Visiting the Great Stupa was such an amazing experience. I learnt so much and was able to really connect and emerge myself in the cultures. The tour showed us around the gardens and taught us about the meanings of certain statutes and their history. For example, I saw the swastika during the tour and my mind immediately went to how it was the Nazi symbol, however, the tour guide explained that this symbol is actually a Buddhist symbol representing good fortune and good luck.
The whole reason for going to the great Stupa was to learn about interfaith. Naturally, that means that not just Buddhism was represented there, but also Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and so much more. Our tour guide said, "The point of any faith is to help you become the best version of yourself that you can possibly be" and I thought that this encompassed the meaning of interfaith so well. I believe that we can all learn a lot from every religion and that each has its own truth.
Going to this magical place really showed me just how true this is and that it is possible to understand and respect everyone's beliefs. You can’t be afraid of something that you understand, and I don’t think a lot of us do truly understand other's beliefs are or bother to learn about them.
When we came up to the centre temple, I was overwhelmed by its size, we were told that it is just two meters shorter than the middle pyramid in Egypt, Khafre. Prayer wheels encircled the base of the temple, and each had a different meaning and purpose, we were encouraged to send our love to anyone who may need it at the moment, whether that be our family or people around the world.
After a group photo in front of the temple, we entered to find a giant room with 7 massive statues, each was pure jade, and each was filled with prayers written down and holy items inside. We had a short history lesson about the Buddhist religion and what their plan is for the temple. The plan goes over 100 years and aims to bring 100 Buddhist statues into it. They are currently in year 25 with 7 of these statues.
Once the small history lesson was finished, we had a meditation session for about 5 minutes. The whole room went silent as we were guided through the meditation, and for a year level that is usually hyper and loud, the silence was a pleasant surprise. We were then sent on a scavenger hunt around the temple, which taught us even more about each statue and their history.
The entire experience was very interactive and interesting. I honestly wish we were there for longer, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to stay as long as we did and to learn about so many different faiths.