boys are to Buddhism what altar boys or pew boys are to Catholicism.
The monastery itself was quite interesting, with off-white walls and being relatively cleared out space wise, there was not much inside other than three large area rugs to cover the clean marble flooring and rows of pillow-like cushions in each section. Due to strict importance of respect, it was asked that shoes be removed before entering the monastery and even the porch was swept clean of any sand of dirt tracked to the door. While there were chairs in the back reserved for senior citizens or those who could not kneel, everyone inside was seated on the ground atop of cushions, another key to keep heads below that of monks and Buddhist statues, of which there was one at the very front of the room that was illuminated by spotlights. There were two large doors into the monastery, one located at the front which most visitors used and one located in the back which I saw used by robbed individuals and assumingly those familiar with the grounds. Two door-less arches on either side of the large Buddhist statue inside were used as an official entrance for the leading Monk and the other men who followed him on stage. When he entered the room, everyone bowed their heads as he passed. As I mentioned earlier about the items placed on the altar in front of him, these items, a small arrangement of flowers, a candle and a small figurine, were carried by a man around the room in front of the Monks; just as some Popes in Catholic churches swing a thurible of burning incense before a service.
A corner stone of Buddhism is the idea of inner peace and reuniting with yourself to ultimately achieve enlightenment. This can be done in several different ways, but more popularly is mediation. A short hour and half after Khai Thien began his lecture on Dharma, he led everyone at the retreat on the basics of mediation and to best apply the concept to the people inside who ranged from very experience mediators to very novice, like myself, he did so in several intervals with positive words of encouragement to help everyone get through an undisturbed 15 minutes of mediation. While I had thought this would be easy as I have been an active participant of several different kinds of yoga, found the proper way of mediation to require a certain degree of focus and composure. The key, as Khai Thien repeatedly reminded everyone, was to use your breath as a point of focus and to match your breath with your internal rhythm. The first minute was fairly easy, and passed quite quickly. As the interval creeped towards 5 minutes, I found my mind wandering on things around me: my neighbors’ shallow and uneven breathing, what chores awaited me at home, and whatever had been on mind at the time. But as Master Thien reassured everyone, this practice doesn’t come without dedication and motivation. Keeping a positive mind about the new experience, I found my breath and narrowed my focus down to the rhythm of my breath and the flow of air into and out of my lungs. Just as I began to feel truly serene, a gong pulled me from my state of mental peace and I felt significantly more at ease.

My time at White Sands Buddhist Center, although short, was intensely satisfying and not to mention a great cultural and religious learning experience. While I was raised with the stuffy and strict ways of the Catholic Church, I had no trouble adjusting to the cheery atmosphere of the Buddhist monastery. I hope to make more visits to the White Sands Center and enjoy more of the teachings and lectures, and continue expanding my knowledge on this religion.