my pets

Reflective essay

The Sacred Words of Buddhism

I was only about 8 the first time I have ever heard the sacred words of Buddhism. I can still distinctly remember running out from my bedroom as I was getting ready for bed when I heard my dad’s voice speaking in language of unfamiliarity. I watched him bewilderedly as he stood there facing the Alter that he had made with his bare hands, he continued chanting “Nam Mô A Yi Đa Phât” in a rhythmic and steady pace. The Alter resembled that of a book stand; except it had much fewer shelves, only two shelves to be exact. On the very top center of the Alter was a Buddha deity; it is something my family have worshipped for generations. On the first shelve was a Buddhist text that was laid open. The second shelve however, was empty. For the years to come, the ritual became his daily routine. My dad would stand in front of the Alter every night and chant the same words. I later learned that these unfamiliar words were not of a different language, it was my native language—Vietnamese. That didn’t make much of a difference however; I still couldn’t comprehend what it meant. It wasn’t the normal everyday speech I was accustomed to hearing at home and that as I later learned was because it was the sacred words of Buddhism.

Thirteen years after my first encounter of the Buddhist ritual, I found myself once again in bewilderment as I stood in the enormous Alter room of a Buddhist temple. This Alter was a lot different from the one in my parents’ house in many different ways. The Alter consisted of three levels in a shape similar to a pyramid, the top level had a golden deity of Buddha, and it had to be at least four times my size. The golden color of the deity intensified as the glistening sunlight started to set through the windows. The sunlight reflection off the deity gave the whole room a beautiful golden glow giving the room its lively sensation. On the second level of the Alter was at least ten vibrant vases filled with flowers. The vases were evenly distributed around the deity in a half circle. On the third level of the Alter was even more flowers.

Dozens of Buddhist have come to participate in the Sunday Mass. As the ritual began, I found myself once again lost in the words of unfamiliarity although it was in Vietnamese. Even though I have heard and witnessed my dad performed similar ritual, there were many phrases that were being chanting that I have never heard my dad chant before. In addition to chanting the familiar words: “Nam Mô A Yi Đa Phât” they also chanted “Bôn Su Thích Ca Mô A Yi Đa Phât Quán Té Âm Bô Thát”. I have came to an understanding that these religious terminologies are really only understood by those who were taught the meanings by the monk.

During the ritual I noticed many things being performed that I have never seen my dad done. They had incense burning. The aroma of the incense lightly burned my nostril each time I breathe through my nose. Within time however, I slowly adapted to the burning sensation of the aroma and by half way through ritual, the burning sensation dissipated. In addition to the burning of incense I noticed the practice of bells and drums. Throughout the ritual, the drum followed the same rhythmic as the chanting. At the end of each chanting phrases, the bell was rung. Each time the bell rung, it echoed throughout the room.

Once again my attention swayed away from the ritual to the Alter. I was still so astonished on how beautiful the Alter was. Its beauty can not even be compared to the Alter my parents have set at their house. The Buddha deity on this Alter was enormous, its golden coating even much more mesmerizing. The Buddha deity was surrounded by dozens of vibrant flowers. As my eyes gazed upon the vases that held the flowers, I astound by the intricate artwork on vases. A dragon was carved onto the surface of the vase, its body wrapped around the vase as though it was protecting it. To my knowledge, dragons are very popular in Buddhism because it is one of few sacred animals they worship for reasons that dragons symbolized power and strength.

Once the ritual ended, I remained in my place as everyone departed from the room. Within minutes the room was cleared of people but aroma from the burning incense remained. As I stood in the room alone I came to a realization that I didn’t really understand who I was in terms of religion. In my attempt to participate in the ritual, I ended up lost and confused. I tried to come to an understanding of what all that chanting meant. What was the underlying message? What kind of significant meaning does the ritual have? Why do some people choose to become Buddhist? How does becoming Buddhism change your life? Am I considered Buddhist because my parents are Buddhist? Do I have to understand the Buddhist sacred text to be a Buddhist? All these unanswered questions brought me to a new conquest in finding myself and this was how the search of my religious identity began.

Blog Free write: A New Addtion to the Family

A week ago from yesterday I brought home a new addition to the family, a French bulldog name Lilo. Her name originated from the movie Lilo and Stitch. Lilo is two-and-half months, weighs approximately 5 pounds and is 85% house broken. She is black and white with freckles on her paw. She has only been with me for a week now and she is already attached to us. One major reason my boyfriend and I decided to get her was for our Boston Terrier, Pua, who gets pretty lonely when no is home because we’re so occupied with school and work. Pua was jealous at first when she first met Lilo, but now they are started to get along really well. However, Pua does not know the extent of her strength and plays too aggressively. I hope within time she will acknowledge that Lilo is just a puppy and realize that she needs to be gentle with her. Hopefully they will become best of pals.

As for me however, things have been a little tough. Lilo looks up to me as her mother figure, and has become really attached to be. I too have become attached to her. She refuses to sleep in her kennel and will continue to whimper throughout the whole night until you let her sleep on the bed with you. The problem with this is that as a puppy nature calls frequently so I’m always getting up in the middle of the night to take her to go potty. After she does her business, she wants to stay up for about half-an-hour to play. Well, this is tough on me because I have to wake up early and get ready for school. For this past week, I have been getting about 6 hours of sleep in a night. I guess it’s what I sign up for when I decided to get a puppy right? Well I can say one thing for sure the joy she brings us I worth it! I wouldn’t trade her for anything.