With Experience Comes Knowledge

Over the last few months while I have been at school, I was able to visit some of the different religious and spiritual groups on campus. Of course, I was only able to visit four of the groups, but each one gave me an interesting experience.

I visited the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, which is the UU meeting house just off-campus. Here, I learned about the merger of the two separate religions. Even though I am a Unitarian Universalist, I did not know about this until that day. Since then, I have joined MUUSE (Massachusetts Unitarian Universalists for Spiritual Evolution), the UU group on campus. Although I am sure any one of the members would have been willing to be interviewed for my blog, I wanted my posts to represent as many different groups as possible, as few of a number as that turned out to be. The UUSA meets every Sunday at 10am at the meeting house (121 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002). This semester, MUUSE meets every Wednesday at 8 in the Campus Center. However, next semester the group will meet at that time on Thursday.

I was able to observe the Muslim Student Association. Here, I was able to listen to the stories of prejudice and how the members planned to overcome it by educating the UMass community about Islam. I was able to talk to a lot of the members and hear the different backgrounds, including members that are here from Pakistan and Malaysia. It was interesting to hear about the religion from the inside, rather than just the biased stories heard from outside. The MSA meets Tuesdays at 8pm in teh Campus Center.

When I observed the Soka Buddhist Club, I was able to hear the different experiences that brought out the members' real beliefs of Buddhism and who they were. It was interesting to hear how each of the members got into Buddhism and how they practiced it in situations in their everyday life. The Soka Buddhist Club meets every Wednesday at 7pm in Herter 301.

Not only was I able to observe Spirals, but I was able to participate in the energy workshop. I know that many people do not believe that this could actually work. I used to be one of them. However, I do believe that energy can be controlled if you know what you are doing. I cannot really describe how it felt, but I was definitely able to fully participate. Although I am not shy when it comes to experiencing new ideas and beliefs, I never would have guessed that I would have come away from the meeting with the experience that I did. Spirals meets on Thursdays at 6:30 in the Campus Center.

Each meeting that I went to was unique. Each religion or spiritual gathering was different, but the one thing that could be said of all of the groups was that the members were passionate about their beliefs. Each group gave me something to think about, and each group intrigued me in different ways. The experiences that I have gained from visiting these groups will stay with me forever. Thank you to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, MUUSE, Muslim Student Association, Soka Buddhist Club, and Student Pagans Integrating Religion and Life Spiritually for allowing me to take part in or observe the groups.

Spirals (Student Pagans Integrating Religion and Life Spiritually)

Many things come to mind when you hear the word "Pagan." While some hear the word and think something negative, those in the University of Massachusetts Amherst Spirals (Student Pagans Integrating Religion and Live Spiratually) group come together to find others with similar beliefs and ideals.

Sara Lovetti, a member of Spirals, writes the group's blog.

"The word 'Pagan' is an umbrella term to describe anyone who worships a polytheistic or earth-based religion," wrote Lovetti.

According to Campus Pulse, the mission of Spirals "includes building a community for UMass undergraduate Pagans and anyone else who wants to learn about paganism and related subjects. We also act as a resource, referral, information, and networking center with the Pioneer Valley collegiate, Pagan communities, and beyond. This organization shall work to educate students and the community about Paganism and other spiritual and religious beliefs."

James Potter, who was elected president of the group, has considered himself a Pagan for about a year and a half.

"I always had the beliefs, but they weren't completely hashed out," said Potter. "I discovered Spirals when I came to college, and I found people with the same beliefs."

Potter's favorite parts of the group are the bigger rituals: Samhain, the basis of Halloween, and Imbolg, the basis of Candlemass. These are two of the eight major Pagan holidays.

The group meets every Thursday from 6:30-9 pm in the Campus Center, and the room may vary. For more information, you can visit the group's blog, which is updated after each meeting.

Soka Buddhist Club

Up until last April, Saera Hanlon was the only member of what was then called the Buddhist Philosophy Association. During her Anthropology class last year, she became friends with Katie Gartner, and she convinced her to join. Now, there are more members, and the group meets once a week on Thursday nights.

According to Gartner, people who have practiced Buddhism for they whole life are usually "fortune babies"; people who are born to two parents that practice Buddhism.

"People who have practiced Buddhism their whole life are lucky," said Gartner, who has only practiced since last March.

At the October 28th meeting, five of the group's members met to discuss "What is Buddahood?"

The meeting opened with the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is the name of the fundamental law of life and the universe expounded in Nichiren Buddhism. While chanting this, the members of the group faced the Gohonzon, which is the object of devotion and the embodiment of the law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This rhythmic chanting means Nam: (devotion) the action of practicing Buddhism; myoho: (Mystic Law) the essential law of life and its phenomenal manifestations; renge: (lotus) the simultaneity of cause and effect; kyo: (sutra) the truth expressed through the sound of one's voice.

After this opening, Holly Miller, a member that has been practicing Buddhism for three years, did an introduction to Buddhism, explaining that the Soka Buddhist Club belongs to an international group called Soka Gakkai International. The form of Buddhism this group practices is called Nichiren, based on the early teachings of the fifteenth century Japanese monk Nichiren Daishonin.

Once Miller finished her introduction, Hanlon, who is the vice president of the group, led the discussion about "Buddahood", reading passages from different books and asking the group when they thought they have felt their own Buddahood.

Alicia Raymond, a member that has been practicing Buddhism for seven years, believes people find their Buddahood when they handle something better than they thought they would.

Gartner, the president of the Soka Buddhist club, and Miller both believe that it is always possible for something to work out.

"I think if you put enough work into something," said Garner, "it will work out."

"I think in the end everything really does work out," said Miller. "No matter what it is."

After the discussion, the meeting concluded with the another chant of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

For more information, go to the Soka Buddhist Club's page on Campus Pulse. Also, you can visit the Soka Gokkai International or the Soka Gokkai Internation- USA.

All of the definitions in this post are from The Liturgy of Nichiren Buddhism that I received from the Soka Buddhist Club.

Muslim Student Association Looks to Expand

Muslim Student Association Vice President Abdullah Majidi and President Salman Khanani led the MSA General Body Meeting last night through ways of expanding the group and educating people that are ignorant of the Islam religion.

As Majidi opens the MSA General Body Meeting, he says, "Bismillah," which is Arabic for "In the Name of Allah." From there, he and President Salman Khanani introduce to the group the idea of creating committees for Community Service and Islamic Education.

"[We, as Muslims need] to engage and educate Muslims and non-Muslims," said Majidi when talking about Islamic Education as a way to get rid of the negative stereotypes about Muslims.

As for Community Service, the group is already working with other groups on campus to raise money for the Pakistani Flood Relief. In the past, the MSA has held events such as Hoops for Haiti, a basketball tournament that raised money to help after the earthquake that devasted Haiti last year.

Ahmend Zakaria, a Pakistani man studying at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is happy to be helping his country with a group that helped him to transition to this new culture.

"When I first came here, I lived in Southwest, and it was a culture shock," said Zakaria. "[I was introduced to the MSA when] I met a Muslim R.A. at my cluster office, and he spoke to me in Urdu [the national language of Pakistan]. It was nice to speak to someone in Urdu in America because I never did."

One of the reasons that Rahmah Mohamad Pauzi, a transfer student from Malaysia, chose UMass Amherst when looking at schools is because of the MSA.

"I looked to see how strong the MSA organization before I even came to America," said Pauzi, "because I knew I would need to have a strong Muslim support."

Karima Allam, a senior at the university, had already experienced the MSA as a sophomore in high school through older friends.

"I went to Ed dinners," said Allam. "I met the people, and they were amazing so when I was applying to college, I made sure to apply here."

Noman Khanani, the events coordinator of the MSA, says that transitioning into the MSA when beginning college was easy.

"I knew a lot of people in the MSA," said Khanani. "I came to a lot of events and meetings and got to know the administration. Even though we are an organiztion, we are all friends. We all hang out together, and we all eat lunch and dinner together."

There are about 40-50 members in the MSA, but not all are actively involved. The boardmembers meet more often than the rest, but the new committees will meet every other week.

To get more information on the Muslim Student Association or to join, you can go to the Campus Pulse page on the group, or send an e-mail to umassmsa@gmail.com.

To end this blog post , I am going to say the same thing Majidi said to end the meeting: "Janakumullah Khair," Arabic for "May God Reward You All."

Unitarian Universalism

Last Sunday, October 3, 2010, Unitarian Universalists all over the nation celebrated 50 years of the merger between the Unitarians and the Universalists. I went to the service of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, a UU Meeting House on North Pleasant Street in Amherst Center.

Picture of the UUSA courtesy of the UUSA website.

According to the Unitarian Universalist Association website, Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1960 when 70% of the nation's Unitarian Societies and Universalist Societies soundly approved the merger.

This is a picture of the stain glass window inside Unitarian Meeting House in Amherst, MA. Photo courtesy of Google Images.

50 years later, Unitarian Universalists still have many of the same ideas and values. Whenever I am asked what Unitarian Universalism is, I say that it is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, rather than worshipping Jesus Christ or some form of God.

Photo from the inside of the UU Meeting House in Amherst, MA. Photo courtesy of the UUSA's website.

The Rev. Alison Wohler, of the UU Society of Amherst, said "I often refer to Unitarian Universalism as 'the institutionalization of religious freedom.' It's a powerful idea that for so many centuries was impossible."

This is the major symbol of Unitarian Universalism, the flaming chalice. Courtesy of the UUSA's website.

"I particularly love the ability to doubt and question and explore ideas that Unitarian Universalism not only allows, but provides," said Reverend Wohler. "I also love the fact that UU provides the opportunity to be ''religious' in a different way- that we can have faith without specific beliefs. (Faith [as] in the sense of knowing we are held and known in the universe, not faith in a supernatural deity.)"

50 years ago, the Unitarians and the Universalists merged to make the religion known today as Unitarian Universalism. The religion is practiced all over the nation, and all over the world. For more information, visit the Unitarian Universalism Association's website (http://www.uua.org/).

Hi, my name is Chelsea Burke. I am a freshman at UMass Amherst, studying journalism. For my journalism class, one of my assignments is to create a blog about something having to do with the University. Since I am a Unitarian Universalist, I know there is a UU Meeting House on campus. This made me interested to see what other different forms of religion are practiced on the campus, so I decided to use this blog to explore them.
After looking at the different organizations through umassamherst.collegiatelink.com, I found that there are 16 registered student organizations in the religious and spiritual category. Although I doubt I will be able to get to visit all 16, I plan to visit as many as possible and write about them here.