why you should visit a buddhist temple at least once in your life

A year ago marked my fifth year living in London, and it was killing me. The mundanity of life in the city with its endless stream of grey people with grey lives always rushing to be somewhere, was really getting to me. Considering I'm from Wales (think beaches, cute lil communities, mountain views, lots and lots of cake), the big sights of London really started to grate after a while. And so, I decided to set out to explore the more hidden parts of the city, that would be devoid of both tourists and mundane businessmen with little black briefcases. This is when I found the Buddhapadipa temple.

I've never been a particularly religious person, but have always been interested in it. I've spent time in synagogues, Hindu temples, churches, and even mosques, but none of them posed religions that I was ready to devote my life to. However, when I was craving something new a year ago, I found out that there was actually a Buddhist temple maybe an hour away from where I lived. I thought the religion was interesting, the culture was interesting, and thus, I soon visited Buddhapadipa with a friend, and completely fell in love with it. I've gone every couple weeks since. And so, this is why I think everyone should experience life at a Buddhist temple at least once.

An opportunity to think about things

In busy everyday life, it's rare that we ever have a chance to truly think about things in our lives, as most of the time we keep ourselves occupied. And so, having the chance to really be mindful in such a serene environment has got to be healthy, as we all need time to process emotions and thoughts, but don't have enough time to do so. With things like meditation, you're able to sit with a monk or two and several other Buddhists and try to reach a state of mental clarity, which involves acknowledging thoughts, letting them pass, and move on. For example, I recently went through a pretty damn horrendous breakup, and by meditating in this incredible little temple, I was able to acknowledge the pain as it came, and try to heal from that. It's not a cure, but it's the first step to being able to process thoughts and ideas in a healthy manner.

To understand and experience another religion and culture 

I think that it's so important to learn about the lives of those around us, and so this is probably the most crucial thing I think you can get out of visiting a Buddhist temple. It's a great experience to be able to peek into an entirely new religion and the cultures that are so often associated with it, be it to take something away from that experience or to just have the option to educate yourself on a topic you may otherwise not have the chance to. You're able to ask the monks questions about the religion and learn directly from the people who are most involved with it - one example is when I sat down with one and we had a great discussion about why monks wear orange robes (a very important question to me a year ago).

A sense of community 

In big cities, it's hard to find a small community that you get to share experiences with regularly, and so whenever I get the chance to go to my local temple, it's a great feeling to be able to sit at the table in the monks' house and chat with everyone. I know that organised religion tends to bring people together, but with Buddhism its all a little less concrete, and so you can relate with everyone, whilst having the religion still lack a sense of utilitarianism. I went only a couple days ago with another friend, and she was so impressed with how everyone knew each other and was so interested to hear in the updates of each others lives - in a lot of places, you won't get that. It also offers a sense of structure and organisation, and when people go through hectic lives with things happening all over the place, this could turn out to be quite a reassuring thing.

They are insanely beautiful 

Whilst a lot of other religious buildings can also be stunning (namely the impressive marble crafted ceilings of many Hindu temples), I find that every Buddhist temple I've been to has been literally insane. Think hand painted murals inside, very Thai-esque exteriors, and gorgeous gardens, they have all been stunning. Especially as for me, finding something so completely immersive in beauty such as this, especially just off of a bustling main city, was a crazy concept. It's great to be able to wander through the grounds with the ponds and little bamboo filters and tiny Buddha figures, and then go inside this massive temple with brightly coloured paintings depicting different Pāli scenes.

A chance to unwind

Like I say, my favourite temple is just out of the centre of London, and so you go from this crazy busy city life to a very calm, peaceful atmosphere. After work or other daily stresses, I think it's important to have a chance to calm down and re-centre yourself before you continue, and so Buddhist temples are perfect for this. My favourite thing is being able to sit in the gardens in the sun as incense is burnt and teas are handed out, and then going inside the temple in order to meditate with the monks.

Everyone is amazing

This is a pretty broad statement, but from my personal experience, every single person I have met at a Buddhist temple has been so lovely, and so genuinely interested in the lives of others. Everyone is happy to be able to spend time with each other, and it's such a beautiful thing to experience. It's so easy to turn up to my local temple and immediately feel at home, regardless of whether it's your first time or you five-hundredth time. I've never met more welcoming people.

Free food

I'm sure there was a much better way of wording this point, but it's a massive plus of Buddhist temples - they have an abundance of free food and drinks. Because Buddhism is a religion where everyone tries to give as much as they can, it becomes evident in the places that people will congregate. And so, every time I turn up at my local temple I'm able to sit with everyone and drink some green tea (or coffee, or hot coco), and eat some of the wonderful food that is prepared. Of course, it's always a good idea to give something back to the monks that run the establishment, but for the most part, they won't expect anything in return. Again, that is such a contrast from London life, to be able to walk into a place and be handed many free things, and that generosity is a major thing that I adore about Buddhist temples.

Many festivals 

This draws into the whole sense of a community idea, but within Buddhism there are a lot of celebrations, which means that everyone can go to the temple and celebrate festivals and other festivities together. I have been to several of these, and whilst I'm one of the only white people (most people are Thai and come with a group of family), everyone is so accommodating that I feel as if I'd been raised with the same people in the same culture. There's singing and food and so much conversation that it's really hard not to fall in love with the place. I've even been featured on some weird Thai TV show because of a film crew that turned up to one of the events. It's honestly super great.

The first time I went to my local temple, I was amazed by how generous and lovely the people were, and how breathtaking the temple was. For someone who always craves adventure, this has also turned out to be a sure way to temporarily cure fernweh, and it stops me hating the fact I'm not our exploring another country when I'm unable to. With Buddhism, it's all about finding the middle of two opposites, such as good and bad, confidence and uncertainty, with the ultimate goal being happiness. When you're completely happy and content you won't desire anything extra. As one of my Buddhist teachers said, we should "all focus on the present, as you're never in the past nor future. Love, forgive, be mindful". Whilst I don't think I'll ever find myself fully converted by a religion, I can't think of any better place to be given such advice.

Let me know what you guys think!