Different Types of Worship

Born and raised as a Buddhist under the strict influence of my grandparents, I never had the opportunity to be able to attend any type of religious mass besides that of Buddhism. Not being the most faithful or knowledgeable Buddhist there is, I still hold faith in the little teachings and wisdom that I hold knowledge of. Used to the ways of temple instead of a church, I was hesitant to join any type of other religious mass, but this assignment, as well as my curiosity got the best of me.

Not knowing what laid in wait for me, I attended my first Catholic church for the first time. Saint Anthony, located in East Oakland, was home to hundreds of Catholic Vietnamese who found that Catholicism suited their religious needs. Being a Chinese Buddhist, I was not so sure if this new experience would be so beneficial or welcoming to me, but all my expectations were defied. Regardless of my race or religion, the people at the church welcomed me in and were excited to know that it was my first time attending church there and did their best to make me feel comfortable.

Being completely honest, I was late for the sermon and attended only half of what had happened, but the things I saw and felt were enough to give me a clear perspective on this new relegion that I was seeing. Seeing rows upon rows of people giving their undivided attention to the pastor while he delivered his sermon reminded me of the similarities between Buddhist worship and Catholic worship. In a Buddhist temple, one must always give his utmost attention to the monk while the sermon, for any type of noise during the worship is frowned upon and considered taboo. Another similarity I noticed was the morals that the religion impressed upon, the improvement of morals and the positive acts that decides a person's afterlife. In Buddhist religion, the main point is to follow a set of morals, to ignore personal gain and desire to better improve one's self, so as to achieve a better afterlife, until the point of enlightment, which many people compare to nirvana. Catholicism, to me, is essentially the same, to improve one's morals and do positive acts that would help them in their afterlife, to hold faith in God and the love he grants them.

The atmosphere in both of these worships varied greatly. In the Catholic worship, I observed a number of people talking back and forth to each other during the sermon, commenting on things not relevant to the sermon, and even people getting up from their seat to go outside for a break. In a Buddhist worship, such things would not be allowed and would be completely untolerable, as attention and respect during a worship is a sign of faith and good will. The interior of the church also was lavish and grand, with many decorations and designs forming pictures or indentations of holy scenes. There was no corner of the building that was empty, with objects being everywhere to fill up the building. A Buddhist temple would be modest and bare, only supplying the essentials that people need to complete their needs of worship, such as worship statues, a table for burning incense, or chairs and cushions for people to sit upon during the sermon.

As a newcomer to the Catholic experience, my opinion of it is one of good faith, but the difference between it and Buddhism are too great for me to be comfortable with it. The teachings and morals are of the same standard, but the chance of me embracing it are slim to none. But overall, it was a pleasing and knowledgeable experience.