Buddhist Temple Visit

Buddhism is religion that is based off of peace and spirituality taught by the teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gotama. Many who follow its teachings believe Buddhism to be more of a way of life or lifestyle choice rather a religion. Buddha is not a god, but one man that taught his followers a path of enlightenment from his experiences and values. Buddha’s main teachings were the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths were teachings about suffering, pain, disease, happiness, loneliness, and aging. It explained why we as humans can overcome certain obstacles in our lives by looking at the more spiritual side of things such as “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” (Dalai Lama). The Eightfold Path is the teachings of being moral, being aware of our actions and thoughts, developing compassion for others, and most importantly gaining wisdom from the understanding of The Four Noble Truths. I visited the Vietnamese Buddhist Center in Sugar Land this past Sunday and it was a sight to behold. The center was surrounded by a green metal fencing with some sort of crest or emblem that looked similar to an steering wheel on an old ship. Driving into the center, the main road was split then split into two smaller roads. The road to the left led to a parking lot, while the road to the right led to a smaller parking lot surrounded by small buildings that seem to be places of worship. The scenery that over hung the roads were statues of lion heads, beautiful trees and flowers in all sorts of colors. The main statue however was a huge tall Buddha in the middle of large pond filled with Koi Fish. There was a small tiled area that visitors could take pictures of the statue in its amazing and beautiful nature. The aura of the place was one of peace and tranquility. The small tiled visitor area was then extended by an overhanging wooden bridge leading to a large tiled courtyard with small trees that was