The Yoshinji Buddhist Temple*
Walking into the temple, I was overwhelmed, not only with the sights of what appeared to be gold, but with the kindness of whoever seemed to be a priest of sorts. Our purpose there was to perform “Zazen,” or meditation, and though at first I thought this might be a little odd with so many people, I grew to enjoy the overall experience. Physically, my time spent there resulted in terrible leg pains (from sitting in the “lotus” or half-lotus position) and a few awkward moments, but mentally, the experience helped me relax and feel more at peace. Another thing I appreciated as how connected to another culture it made me feel. Even though our meditation was shortened by hours, I felt very thankful to the man leading the Zazen, as he took time out of his long day to show us something I feel many in our group will forget. I, however, will never forget the Yoshinji Buddhist Temple.
– Dylan Robinson, 17, Brunswick
* The Yoshinji Buddhist Temple is the location of the grave of 2 of the sailors that died in the Cheseborough shipwreck. We were here to pay homage to them, as well as to learn the Zazen meditation and about Buddhism in general…