pagoda

1) What are the activities organized by Hsi Lai Temple?   (read)

2) Who may participate in these activities?   (read)

3) Is Buddhism taught in English?   (read)

4) What is Humanistic Buddhism? (read)

5) What are the steps to become an official Buddhist?   (read)

6) Why does Buddhism advocate a vegetarian diet for practicing Buddhists?   (read)

7) Why learn Buddhism? (read)

8) Why do people fold their palms? (read)

9) Why do Buddhists bow and prostrate to the Buddha? (read)

10) What is the purpose of prayer beads?   (read)

11) What do lotus blossoms signify?   (read)

12) Was the Buddha a God? (read)

13) Why do monks and nuns shave their heads?   (read)

14) Do all the monastics have incense marks?   (read)

15) What is the role of Hsi Lai monastics? (read)

16) Does Hsi Lai Temple offer tours of the temple? (read)

17) How do we practice Humanistic Buddhism at Hsi Lai?   (read)

18) What is Ch'an Buddhism?   (read)

19) What is Pure Land Buddhism?   (read)

20) What is the Origin of Ch'an?   (read)

21) How is Ch'an Practiced?   (read)

22) Why do Buddhists Wish to be Interred in or Near a Pagoda?   (read)

PAGODA

Pagodas originated from pre-Buddhist traditions and were originally burial mounds marking the graves of religious and political leaders and reminding people of the leader’s power. They were integrated into Buddhism after Shakyamuni Buddha’s final passing or parinirvana as symbols for his continuing presence in the world. Although their early hemispheric shape was sometimes interpreted as a symbol of the cosmos or of the mythical Mount Meru, the center of the Buddhist understanding of the cosmos, they gradually became reminders of his teachings which intended to stimulate spiritual progress among the living toward liberation.

Equally if not more importantly however, the pagoda universally remains as both a place where spiritual progress can occur for the living and the deceased and as a symbol architecturally of that progress. As a cross is often placed upon the grave of a Christian as a symbol of the assurance of his resurrection upon the Second Coming of Christ, the pagoda is a symbol for the Buddhist of the stages of spiritual progress leading to Enlightenment and ultimate freedom symbolized by the pinnacle of the pagoda. In the Mahayana tradition, while enlightenment is a personal goal of one’s spiritual practice, it is also a cosmic process that benefits all sentient beings. The pagoda is a symbol of that individual and cosmic liberation.

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Copyright © 2002 International Buddhist Progress Society