My friend Jenny asked me if I wanted to go with her to check out a Buddhist temple where she was interested in taking meditation classes. Curious minded, I said yes. We met up at Ekoji Buddhist Temple at 7:30 p.m. When we entered the Temple a wonderful scent of incense filled our senses. An older man named Mark greeted us and asked us to take off our shoes in the entry because they don’t allow people to wear street shoes around inside. We respectfully obliged. He said we could borrow a pair of slippers, but we both opted to walk around in our socks. He gave us a tour — it’s a small place so the tour was very quick. The interior was modestly decorated, which makes sense so you can focus when you meditate without distraction. After the tour Mark sat down with us and gave us an overview of the history and philosophy of the type of Buddhism they practice. Before we left we asked if he had any parting wisdom to share, he said “be nice.”