Day 3 – Saturday
Temple Ohabei Shalom, Talk with Cantor Silverman,
10am service
Lunch – Coolidge Corner
Fo Guang Buddhist Temple and met with the Buddhist nun The Venerable Miaoxi
Dinner in Harvard Square
Society of Saint John the Evangelist, talk with Brothers Jack and Jamie
Compline at Society of Saint John the Evangelist
The deepest meditation was at The Forest Monastery, but I was so deep in my breath and feeling in Fo Guang that I lost sense in my hands. They did not fall asleep. They just felt so deeply calm and frozen. After my deep meditation, the taste of tea hitting my lips had a million different flavors… all my energy from my frozen body moved to my lips. -Sebastian
With all of these different religious places, each one, instead of making me lean into religion, it is making me feel like I want to be an atheist. -Luke
After the meditation at the buddhist temple, I felt so calm and at peace, and I was very overcome by that. I felt like a hand reached out and pulled me into this state… I was still aware of all the bad and how I tied my shoe too tight, but it wasn’t the one present thing in my mind. -Kennedy
At Temple Ohabei Shalom, it was so amazing to see someone my age share their wisdom and love for their community. -Esme
I am so glad I got to be part of a Bar Mitzvah. It was a new and exciting experience. It was crazy and inspiring to see someone literally grow up in front of my eyes. -Aurora
The nun [Venerable Miaoxi] was so passionate about her faith. She taught me that you can really shape your own belief to how you want it to be. She’s a Buddhist, but she believes in God. God in the form of us, God closer than our own breath. -Eleanor
I got a bracelet from this guy at a small stand… His faith really showed up in how he interacted with us. As we were talking, we told him we are on a school trip to learn about religion. He said he’s a Catholic and talked about that he believes that the most important thing to do is find your truth. He said, understanding yourself makes your life more meaningful. As we left, he waved and said, “Find your truth”. I didn’t expect to have such an inspiring interaction. It shows that you don’t need to go some big place or church to learn something. There are so many people with wisdom everywhere we go. -Harper
I really love subways. Something about them is strangely relaxing. Maybe it is the loud consistent noises. Maybe it is the darkness when we are underground. But I guess I think it is the way the subway moves. The feeling on my feet when I stand upon the subway floor is indescribable. -Kiri
My favorite activity of the day, other than playing soccer in the park, of course, was lighting a candle and preying [at SSJE]. It felt truly meaningful and out of the heart when I prey for a minute by myself, rather than preying with a group of people. -Oliver
At Ohabei Shalom, I saw various personalities, ethnicities, and genders all gathering to celebrate one person, even if they weren’t Jewish themselves. This showed me that religion doesn’t have to be about worshiping a god, preying, or reflecting. I realized that it’s also about just gathering as a community, celebrating life, being human. -Finn
At SSJE, I got to talk with one of the brothers about holy water. And he was like, “Oh yeah, God blessed the water when he made it. And then the priest blesses it to make holy water.” And I was like, “Then, if God already blessed it, isn’t all water holy?” And he said I had a good point, which was a big ego boost. -Reine
