White Sands Buddhist Center
White Sands Buddhist Center photo by Steven Skelley
White Sands Buddhist Center
Mims, Florida
The three largest granite Buddhist statues in the entire state of Florida
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
Mims, Florida
The three largest granite Buddhist statues in the entire state of Florida
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
The White Sands Buddhist Center in Mims, Florida is truly a unique and little-known treasure on Florida's Space Coast just north of Titusville.
From the moment you begin to follow the winding sand driveway through lush Florida foliage until you reach the meditation center with the three huge Buddha statues, everything about this property exudes peacefulness.
White Sands Buddhist Center is home to the three largest granite Buddhist statues in the entire state of Florida.
Nirvana Buddha depicts reclining Buddha. It is 35 feet long and weighs 40 tons.
Meditation Buddha depicts Buddha seated in the lotus posture. It is 35 feet tall and weighs 200 tons.
Mother Avalokitesvara depicts the Bodhisattva of compassion and wisdom. It is 32 feet tall and weighs 60 tons. A Bodhisattva is a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.
According to BuddhaNet.com, Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. The word comes from budhi which means to awaken.
Buddhism goes back 2,500 years when Siddhartha Gotama (Buddha) was enlightened at the age of 35. Buddha did not claim to be a god. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience.
Siddhartha Gotama was born into a royal family in 563 B.C. in what we now call Nepal. At age 29, he realized that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness. He began to explore different teachings, religions and philosophies to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation, he was enlightened. He spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism until his death at the age of 80.
Buddhism is a philosophy or way of life that encourages followers to
1. lead a moral life
2. be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions
3. develop wisdom and understanding
Enlightenment is found through the Four Noble Truths
1. Life includes suffering, pain, getting old, disease, and death
2. Suffering is caused by craving and aversion. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness.
3. Suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time - not dwelling in the past or the imagined future - then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others.
4. The Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering. The Noble 8-fold Path is being moral through what we say, do and our livelihood, focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.
For example, the White Sands Buddhist Center website offers this advice about living in harmony:
"Living in Harmony - To have a happy life, we need to be in harmony with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us (our environment). Disharmony is the root of unhappiness. If our body lacks harmony or is unbalanced, it will lead to illnesses. Harmony is essential for happiness as happiness will arise only when there is harmony between feelings and the mind. When the mind is comfortable, we are comfortable. But when the mind is restless, we are also restless. Happiness is the product from harmony between feelings and the mind."
White Sands Buddhist Center (WSBC) Tu Vien Cat Trang is located at 4640 Knost Drive, Mims, Florida 32754.
Volunteers are invited to come participate in weekly grounds-keeping activities on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m.
Meditation services are held every Sunday, morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Services are offered in both English and Vietnamese.
White Sands Buddhist Monastery is open to the public from dawn to dusk.
For more information, visit http://www.tvct.org/
Their Facebook page is
https://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Sands-Buddhist-Center/267249679974049?sk=photos_stream&tab=photos_albums
For more information about things to see and do in Brevard County, Florida, visit http://www.brevardcounty.us/Visitors
For LGBT travelers, VisitFlorida offers a Travel Guide just for you - VisitFlorida LGBT Getaway Guide
Article by Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2015 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact us: PO Box 560318 Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321-446-7552. Email: [email protected]
Photo slideshow by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong.
Keywords: White Sands Buddhist Center, WSBC, Tu Vien Cat Trang, Knost Drive, Mims, Florida, Fl, Buddha, Buddhist, Buddhism, Steven Skelley, Thomas Routzong, Sunny Harbor Publishing, Gay Travelers Magazine,
Mims, Florida
The three largest granite Buddhist statues in the entire state of Florida
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
Mims, Florida
The three largest granite Buddhist statues in the entire state of Florida
By Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong
The White Sands Buddhist Center in Mims, Florida is truly a unique and little-known treasure on Florida's Space Coast just north of Titusville.
From the moment you begin to follow the winding sand driveway through lush Florida foliage until you reach the meditation center with the three huge Buddha statues, everything about this property exudes peacefulness.
White Sands Buddhist Center is home to the three largest granite Buddhist statues in the entire state of Florida.
Nirvana Buddha depicts reclining Buddha. It is 35 feet long and weighs 40 tons.
Meditation Buddha depicts Buddha seated in the lotus posture. It is 35 feet tall and weighs 200 tons.
Mother Avalokitesvara depicts the Bodhisattva of compassion and wisdom. It is 32 feet tall and weighs 60 tons. A Bodhisattva is a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.
According to BuddhaNet.com, Buddhism is a religion to about 300 million people around the world. The word comes from budhi which means to awaken.
Buddhism goes back 2,500 years when Siddhartha Gotama (Buddha) was enlightened at the age of 35. Buddha did not claim to be a god. He was a man who taught a path to enlightenment from his own experience.
Siddhartha Gotama was born into a royal family in 563 B.C. in what we now call Nepal. At age 29, he realized that wealth and luxury did not guarantee happiness. He began to explore different teachings, religions and philosophies to find the key to human happiness. After six years of study and meditation, he was enlightened. He spent the rest of his life teaching the principles of Buddhism until his death at the age of 80.
Buddhism is a philosophy or way of life that encourages followers to
1. lead a moral life
2. be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions
3. develop wisdom and understanding
Enlightenment is found through the Four Noble Truths
1. Life includes suffering, pain, getting old, disease, and death
2. Suffering is caused by craving and aversion. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting deprives us of contentment and happiness.
3. Suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time - not dwelling in the past or the imagined future - then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others.
4. The Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering. The Noble 8-fold Path is being moral through what we say, do and our livelihood, focussing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.
For example, the White Sands Buddhist Center website offers this advice about living in harmony:
"Living in Harmony - To have a happy life, we need to be in harmony with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us (our environment). Disharmony is the root of unhappiness. If our body lacks harmony or is unbalanced, it will lead to illnesses. Harmony is essential for happiness as happiness will arise only when there is harmony between feelings and the mind. When the mind is comfortable, we are comfortable. But when the mind is restless, we are also restless. Happiness is the product from harmony between feelings and the mind."
White Sands Buddhist Center (WSBC) Tu Vien Cat Trang is located at 4640 Knost Drive, Mims, Florida 32754.
Volunteers are invited to come participate in weekly grounds-keeping activities on Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m.
Meditation services are held every Sunday, morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Services are offered in both English and Vietnamese.
White Sands Buddhist Monastery is open to the public from dawn to dusk.
For more information, visit http://www.tvct.org/
Their Facebook page is
https://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Sands-Buddhist-Center/267249679974049?sk=photos_stream&tab=photos_albums
For more information about things to see and do in Brevard County, Florida, visit http://www.brevardcounty.us/Visitors
For LGBT travelers, VisitFlorida offers a Travel Guide just for you - VisitFlorida LGBT Getaway Guide
Article by Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2015 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact us: PO Box 560318 Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321-446-7552. Email: [email protected]
Photo slideshow by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong.
Keywords: White Sands Buddhist Center, WSBC, Tu Vien Cat Trang, Knost Drive, Mims, Florida, Fl, Buddha, Buddhist, Buddhism, Steven Skelley, Thomas Routzong, Sunny Harbor Publishing, Gay Travelers Magazine,