Cambodian Buddhist Community

Preparation For the Field

Before I started my fieldwork, I had to do some preparation on how I was going to go
about conducting my research. I first had to ask my inside contact if they would be willing to
share with me their experiences and be willing to provide insights into their culture. Once I
explain what the details of this assignment was, they agreed to help me tag along and
experience their culture.

First Fieldwork Observation

The first part of my fieldwork took place in the Buddhist temple located in Salt Lake City.
My first impression of the temple is that it looked smaller from the outside. The building is
made of light-colored bricks and has complementary dark wood features. The doors are painted
black and there is plenty of greenery surrounding the outside of the building. When going in the
doors I saw a big statue of Buddha. The inside of the building flows much like the outside. Dark
colored features complimented by lighter colored walls. There is also lots of natural light within
the temple. The people of the Buddhist faith were very nice and welcoming. An older
gentleman greeted me and ask if I was visiting. He explained the reason behind all the natural
light is that it important for temples to be designed around allowing as much natural light as
possible. The goal is to make the it a beacon of light to drawn other in to be more like buddha.
As the service began, I was intrigued that there was a female reverend. This told me that there
aren’t the typical male dominated gender roles like in other religions. Her name is Reverend Dr.
Carmela Hirano. She began with what is reading from the Shinra book. She spoke about how we
all have our inner voices trying to plants seeds of doubt and judgment upon ourselves and
other. We need to find our true inner selves by having a needless perspective and loving all of
the ones around us. The atmosphere during the service was quiet and respectful towards the
reverend. You could see that those who were in attendance were dedicated to the religious
practice of Buddhism and we eager to follow the teachings. The entire Dharma talk wasn’t very
long less than 30 minutes. Even though it wasn’t long the engagement from the audience was
intense but in a loving way. I didn’t feel that I was being judge at all for being there everyone
was there to help themselves on their own journey to obtain a higher self.

Second Fieldwork Observation

For my second fieldwork experience I went back and attended another Dharma service
and the Salt Lake City Buddhist Temple. Although the atmosphere was similar to my first
experience the Dharma talk was much more of a sensitive topic. Reverend Jerry Hirano
delivered the message on this visit. He started by reading the Shinran which is how the Buddhist
religion starts and ends all Dharma talks. It was repeated three times and I questioned if there
was any significance to the number three. Rev. Hirano spoke about Buddha’s journey to find
enlightenment and that we must all want to be on this same journey to enlightenment. The
Bohisattva went on this journey and at the end decided not to the final stage of enlightenment
in order to help others on their journeys to spiritual enlightenment. Once we die, we can come
back either spiritually or physically through reincarnation. This teaching is important to the
Buddhist religion. Rev. Hirano related this to his own life experience. He had a little dog name
Miso whom he was very close to and had a very special relationship with. He loved that dog
unconditionally. Unfortunately, Miso became very ill suddenly and he had to make the tough
choice to put him to sleep. This was a very emotional talk and a few members were crying and
the atmosphere was a heavy with sadness. He then went on to tell us how dogs are more
emotionally evolved than humans due to their ability to have unconditional love towards there
owners. Dogs don’t hold grudges and are compassionate creatures. He described them as
“always pure” since they were sent from the Pureland to guide and protect us on our own
journeys to enlightenment. Dogs are like the bohisattva. As in most religions there is a belief of
some type of afterlife. My impression of this Dharma speech was the atmosphere was different
since this seemed to be a much more serious topic of the religion. This speech deepened my
perspective on reincarnation. Going into this fieldwork experience I only thought the
reincarnation was being born again and by attending and observing this Dharma speech my
perspective and knowledge was broadened significantly.
Third Fieldwork Observation
My third fieldwork observation took place at a friend of my insider’s house. I took place
in West Valley where there is a large population of Cambodian immigrants. My first impressions
of when I entered the house was the strong smell of spices and aromatics of the food cooking. I
noticed that everyone had taken their shoes off as a sign of respect to the owners of the house.
Those whom I interacted with before we started eating were very nice and wanted me to feel at
home and included. I did feel that they were a very welcoming group of people and love to
include others in their functions. When the food was ready, we all sat down at a large table. I
felt that is important for everyone to be able to sit at the same table in order to continue that
feeling of community. Dishes served ranged from curries, rice dishes, noodle, and stir fry. I
noticed that there was much more food on the table to feed a larger group of people. The
reasoning behind this is so that everyone had the chance to take multiple servings and so no
one goes hungry. I was repeatedly asked if I had enough and was given food even when I was no
longer hungry. It’s a sign a respect to not waste any food. I tried my best to honor this. I sat next
to a lady named Sarin. She shared with me her journey to the US from Cambodia. She escaped
the Khmer Rouge also known as the Killing Fields back in the late 1970’s. As a young girl her and
her sister lived in the forest to escape the solider and all the killings. They foraged for food and
had to brush their teeth with ashes from fires in order to prevent them from rotting. Once her
family escaped Cambodia, they lived in refugee camps before coming to California. She arrived
in the US with nothing to her name. She ended up in Salt Lake City a few years after arriving.
She met her husband through an arranged marriage and had 3 kids. She has worked at the
same job for almost 20 years and is grateful to own her own house. I could tell the amount of
gratitude she had to be where she is today. After coming from such a devasting state in her life
to be able survive. She told me she is so thankful for every day she has since she knows so many
other whom did not get the same opportunity she had. This is a powerful story of and showed
me that we often take this for granted in our lives.