Who are you? That was the question our leader tonight asked us to ask ourselves during the 10 minute silent meditation segment of the visit tonight. As much as those ten minutes were difficult, I was expecting to have a 25 minute meditation for some reason, so the ten minutes seemed to fly by to a certain extent.

As for the rest of the time at the Zen Center, it was again nice how welcoming they were to having so many visitors. This reminded me of how welcoming the Hindu temple was at our arrival which I think says something about the difference between eastern and western religions. Not saying Catholicism and Judaism aren’t welcoming religions, there are many more hoops to jump through and technicalities to deal with as opposed to the “all are welcome” attitude of the Hindu and Zen Centers.

The other thing I enjoyed about the ceremony we were able to participate in was the “Evening Bell” chant. It was really relaxing to smell the incense and listen to the bells ringing and the soft chanting was really nice to listen to. I was expecting to be really uncomfortable sitting on the floors and pretty much all of the expectations I had were wrong. I think from reading that book about the Zen monastery I expected the center to be strict and quiet and almost depressing. But quite the opposite was the reality. Everyone seemed peaceful and content. Although the worship space wasn’t anything too extravagant or big but the relics and decorations that are there are meaningful and poignant for those worshiping. It also shows the principle of Buddhist’s to simplify their lives.

I think the concept that I brought away from them was the idea of letting your ideas just flow through you without fighting them or arguing with yourself, to just allow yourself to relax. I think if our society could learn to do that, to simply take 5 or 10 minutes a day to sit and breathe and collect yourself, there would be drastically lower stress levels and frustrations. And when you think about it, sacrificing 5 minutes of looking at Facebook or watching TV and use it for something good instead.

Overall, I really really enjoyed spending the night with some of the people at the Zen center, it was extremely welcoming and I know I can use some of their beliefs in my life.

South Indian Temple

Today’s trip to the Hindu temple in Aurora, Illinois was surprisingly more interesting than I was expecting. Of the trips so far, I think this one was the most educational and enjoyable. I think there were a few different reasons why that was the case. First of all, the guide that showed us around and talked with us was very friendly and genuine. He was excited we were there which rubbed off on me and made me more excited to hear what he had to say. Also, the overall atmosphere of the temple and in general the religion was welcoming to everyone. There was a sense that everyone was truly welcome in their temple, as long as you followed one simple rule: take off your shoes.
I never really thought about the fact that Hinduism values their native country so greatly until he explained their rich heritage in India. It makes sense because so far in our class we have discovered each religions “home” country, why wouldn’t Hinduism have one? Judaism values Jerusalem and Islam values Mecca. For Hinduism, India is the land they treasure. There are many unique customs and cultures in India, including the various languages in the country itself. In America, the states are separated by state lines, in India states are separated by language divides. It was interesting when he explained the difference between North and South Indian temples. In a South Indian temple, like the one we visited today, the temple has many gods and idols displayed throughout the sanctuary, and they are made of black granite. In a North Indian temple, they have the same gods and idols displayed but instead of black granite they are made of white granite. This difference may seem insignificant but he explained why that is not the case. Due to the pure whiteness of the North Indian temple, they have a much higher emphasis on cleanliness than in a South Indian temple. That’s not to say the temple we were at today was dirty, just in comparison there is less emphasis.
Next we discussed the religion itself more specifically, explaining the gods and beliefs we discussed in class on Thursday. Hearing all of these things was interesting, but they really came to life when we toured the temple itself. He took us around to all of the almost mini-altars that displayed the black granite idols as he explained but it was absolutely beautiful how they were displayed. With gold, diamonds, and real flowers adorning the idols, they were definitely a sight to see. He showed us the milk and fruit juices used to bathe the statues daily, weekly, or monthly depending on which statue it is and also the guards that guard them. The part I liked the most about our visit was when we were able to actually interact with the religion. The priest asked us if we wanted to try the holy water, some of us agreed and he went through the process with us doing it as well. First we had to motion with our hands from a flame he was holding to our eyes. Then we all got a small amount of holy water onto our right palm to drink. Next, he held a crown shaped silver bowl over each of our heads as our hands were held together for respect. Finally, he handed all of us two almonds. This experience is definitely not one I will forget. As the saying goes, “when in Rome, do what the Romans do,” and we did. Also, Deepa gave each of us a dot on our foreheads; this also made me feel like a part of the community in their temple. However, once we got to Panera to eat lunch, we all noticed people were glancing over at us more than usual. I had already forgotten about the red dots on our foreheads, but I soon realized, that’s what they were looking at. It gave me a certain sense of what some practicing Hindu’s must go through when they get looked at for wearing what they wear including that dot. Overall, the experience was very fun and it made me want to learn more about the Hindu and Indian culture. I got to drink their holy water, eat some spicy rice, and learn a lot about what it means to be Hindu.

The Islamic Center in Cedar Rapids

A mosque in Iowa? Some might think it'd be rare to find but today we found out that there are actually more than you'd expect. The Islamic Center in Cedar Rapids was our destination today, where we learned a lot about not only the history of the mosque itself but also about the details of the Islamic religion. The building itself was built in 1971, and there are three Islamic centers in Cedar Rapids. Our tour leader explained to us many of the details of the religion itself as well.

Islam means submission to the will of God, and to be Muslim means one who submits. He also explained the history of their great prophet Muhammad. He was born in Mecca, and at age two his mother sent him to a wet nurse. After his mother died, he was raised by his grandpa. The people of Mecca were in a spiraling circle of worshiping idols and infidelity. He became an icon with the people after the day the angel Gabriel came to him and called him to be a prophet.

One thing that was surprising to me was the design of the worship spaces themselves. The worship room was simply an open room with very comfortable carpeting and a microphone. The call to prayer is announced throughout the building and is held in that main room. Also, I thought it was really cool how there was a gym in the same building, it reminded me of my grade school days.



Near the end of our tour guides explanation he exposed some common misconceptions people hold against Muslims. First of all, people seem to assume most Muslims are Arabs, when in reality the majority of them are not. He also displayed some frustration about the stereotype that Muslims are terrorists. He told us a story about another tour in which someone asked in regards to some camps that are available for the children in the church, "how don't you know they are training them to become terrorists at camp." I thought that was really ignorant and I can see how frustrating that would be to hear.

Overall, I was most surprised by the fact that Christianity and Islam were not as different as I had imagined before. I think there is a misconception that there is this huge difference and that it is hard to even comprehend their religion but now that he explained it all to us I have a much better appreciation for it.

Jewish Synagogue

Today we traveled over into Wisconsin to Madison to see the Jewish synagogue and the first thing I knew would happen is when I typed out a blog for today's trip I would most likely mispell quite a bit of the terms, so just a forewarning!

The tour of the synagogue building itself was nice because some of the features reminded me of my church at home. I go to a Lutheran church and it consists of a medium sized chapel, dining area, and rooms for sunday school in the basement. So overall, it was nice to see kind of a universal design in that way. Yamakas are required inside the synagogue.

It was interesting to learn what it took to become a rabbi, because I know what it takes to become a pastor and a priest but I never really thought about the rabbi. Rabbi Ben Gideon explained his journey and how he got his undergraduate degree and then studied for eight years at the seminary. Which I thought was very intriguing because he said anywhere between 4-6 years were required and he decided to stay longer to strengthen his knowledge of all of the Jewish readings.

The rabbi went on to explain the synagogue itself explaining that the scrolls of the Torah are held in the arc behind the altar, and all of the copies of the Torah are handwritten on parchment by scribes, and are worth about $30,000 each. Which led to a really interesting discussion about the "Torah black market" as Gideon went onto explain that there are people trying to buy copies of the Torah for less money. And with such valuable items in their church, the synagogue even has tracking microchips in their scrolls so if they ever get stolen they will be able to locate them.

The next portion of the sanctuary I thought was very touching and interesting were the plaques that could be purchased on the walls displaying loved ones who had died in the past. And when the time was approaching for the anniversery of that death, the light next to the plaque would be lit. I thought that was very powerful, and also a good way to raise money for the church in a respectful way.

Finally, I thought the description of the Shabbat, Sabbath day. They believe that since God rested on the seventh day of creation, they also should rest on the 7th day of the week. This means they don't ignite a flame, cook, turn on light or elecricity, or do work. Simply spend the entire day with their family enjoying each others company and meditating on God.

Overall, I really enjoyed our time at the synagogue and thought they were very friendly and inviting people. Also wearing the Yamaka was definitely an experience!

Two Opposites: Dyersville and the Monastary

We traveled to Dyersville to see the Basillica of St. Francis Xavier and The Monastary in New Melleray. Both visits were very informative and interesting, and there were aspects of both that I enjoyed. For example, there was a sense of life and happiness and passion at the Basillica that really brought the church to life. And the rich history was also an enjoyable aspect and the fact that every detail of the church had significance and meaning. My only complaint would be that the intensity of the designs and color was almost too much and too overwhelming.

Then we stopped at the monastary on the way back to Dubuque, and I really enjoyed the design of the buildings at the monastary. The simple and classic brick walls and the beautifully simple windows made for a really impressive design. I really enjoyed our tour leader and he really explained the way of life for the monks well. It showed me exactly how dedicated those men (and women at the nunnery) are to a life of prayer and a life of love for God.

The most obvious difference as I mentioned was both the design and the basic philosophy of the two places we visited today. The Basillica had an almost "the more the better" way of looking at the worship place, and the monastary had a "less is more" philosophy. However, even though they're ideas of design of the worship place is different, they shared one thing in common, their love and devotion for a life of prayer and love fo God.

If I were to explain these facilities of God to those who have never heard of such a religion before would be to try to be as simple as possible in explaining all of the aspects of the spaces. Such as in explaining things like the Tabernacle and the Crucifix realize that people (such as myself) did not grow up with these items being common terms used in the services, rather that they are unknown and very mysterious. I would focus on the rich history in the Basillica because history is something everyone can identify with and appreciate.