The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, January 28, 2016 — 3B

RUBY WALLAU/Daily

The Ann Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple offers placid sanctuary to “everyone nice.”

Ann Arbor Buddhist 

Temple a haven of 

calm energy. 

By MADELEINE GAUDIN 

Daily Arts Writer

Nestled between a defunct bike 

shop and a vacuum store, the Ann 
Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple is 
easy to notice and just as easy to 
miss. The bright yellow Victorian 
and the adjacent brick building 
don’t scream “temple.” But once 
on the other side of the stone wall, 
the pair of buildings, connected 
by a small garden, feel very much 
like a sacred space. There’s a 
tremendous calm energy hanging 
in the air. The street noise, though 
minimal on a Sunday morning, all 
but disappears.

Once inside the temple, the 

calmness I felt in the courtyard 
is intensified exponentially. After 
passing 
through 
an 
entrance 

room, I walk into the main temple 
room in silence. It’s packed. Most 
of the mats are taken already, but 
I find one in the back and sit down. 
Trying to meditate is really hard, 
and I guess the whole trying part 
defeats the purpose of meditation. 
At first, I find it difficult to keep 
my eyes closed. Something in 
my brain keeps flicking my eyes 
open nervously. When my eyes 
are closed I can’t help worrying 
that I’m doing this wrong. Is there 
something I should be thinking 
about? And then, nothing changes 
except it gets easier — I think about 
less. Mostly, I don’t think about 
trying to keep my eyes closed.

Then, a bell rings and we begin 

chanting a prayer that’s easy to 
pick up. While we’re chanting, the 
children who attend a kid’s service 
in the yellow house next door file 
in wearing animal masks. They 
perform a play about Buddha’s 
enlightenment that’s endearing 
and extremely informative.

Haju 
Sunim, 
the 
resident 

priest of the temple (known 
to the temple community by 
her first name, Haju), said a 
few words about meditation, 
mindfulness and strengthening 
our practices. Incredibly poised 
and gentle, Haju is the spiritual 
and community leader of the 
Ann Arbor temple. One of her 
congregants described her as “the 
North Star” of their temple. She 
greets everyone as they exit with 
a bow and introduces herself to 
any new attendees.

In a conversation later that day, 

Haju described her congregation 
as 
“an 
increasingly 
diverse 

community of people from all 
walks of life … an increasingly 
supportive community of people 
who help each other.” It is 
also an incredibly welcoming 
community. At the service I 
attended, many, like myself, were 
at the temple for the first time; a 
few were even rookie meditators 
too. But after the service, lifetime 
members and newbies conversed 
about mindfulness, meditation 
and 
the 
upcoming 
women’s 

basketball game.

The 
temple 
also 
offers 

services outside Sunday services 
like the one I attended. Haju said 
the temple “offers means for 
people to go through the various 

aspects of the life cycle, you 
know, in a spiritual way.”

They “conduct baby blessings, 

have 
marriage 
ceremonies, 

divorce ceremonies even, and 
house 
blessings 
and 
funerals 

and memorial services” to give 
members of the community means 
of 
commemorating 
spiritually 

each milestone in their lives.

The entire temple community 

has a strong focus on activism and 
community service.

“We also try to do services 

in the community so we work 
in the prisons and we help with 
hunger relief, and we do some 
fundraisers,” Haju said.

Next door, I attend a meeting 

with members of the community 
who 
focus 
on 
environmental 

consciousness. They practice a sort 
of sacred activism: activism driven 
by the teachings of mindfulness. 
The group attends conferences, 
participates in marches and goes 
on meditation retreats. In the 
meeting I attended, they discussed 
opening these retreats for non-
Buddhist member of the Ann 
Arbor community who share their 
passion for conservation.

“We do interfaith work, too 

… we try to have meetings with 
people from other religions,” Haju 
said. “We don’t think Buddhism is 
the only religion on the planet or 
the most worthy.”

Involvement in the greater Ann 

Arbor community is central to 
the temple. Practice extends far 
beyond the services.

“We say everyday life is the way; 

the way of the Buddha is everyday 
life; everyday life is the way of the 
Buddha,” Haju said. Members of 
the community agreed, saying 
their practice was “not always 
conscious.” Dog walks and grocery 
store visits alike serve as everyday 
reminders of mindfulness.

At lunch, I discuss the impact of 

the temple outside the stone walls 
with Haju and some of the temple’s 
congregants as residents. The 
great consensus is that it’s hard to 
tell the difference between their 
practice at Sunday services and in 
their daily lives.

“It’s not about being here or not 

being here,” one member said.

Others commented on the 

joy that comes with having a 
community that you can both 
take from and give to. The 
temple clearly has a strong, often 
subconscious impact in the daily 
lives of its members. In their 
jobs, classes and social lives, 
the members said “mindfulness 
follows you everywhere.”

“This is not about some kind 

of monastery that has nothing 
to do with the secular world,” 
Haju said, in reference to the 
temple’s reach within the greater 
Ann Arbor community. “It’s 
about helping people so they 
can contribute wholesomely and 
ethically and artistically … to 
community and society.”

As much as the temple helps 

its members in their lives, it 
helps them equally in their 
deaths. Death is embraced as an 
important and necessary event in 
the lifecycle.

“We do not keep death under 

cover,” Haju said. “We try to be 
really open. It’s the nature of our 
existence; there isn’t anybody 
that doesn’t die. So if we embrace 

that we die it means we have to 
embrace that we’re living, that 
we’re alive, because it makes our 
lives so precious and important 
while we have them.”

That 
acceptance 
of 
death 

can be extremely painful and 
difficult and Haju acknowledges 
that. “It feels like, ‘What can we 
do?’ ” she said.

“So, during the time before 

that they die, we just do all 
the basic things — take them 
soup and take them to hospital 
appointments and do whatever 
needs to be done,” she continued. 
“And, then talk about this end 
of life that they are approaching 
and what they what to be done 
and how they want things to be.

“Usually it’s very calming for 

the mind and so there’s a sense 
of being able to relax with the 
journey.”

They aren’t afraid to “talk 

about this end of life that they 
are approaching” because honest 
conversation can sometimes be 
more 
comforting 
than 
warm 

soup or casseroles. “Usually (this 
conversation) is very calming for 
the mind and so there’s a sense 
of being able to relax with the 
journey,” Haju said.

For those left behind in the wake 

of a death, the temple does offer 
funeral and memorial services. 
It usually includes a photo of the 
deceased on the altar surrounded 
by small items of importance to the 
person; the community meditates 
and chants to help the deceased 
with 
their 
journey. 
Services 

continue in this manner for 49 
days after their death.

“In Buddhism, we say it takes 

49 days for the essence of a person 
to find its next rightful place in the 
universe,” Haju said. Services on 
the 49th day are commemorated 
as being the day the person’s spirit 
finds a new home in the universe.

These memorial services extend 

to the four-legged members of the 
temple community as well.

“Dogs have died and people 

of course love their animals,” 
Haju said.

Because, no matter what, 

death is a really difficult and for 
many people a spiritual practice 
can help with accepting death. 
Especially when that spiritual 
practice is contained within a 
community like that of the Ann 
Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple. 
When the temple has these 
services for the sick, dying or 
deceased they are really, as Haju 
puts it, “sending compassion, 
sending strength and courage” to 
the living left behind.

The community of the Zen 

Buddhist temple manages to be 
extremely tight-knit and at the 
same time open, so new and old 
members alike feel comfortable to 
practice side by side. As

“The public is welcome to 

the temple on Sundays, and we 
certainly invite people who are 
interested or curious to come 
along,” Haju said. “And we’ll be 
happy to have them experience the 
service as well as answer questions 
and all of that.”

The 
Ann 
Arbor 
Buddhist 

Temple, no matter where you come 
from, takes you into its arms and 
lets you, even if only for a morning, 
experience the power of a purely 
accepting community.

Community and 
meditation in A2

‘Star Wars Episode II: 
Attack of the Clones’ 

in this series, three daily arts writers in 

varying states of mind do the same activity 

and write about their experiences.

baked.buzzed.bored.

this week’s event:

When the hell is the Pizzzza coming? For fuck’s sake. This movie sucks so bad. I can’t stop laughing. 

Y’all fuckin look like PS2. Look at this green screen. John Williams must be rolling in his grave. “He’s 
dead” says matt. I literally cant believe how much of a Blade Runner ripoff this goddamn movie in. But it’s 
not even as good. This just shows how great the force awakens really is. Literally nothing interesting has 
happened in this movie and it’s bad.

20 minutes into Netflix and chill and Padme says “please don’t look at me like that.” (ACTUAL 

LINE FROM THIS MOVIE ISN’T IT FUCKING ROMANTIC)

I would so much rather be watching the red letter media review than this. The 

pizza got here, and it was literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me. 

I’m so full but I just want to eat more of it. Can we talk about how 

great food is?

“A kiss that you should never have given me…” 

this movie sucks so bad. I’m actually appalled, 

insulted even.

“Duel of the fates” started 
playing. This is the best part of 

the prequels. The only other things 

I liked in this movie so far were the obi-

wan vs. djanfo unchained fight and the noise 

the seismic chargers made. Everything else sucks.

Watto 
is 
definitely 
a 
jewish 
gstereotype. 

HEEEEEEEEYYYY ANNNNIIIIIEEEEEEE YOU GIVE ME 

SHEKELSSSSS ( EDITORS LINK TO “IF I WERE A RICH MAN 

FROM THE GREAT FILM FIDDLETR ON THE ROOF)

There’s this sequence where Anakin raids the Tuscan raiders camp and it’s 

stolen completely from The Searchers (John Ford, who cares?) shot and all. George 

lucas is such a remix xulture.

“Stay with me mom” no I want to die rather than talk to you more you little shit

Meesa no like this movie. Meesa want to die.

—DAILY ARTS WRITER

I actually haven’t seen this movie in a long time, now I’m 

reminded why. As we sit down to watch the film, tensions 

are already high as I watch the first few minutes of the 

movie through smoke — unfortunately it didn’t block 

the screen. Baked just started to fight me over 

something (I think over how shitty Yoda looks). 
He knocks over the chair I’m sitting in and I pin 
him to the ground. Needless to say I won and 
our fight choreography is better than most of 
this movie’s.

 
I honestly forgot how boring this whole 

assassination plot was. “I mean, a plan that 
involves phallic death worms, an assassin lizard 
woman and a speeder chase can’t be that boring,” 

I think to myself as the cold, hard reality sets in. 

And all of a sudden we’re dividing our main cast (for 

how good of friends Anakin and Obi-Wan are supposed 

to be, they sure don’t spend a lot of screentime together). 

Also, why are we giving responsibility to Jar Jar Binks? That’s a 

worse move than electing Donald Trump — or maybe Jar Jar is more like Sarah Palin with their unin-
telligible dialect. Thankfully the pizza has come to give us relief, thank the midichlorians!

Now we get to watch the cringe-inducing awkwardness of Anakin and Padme’s “romance.” Buzzed 

is starting to drink whenever Anakin stares creepily at Padme, and I lament for his poor liver. We get 
the iconic, “I hate sand” double entendre (poor Hayden Christensen, Daniel Day Lewis couldn’t make 
that line work). Buzzed chugged his drink for the duration of that first kiss (note: that was hard liquor). 
Now Anakin’s talking about dreaming about her every night, and I think Natalie Portman (who is gor-
geous in this movie) is genuinely uncomfortable. If anyone is in need of relationship remix, it’s Anakin 
Skywalker — no means no, buddy. Oh well, nothing a little testicle cow riding can’t fix.

As much as I rip on this movie, the sound design for the seismic charge is a work of goddamn genius. 

Unfortunately the rest of the dogfight between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett is ruined by Boba Fett provid-
ing commentary over the whole thing. Baked has decided to go to bed after Anakin’s nice little geno-
cide — Padme seems way too OK with this.

Let’s just get this over with. This movie is bad. It’s an overly complicated mess of weird names and 

characters we never see, the dialogue is painful and hardly any of the special effects hold up (Yoda is 
particularly bad). It’s like the filmmakers took Phantom Menace as a template, asked “What did we 
do wrong?” kept those things and ruined anything that worked. Somehow, against all odds, they were 
able to make a battle featuring like 100 Jedi boring and the final duels with Count Dooku (R.I.P. Chris-
topher Lee) are even worse. Just watch the two “Clone Wars” animated series that aired on Cartoon 
Network, somehow these cartoons are more mature and realistic than this green screen mess.

—MATTHEW BARNAUSKAS

Yoda’s CG brown eyes still can’t sparkle with the sexual lustre 

of Natalie Portman’s lip gloss. WAIT, Anakin has a RAT-TAIL? 
Buns have never been hotter. Why does no one talk about how 
sexy Obi-Wan is? God, I want to cut Jar Jar into sushi and eat him 
with sriracha. This plan is so convoluted. Gratuitously sexual 
assassin. Unnecessarily complex assassination plot. Say what you 
want about hayden Christensen, the speeder scene is still dope 
to the nines. Anakin’s enunciation is too goddamn good. Light-
saber used as pickaxe You’d think the Force would allow you to 
maneuver through a crowd withoutr looking like a sexually con-
flicted goofball. Deathsticks scene: don’t do drugs, kids. Even the 
moments of inspiration in this film are dopey. It’s trying to rip off 
bladerunner but it’s joggin’ and trippin’. CG cheeks jiggle weirdly. 
Are the women’s hair INTENTIONALLY stupid? Every time 
Padme’s hair comes onscreen I feel like it should be announced by 
the John Cena theme. “Please don’t look at me like that” — Padme, 
to Anakin. No Netflix, no chill. If that kiss weren’t in the script, it 
never would have happened. That come-hither look was game-
less. Anakin Skywalker is a masterclass in how NOT TO act when 
you have absurd power as a young white cis jedi male. Chubby 
loser nerd padawan answers important question. Wipe transi-
tions are the grape drank of cinema. Anakin is a White Knight 
Nice Guy. He just said Milady, for crying out loud! Don’t play that 
game Ani. You only want to tap that. I don’t like sand either Ana-
kin. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the … sand.” Romance 
scene in field. Is this a rom-com? Because go fuck yourselves. 

You’re trying too hard. Seismic charge — the reapers noise in Mass Effect. Boba fett is Aussie? Okay, the 
emotional shenanigans with respect to Anican’s mom’s death — key!

wHERE ARE WE? WHAT’S GOING ON NOW? MY AMERICAN ATTENTION SPAN CAN’T TOL-

ERATE THIS LACK OF ACTION.

—NOAH COHEN

COVER STORY