Pairs of shoes sat outside the doorway at a meditation building of the Lansing-area Dhammasala Forest Monastery on Saturday as about 50 monks and visitors gathered to chant.
Inside, a row of barefooted monks, who bowed in reverence toward a golden shrine, had begun their morning of meditation and chanting. The celebration marks the "end of the rains," a three-month period of deep meditation for the resident monks in observance of the monsoon season's end in India and Southeast Asia.
"It marks the end of the three-month Buddhist 'Lent,'" said Ajahn Khemasanto, the abbot at Dhammasala Forest Monastery in Perry. "All the monks have to stay in their temples, focus on meditation studies and are not allowed to travel during these months."
Members of the public were invited to partake in a number of different Buddhist practices at the monastery this weekend and to witness the celebration, which included offerings to the monks, chanting and meditation and the chance to try Thai food.
A donation tree stood in the center of the main meditation building, full of dollars and other donations to provide sustenance for the monks. Monks take a vow of poverty and depend on the community to care for them through food, money and household product donations, said Eo, a Laotian Buddhist who traveled from Wisconsin to celebrate.
But during the monsoon season in Thailand and India, the monks were forced to stay inside and meditate because the community was unable to care for them due to heavy rain.
"Buddha asked the monks to practice meditation more deeply during these months," said Terry Terry, president of the monastery's Board of Directors.
"It was a very busy time for the people and hard to care for the monks at the same time."
The Rains Retreat is for monks; however, the Dhammasala monastery is open to the public to visit any day of the week, Terry said. It is a teaching, cultural and Buddhist center, he said.
"This is more than a religion, it's a philosophy and way of life," Terry said. "It gives you the ability to examine what's going on in your mind and body."
Mason resident Janine Keck and her son, Alyn Sitch, said they've both found peace through Buddhism's teachings at the monestary. Both suffer from a rare form of autism called Asperger's syndrome.
"I was depressed because of my learning disorder because I think in pictures, which made school difficult," Sitch said. "I had problems controlling my mind, but Buddhism taught me mental discipline to focus my mind in different ways."
During the retreat, monks and laymen center their attention and follow the precepts of Buddhism, such as refraining from harming any creature, stealing, lying, taking alcohol and wrongful sexual acts, more closely.
"The precepts are like the Ten Commandments for westerners," Khemasanto said.
Attending the event with the MSU Thai Student Association, vice president of the group and doctorate student Bim Chusanachoti sold Thai food to visitors to raise money for the monastery.
The foundation of a community is found in the Thai temple, Chusanachoti said. "This here represents the center of the Buddhist community in Lansing."
Chusanachoti said it was good that those of both Thai and non-Thai backgrounds were at the celebration.
"It is good to promote Buddhism to other people," she said. "Not only Buddhism, but Thai culture, Thai tradition and Thai food."
MSU students have found a wealth of information at the monastery, Chusanachoti said. Buddhists can consult with the monks about anything.
"They are the professors of life to help us in our lives, academics and help put their lives at some peace," she said.
