Buddhist temple in Poolesville celebrates 25 years of uninterrupted prayers
Practitioners take turns in continuous two-hour shifts
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The members of a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Poolesville pray 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just as they have done for a quarter of a century.
The Kunzang Palyul Choling temple will celebrate 25 years of uninterrupted prayer on Oct. 31 with a prayer ceremony and reception afterwards.
"It varies, just like our lives," Ani Aileen Williams, one of the temple's nuns, said.
The four nuns, called anis, and the temple's other members pray to end suffering in the world.
"People can benefit from being reminded that the world is bigger than this," Ani Rinchen Khandro said.
Williams often takes the 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. shift, her favorite time of day.
"It's my spiritual time," Williams said. "It's quiet and the world is still. There are not a lot of thoughts around. It's different from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. when you can feel a lot of energy from the world."
John Pelletier of Poolesville has been a member of the temple for ten years. He sometimes takes up to five shifts in one week. For him, prayer is a way to forget stress at work and in life and remember others who suffer more.
"It's like wiping the slate clean," Pelletier said. "You leave in a better place."
The group has been praying almost as long as it has existed. It started as a meditation group of eight people in a Silver Spring apartment.
The members realized that their practices coincided with those of Buddhism and incorporated more traditional Buddhist traditions, such chanting, into their practices. They moved to a basement in Kensington where they started the constant prayers that continued when they moved to Poolesville.
"It was a journey we all took together," Williams said.
The temple prayer room is filled with Buddha statues of all sizes and colors. Quartz rocks ranging from the size of a pebble to a small boulder are illuminated in every corner. The quartz is supposed to amplify the energy of the prayers, Khandro said.
One wall is covered with hundreds of identical, tiny Buddha statues on shelves. Tapestries hang from the wall and artificial flowers sprout up from everywhere.
On a recent day, a bowl of apples, an Arizona iced tea, Grandma's cookies and a bag of Sun Chips were spread out on the altar as food offerings, a common Buddhist tradition.
Everyone in the room was barefoot, because removing shoes is a sign of respect. One of the temple's four nuns knelt before a bench on her prayer shift. She murmured under her breath, eyes closed. During one prayer, she clapped her hands slowly.
The prayer room is open to visitors 24 hours a day, temple member Elizabeth Cohn said. Many come during the day and even more walk the temple's 25 acres of meditation paths across the street.
"We are a family, bigger than most, but we are a family," Khandro said.
ktousignaut@gazette.net
What: A prayer ceremony marking the 25 year anniversary of uninterrupted prayer at the Kunzang Palyul Choling Tibetan Buddhist Temple
When: 2 p.m. Oct. 31
Where: 18400 River Road in Poolesville.
Details: The ceremony will be followed by a reception and a video presentation at 4 p.m. The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend. No reservation is
necessary.
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