The local Tibetan Buddhist temple is quietly teaching compassion and kindness, yet many do not know about them.
The temple, located at 3750 W Streetsboro Rd, has been in Richfield for 24 years. Despite this, the majority of Richfield have never heard of them or their teachings.
Marianne Grochowski, a Tibetan Buddhist, who leads prayer and is active in the temple, said that Buddhists do not typically preach or try to convert people to their religion.
“We don’t get a lot of the community coming in, but Buddhism is not for everyone. People don’t want to and we don’t try to bring people in. It is not what Buddhists do — they don’t preach,” Grochowski said.
Unfortunately, because of this many people in Richfield may not have the opportunity to learn and embrace their culture.
While they do not preach their religion, they do promote its peaceful and kind-hearted teachings. Hosting services every Saturday and Sunday mornings and introductory Tibetan Buddhism classes, they are following the traditions and tenets of the Dalai Lama.
“As the Dalai Lama said, when he was asked ‘What is your religion?’ He said, ‘It’s not Buddhism, it is kindness.’ It’s the most important thing,” Grochowski said.
Star Halbisen, a Buddhist practitioner, has studied Tibetan Buddhism for the past five years after exploring other traditions and has practiced at the temple for around two months.
“I had spent a lot of years seeking spirituality and lots of different traditions, trying to find some kind of happiness,” Halbisen said.
Halbisen explained that discovering Buddhism helped him look within himself.
“I like to use the analogy: it’s like looking at a mirror, and I see my reflection in the mirror. I’ve got dirt on my face and all that time it was like trying to clean off my reflection in the mirror and it wasn’t working. It eventually led to learning more about Buddhism and somebody pointing out you’re trying to wipe off the mirror,” Halbisen said.
Halbisen promotes these teachings by applying them to the classes and discussions he runs for people who are trying to recover from addiction, substance abuse, and mental health issues. By doing so, Halbisen is educating people on the postivie teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist religion that they might not understand to better their lives.
“I think karma is also a big thing, learning about that and understanding how my actions affect not only me, but everyone else,” Halbisen said.
Elinore Evans, a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism at the temple, said that upon becoming Buddhist in 1997, it changed her world views for the better, believing that she has an obligation to help both herself and others.
“This whole idea of putting it into recognizing this Buddha nature in myself and in all sentient beings and recognizing that I have an obligation to help everyone as well as myself equally, and at the same time, a desire to become awakened so that I can help people in a much bigger way,” Evans said.
The Tibetan Buddhist community in Richfield recognizes, and embraces the importance of empathy and positivity. In doing so, they educate the people in Richfield on their culture and beliefs.
“As you become more accomplished in your practice and you become more generous, more kind, more loving, and more wise you are able to let go of your negative mental emotional states. You’re in a whole different position to create benefit in the world.” Evans said.
