By By Katie Curren, News Correspondent

Students sought their inner Buddha Thursday afternoon as a guest Abbess taught and demonstrated meditation techniques and highlighted the history of Buddhism.
The Spiritual Life Center hosted Abbess Venerable Man Kuang of the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center. Kuang gave a 45-minute lecture on Buddhism and a 15-minute guided meditation session.
Titled ‘From Chan to Zen:’ Buddhism in Everyday Life,’ the core of its focus was on the tenants of Buddhism. Aided by a PowerPoint presentation of artistic works from around the world, Kuang illustrated the life of Sakyamuni Buddha and his teachings.
The lecture was organized in conjunction with World Languages Center professor Hua Dong, who specializes in Chinese.
Having originally booked the Sacred Space and invited Kuang for one of her classes, Shelli Jankowski-Smith, director of the Spiritual Life Center, and Dong agreed they should take advantage of Kuang’s presence and open up another session with her to the university. Kuang’s first visit to Northeastern was last year, when Dong and Jankowski-Smith organized a similar event.
‘It’s a great opportunity for those who want to learn more about Buddhism and meditation,’ Jankowski-Smith said. ‘It’s a really wonderful opportunity to have someone of her knowledge here.’
Originally from China and ordained in 1988 at the Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles, Kuang was based in New York prior to her move to Cambridge four years ago. According to their website, the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center was established in 1999 and is a branch of Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan.
Kuang began with the life of Buddha, who was raised as a prince and later renounced his position to practice a more fulfilling existence as a sage, and eventually an enlightened being.
A disciple of Mahayana Buddhism, Kuang also discussed the three main traditions of the religion:’ Mahayana, which focuses on the later phase of the Buddha’s teachings and is found in the north; Theravada, focusing on the earlier phases and is found in the south; and Tibetan Buddhism.
‘Even though we study different phases, it’s still the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha,’ Kuang said.
Speaking about interconnectedness, from which we derive wisdom and understanding of the people and things around us, Kuang used the room as an example of the greater concept of interdependent organization.
‘This room before you came was empty, but think back,’ she said. ‘It’s really the result of arrangements. ‘hellip; It needed someone to design and someone to build it. ‘hellip; We don’t see the conditions, but we see the result.’
Prior to the meditation session, Kuang gave a personal reflection on Buddhism.
‘It’s not only a religion, but a philosophy, but also very scientific, which you can apply in your daily life,’ she said.
As the meditation began, participants sat in chairs or cross-legged on cushions with palms facing upward and thumbs overlapping in the form of the Buddha.
Kuang instructed the group of 24 to repeat sets of deep breathes to a count of 10.
‘You will have thoughts coming in and out, just let them pass by like clouds,’ she said.
To end the session, Kuang had the group of teachers, students and other interested passersby warm their hands by rubbing them together and then massaging their faces, arms and legs to awaken the body.
Students said they enjoyed’ learning about Buddhism and practicing meditation techniques.
‘It was a great re-introduction into what I’ve taken an interest in before,’ said Eric Lehouillier, a fourth-year performance major at Berklee.
Lehouillier said he tagged along with his friend Kelly Johnson, a Northeastern student who found out about the event from the myNEU portal news feed.
Jankowski-Smith said the Spiritual Life Center offers similar events in all realms of religious and spiritual interest throughout the semester. Weekly guided meditation sessions are also held in the Sacred Space Tuesdays at noon and Wednesdays at 3 p.m.