Hollywood has Kabbalah, but in St. Louis, the new hip religion is Buddhism
By Kevin M. Mitchell
A growing number of St. Louisans have been spending their Sunday mornings at the Mid-America Buddhist Association (MABA). The Chan monastery sits on 60 lush acres on the rolling hills of Augusta, run by Malaysian-born Abbot Master Ji Ru, who begins Sunday morning “service” teaching Tai Chi.A visitor is hesitant to participate, but the abbot is welcoming. After the calming yet invigorating session, the visitor is treated to a private lesson in meditation by one of the nuns, then it’s off to the meditation room itself, where, after meditating, the abbot teaches for 20 or so minutes. It all ends with a communal vegetarian lunch in the recreation hall.
The MABA’s mission is to support the Sangha, an order of Buddhist monks, and its lay followers in the study of Buddhism. The spiritual objective is to follow the “Middle Path” and to live in accordance with Buddhist teachings concerning morality, meditation and wisdom.
“Abbot Ji Ru’s ‘goal’ is to provide a place where people can study this particular sect of Buddhism,” says Carl Jerome, an unofficial MABA spokesperson. (Buddhism, like Christianity, is diverse. Just as Catholics would not attend a Baptist church, certain Zen practitioners would not go to a Chan temple.)
“This religion created by Buddha has displayed enormous sensibility, modesty and tolerance, which are crucial to international interactions in the 21st century,” Ru says. “I [hope] MABA’s establishment brings joy and benefits [to all participants].”
But the 2,500-year-old Chinese-based teachings do not come easy to us Midwesterners, nor is this a place for easy answers. “A great many Americans are searching for something spiritual, and a lot of people find things in Eastern thought and incorporate them into their lives,” Jerome says. “Any time people learn to be more loving and compassionate, it’s a positive thing in the world.”
But he says Chan does have a clearly defined belief system, and to walk its path toward peace, tranquility and harmony is not easy.
“We don’t do well at converting,” Jerome says with a smile. “There’s no God, and no easy answers. You have to work hard on it every day. I spend at least an hour a day meditating. Do you know how hard that is, carving an hour out of each day?
“But when you look at the faces of the nuns, you see they are the most beautiful people.”
For more information, call 636-482-4037, or visit www.maba-usa.org.
