I have always been fascinated by the Buddhist religion and this class assignment was a great opportunity for me to exploit my curiosity. I decided that I would visit a Buddhist center. In the company of my mother I went to the Diamond Way Buddhist Center in Miami. According to my interview with the Buddhist who organized the meditation service, every Monday and Friday they have a meditation service for the 16th Karmapa meditation from 8pm to 8.30pm. This center is part of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism (Anonymous). As soon as I arrived, I realized it was someone's house. Many Buddhists offer their homes for Buddhist centers and are not paid for their services. However, they do accept donations. Before entering the house we had to take off our shoes. When we entered I could smell the burning incense. As presented in World-Faiths, removing your shoes before entering a Buddhist center or temple is a form of worship. Additionally, incense and candles are used to represent the enlightenment of the Buddha (world faiths). A man and a woman led us into a small room. The man was wearing jeans and a regular t-shirt and the women were wearing a colorful dress that reached her knees. The man later told us that he didn't usually wear jeans, but generally wore more relaxed and comfortable clothing. In the small room there were four quilts spread out on the floor with cushions to sit on. All the little quilts faced one wall, which contained three statues and a couple of paintings. On the left side of the wall was a statue of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. As stated in an article on World-Faiths, Buddhism was founded on the teachings of Siddhartha. He was an Indian prince who began his spiritual journey when he was 29 years old. After six years, he has learned…halfway through the task…learn to be completely aware of my surroundings to experience the serenity that comes from meditation. Overall, my experience with the Buddhist religion has been very enlightening. Not only did I gain more knowledge about the Buddhist lifestyle, but I also got to practice traditions and rituals of a culture different from my own. Anonymous works cited. Personal interview. September 30, 2013."Buddhism". Faiths of the world. J.Cordeaux 2001, nd Web. 03 October 2013.Deleanu, Florin. "Agnostic Meditations on Buddhist Meditation." Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 45.3 (2010): 605-626. Academic research completed. Network. November 15, 2013.DiamondWay. Diamond Way Buddhist Centers USA, 2013. nd Web. 03 October 2013.Kunz, Sandra Costen. "A Buddhist in the classroom." Buddhist-Christian Studies 31 (2011): 231+. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Network. November 15. 2013.