What is a temple to you? (ritual, pray, faith, philosophy)

[Bishka]

It doesn't have to be a specific religions temple, but there are a few questions we could discuss.

• What is a temple to you?
• What does it signify?
• If you believe in them, why are they important to you?

Oh, and please let's keep in civil and courteous.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by beckysoup61

It doesn't have to be a specific religions temple, but there are a few questions we could discuss.

• What is a temple to you?
• What does it signify?
• If you believe in them, why are they important to you?

Oh, and please let's keep in civil and courteous.

This is a debate, Becky? Okay...

To me a temple is the House of the Lord. It's the place where I make sacred covenants with Him.

[Bishka]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

This is a debate, Becky? Okay...

To me a temple is the House of the Lord. It's the place where I make sacred covenants with Him.

Whoops! Could a mod so kindly put this in discussion, to be honest, I'm not even sure why it is in debates!

[Djamila]

It a cultural sense, it's an anchor for the community. It's like the "Welcome to Home" sign you see every day, and all that implies.

In a religious sense, my mosque is... many things. It's like a assembly line for ritual. All of the ritualistic things you need to do are easily accomodated, more so than at home. It makes it easier because everyone is moving along. It's also a place where the atmosphere, the spirit, is one of faith. You can't pray in a crowded airport and at a mosque and compare the two. It's just not the same.

The building itself is much more important to me culturally than religiously, but it's sacred to both.

[eudaimonia]

What is a temple to you?

A temple is a building dedicated to a sacred value. A sacred value is an end-in-itself that ought to be cherished, defended, and never given up for another value. And so a temple is a way of experiencing and honoring that sacred value, and asserting its importance in the world and in one's life.

If you believe in them, why are they important to you?

I personally would love to have a temple dedicated for some eudaimonistic value. The reason is based on what I wrote above. I wish to be reminded of my sacred values, and building a temple is like an act of self-assertion in the world.

Here is an example of an as-yet unbuilt temple that would do excellently as one of my temples. It is Frederick Clifford Gibson's The Temple of Triumph.




eudaimonia,

Mark

[cardero]

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
– H.H. the Dalai Lama

[eudaimonia]

Originally Posted by cardero

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
– H.H. the Dalai Lama

I agree with the Dalai Lama, if he is referring to the way that people can become overly dependent on temples, assigning them an importance beyond that which they deserve. However, I disagree with him that there is no need for them. Of course there is a need -- or else no one would build them. They satisfy a psychological need. But the lack of them does not prevent a good life, of course.


eudaimonia,

Mark

[RevOxley_501]

i believe we are our own temples---much like the Dalai Lama--churches and temples are yet another force of religion that ruin the world.

[cardero]

Originally Posted by eudaimonia

They satisfy a psychological need.

In some cases a very costly psychological need.