While growing up in Turkey, a country whose most common religion is Islam, I did not have the chance to see people who believe in different religions and beliefs. Comparing Islam and Buddhism helped me understand that there is a huge variety of religions with different religious beliefs and practices. What is fascinating to me is the approach to the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, which are very different from those of Islam. That said, the opportunity to explore this brand new system of religious beliefs and practices is why I decided to focus on Buddhism for my site visit essay. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay After choosing which religion to visit the site, I started researching different Buddhist services and found a temple in Brooklyn that is relatively close. The Brooklyn Zen Center located in Unit 2A at 505 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11215 seemed like a good option. I decided to attend the service called "Friday Night Zen" which took place from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM on December 6, 2019. Although I did not have the opportunity to experience different religions until I arrived in the United States, I have always been open, attentive and respectful of other religions who helped me with their particular experience. In general, mosques look really amazing both outside and inside, however, the Brooklyn Zen Center had a simple look. As I walked up the stairs, I started to feel nervous, especially because I feared being judged due to my lack of knowledge of Buddhist beliefs and practices compared to other people who would be attending the service. After walking through the metal door imprinted with Buddhist symbols, I was greeted by an elderly woman, completely bold and dressed in a black robe. I felt welcomed by her as she pointed me in the right direction, where I took off my shoes and placed them on a shelf with other shoes. After walking through the kitchen and dining room, I came to this large room where more people were waiting. Most of the people attending the service were relatively young. Even though I was 10 minutes early, the turnout was more than I expected in advance. As I approached one of the rugs placed on the floor, I took a look around the room. I couldn't help but notice the beauty in the simplicity of the room. The walls of the room were made of white brick and the floor was made of wood. There were several stands around the room with Buddhist symbols on them and flowers placed not only on the stands but also between several black mats on which round pillows were placed. All the mats were placed around the room with a clear view of the center of the room where I assumed the instructor's mat was placed. On the instructor's mat were a golden gong and a waterfall made of black stones. The design of the room and seeing other people ready to meditate made me feel relaxed as I was told to bow before sitting cross-legged on one of the mats. There were two other people coming in right after me and once they sat down on their mats, the meditation was about to begin. At first, I realized that I was subconsciously thinking about how different this religious experience has been so far compared to the Islamic one. religious experiences even if it had just begun. One of the first things I realized was the lack of movement during meditation, whereas in Islam there are many different movement patterns. Even though I was relaxed before, once I started meditating I was relaxed.