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波特谷學生向佛教徒學習
PV Students Learn from Buddhists

原載〈瑜伽日報〉2006月19日星期一,作者史提芬尼‧畢爾登女士,波特谷高中英語教師
Article from Ukiah Daily Journal, Monday, June 19, 2000, By Stephanie Bearden, English Teacher, Potter Valley High School
朱建和 中譯 Chinese translation by John Chu

我們希望向萬佛城的人表達感恩之意,感謝萬佛城給我們這個美好的經驗。

我跟我的學生們在波特谷高中十年級之世界文學課程,閱讀了有關「悉達多」之文章,接著我們很榮幸受邀請參訪萬佛城,並參加今年浴佛節之各項活動,這是我們第三次參訪萬佛城,我每年都學到一些新東西,但每次總是有相同的感受——平安、如意。以下是我的學生們對於此行之感受:

凱約‧馮非特同學表示:「我們參加了浴佛,大家以某種方式禮拜,並浴佛三次。人們認為當佛出生時,有龍下雨來浴佛。我學到當我們浴佛,同時也象徵清淨我們自己;我也很喜歡看那裡的孔雀。」

凱文‧艾里斯同學認為:「我覺得參加儀式、祈檮、禮拜、唱誦中文(或嘗試歌唱)實在很有意思。我學到一些有關佛教僧侶的日常生活方式——他們如何每天四點起床,參加許多不同的儀式,很有趣。」

福立敦‧郝松同學寫道:「和尚坐著睡覺哦!」

亞力生‧來恩同學說:「佛教的五戒與(基督教)十誡類似,很有意思。與我們的日常生活比較,他們的規矩較嚴格;學習不同的文化與生活方式是很有趣的。」

布來恩‧弗立斯同學表示:「我此行最喜歡的一部份是看佛像,並認識聖城內所有的佛像;與聖城的人比較,我覺得自己很重視物質享受。他們不像我那樣使用奢侈品,他們不浪費福報,我不願意過著像他們一樣的生活方式,但是我真心尊敬他們能過那樣的生活。」

南西‧納哈同學寫道:「我喜歡他們吃飯前的儀式,以及舉行儀式的地方,那裡的牆壁與天花板有一萬尊以上的佛像。我向那理的一位老師(和尚)學習他們的宗教與習俗。」

托立‧史雷德同警稅:「我喜歡聽僧侶如何獻身佛教,及最後如何決定成為僧侶。」

梅根‧美森同學認為:「我覺得我比以前更瞭解覺悟的意思。」

卡立‧布里斯同學表示:「此行最美好的一部份,是看到一群人建立共同的地方,並修持他們的宗教,這裏好像加州境內的一涸郡。我學到有關卍字的真正意素(永恆的、持續的和平),道是很有趣的。希特勒將卍字的方向逆轉,並扭曲它的意義。」

易北加‧溫特同學寫道:「我真喜歡寺廟內的佛龕,那裏有許多很莊嚴的佛像。佛殿四邊的畫像(四大天王)很好看,很細微,這是聖城的學生幫忙畫的。」

丹‧莫弗同學說:「萬佛城是一個讓人覺得溫暖的地方,氣氛很好,每個人都封我們微笑,即使我們是陌生人。」

麥亞‧阿金森同學認為:「佛教徒藉著傅統與習俗而團結在一起,成為受尊敬與和平的社區,這點很令我著迷。」

在萬佛城所見、所聞、所嗅到、品嘗到、感受到的是不同的文化,這真是奇妙的經驗。感謝恆順師、親龍師、果參、若慧,與所有聖城的人抽出時間與精神,熱誠歡迎我們。特別感謝廚房工作人員,每天為大眾準備別緻可口的飲食。

We would like to show publicly, our appreciation and thanks to the people of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas for the wonderful experi­ence they gave us.

In conjunction with reading "Siddhartha" in our 10th grade World Literature class at Potter Valley High, my students and I were blessed with an invitation to visit the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, where we were allowed to join in on the festivities surrounding Buddha's birthday. This is the third time I have been able to take this trip with students, and every year I learn something new, but always, I feel the same way when I get there-at peace, contented. Here are some of my students' impressions of this trip:

"We got to participate in the bathing of the Buddha. You bow a certain way and bathe him three times. It was thought that when he was born, the dragons brought the rain to cleanse him. I learned that when we cleanse the Buddha, we are also symbolically cleansing ourselves. I also enjoyed looking at the peacocks."

—KyleVonfeldt

"I thought that participating in the ceremonies, the prayers, the bowing and singing (or trying to sing) in Chinese was really interesting. I learned a little about Buddhist monks' Way of every day life-how they wake up at 4 a.m., the different ceremonies they participate in on a daily basis. It was really interesting."

—Kevin Ellis

"It is interesting how the five precepts that Buddhist take are similar to the 10 Commandments. Their rules are kind of strict compared to what we do in our every day life. It was very interesting to learn about a different culture and way of life."

—Alison Ryan

"One of my favorite parts of the trip was looking at and learning about all of the statues at the City. I left feeling very materialistic because they don't live with all the luxuries that I do. They never abuse their blessings. I wouldn't like to live the way they do, but I really respect them because they can live that way."

—Brianne Ferris

"I liked the ceremony they do before they eat and how the place where the ceremony was done had more than 10,000 Buddhas in the wall and ceiling. I learned more about their religion and customs from one of the teachers (monks) there."

—NancyNaja

"I enjoyed hearing how the monks became involved in Buddhism, and how they eventually decided to become monks."

—Tori Schraeder

"I think I understand what Enlightenment is, well, better than I did before."

—Megan Mason

"The best part about the trip was to see how a small community of people had come together to make this place and practice their religion. It's almost like a small county inside California. It was also really inter­esting to learn about what the swastika really stands for (infinity, lasting peace). Hitler turned it backwards and twisted its meaning."

—Carrie Breese

"I really liked the altar in the Temple. It was full of beautifully decorated statues. The paintings on the four corners (the Four Kings) were really neat too. They had such detail and the students at the school helped paint them!"

—Rebecca Winter

"The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas was a really warm place. Every­one had a smile for us even though we were strangers. It had good vibes!"

—Dan Morford

"I was fascinated by the traditions and customs which bring the Bud­dhists together as a reverent and peaceful community."

—Maia Atkinson

Seeing, listening, tasting. Smelling and feeling it-being there-what a wonderful way to experience a different culture. Thank you Terry, Josie, Heng Shun, Chin Lung and all the others at the City for welcoming us so warmly and sharing your time and energy. Special thanks to the Head Chef who made the community's daily meal an extra special one.

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