Buddhism the True Buddha Diamond Temple Is Essay

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Buddhism

The True Buddha Diamond Temple is located in a residential neighborhood in Flushing (3332 148th Street), allowing it to be intimately connected with the community and fully integrated with it. As with many Buddhist organizations, the True Buddha society is a global one and this temple is a branch of a worldwide organization known as True Buddha. The True Buddha Diamond Temple in New York is therefore part of a global community with strong roots in Asia.

In addition to its exemplifying the globalization of Buddhism, the True Buddha Diamond Temple also exhibits the different ways languages are used in liturgical and community settings. This temple is multilingual, with their website in both English and Chinese, in addition to the languages of all the other countries the organization is located in including South American nations and nations throughout Asia. The True Buddha Diamond Temple has a globalized business model, facilitated by multiculturalism and linguistic diversity. It also uses the universal languages of ritual to communicate core elements of the Buddhist doctrine and way of life.

First encounters with the temple included its online presence, which I evaluated prior to visiting, and a preliminary phone call. I also read online reviews of the temple, such as those on Yelp. The website of the True Buddha Diamond Temple is in many respects a crude one, showing that perhaps the temple does not have sufficient financing or interest in using the Web as a marketing tool for its organization. I was surprised to notice how dated the Website for the temple looked and how difficult it was to get an idea of what to expect from visiting.

Therefore, I used the Yelp review to help prepare me for the visit. There was only one reviewer on Yelp, and it was someone who had been a member of the temple when it used to exist in lower Manhattan. The reviewer appreciates that it has moved because "it's better and easier to find parking in the street vs. The temples in Chinatown or Flushing," (Tillie K). Certainly, the True Buddha Diamond Temple seeks to entrench itself into the community, which is largely comprised of middle class individuals from all walks of life.

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Given the multicultural neighborhood in which it is located, the True Buddha Diamond Temple welcomes persons from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, as well as people from other religious backgrounds who view Buddhism as an adjunct to or replacement for whatever religious tradition they are accustomed to. The teachings of the True Buddha Diamond Temple are derived from multiple Buddhist source texts, the "Grand Master's" writings and lectures, and related texts from various Buddhist lineages including Tantra and Gelupa ("True Buddha Diamond Temple of New York").

From the temple's own website, I gleaned that there is a master who places his smiling image seated on a lotus in what appears to be modeled after a Tibetan thangka-style mandala. The image is symmetrical, and the master wears a large crown. Both his hands are in a complex mudra position, and he sits cross-legged donned in burgundy robes with a golden shawl. He is surrounded by flowers. Coupled with his beaming smile, the flowers, the lotus, and traditional imagery are designed to impart a sense of peace and connection with the Buddhist lineage. The problem with the image the "Grand Master" Sheng-Yen Lu's image is that it seems to go against the core precepts of Buddhist practices, especially those the "Grand Master" purports to teach, such as Zen, which avows "no-self" as a doctrine. As the Yelp reviewer Tillie K. has stated, "this temple is more of a profit organization then the non-profit organization." In spite of that, Tillie K. And many other temple members do return because in exchange for their financial contributions and purchases, they receive teachings perceived to be valuable intellectually, psychologically, and spiritually. Moreover, the temple provides solace and social support. A large number of persons visit the temple….....

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