The room fell silent as freshman Mariana Cruz started her meditation time along with other Buddhists at the Unity Temple on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 2.

Mariana became fascinated with Buddhism after she completed an assignment over different cultures in the 8th grade.

“I found [Buddhism] interesting and wanted to start looking further into it,” Mariana said.

While some classified Buddhism as a faith, Mariana saw it as a way of life.

“Buddhism has a lot of basic factors such as doing good things,” Mariana said. “Buddhism gives you ideas and kind of lets you make your own understanding of it.”

Although Mariana’s dad, Hector Cruz, did not practice Buddhism with her, he supported her decision.

“We think it’s great she has found something that she feels is right for her,” Hector said. “This is something she found all on her own and we are happy she is so passionate about it.”

Mariana took time to practice Loving Kindness Meditation, where she clears her conscious of all bad memories, when she found herself stressed.

“In [Loving Kindness meditation], you clear your mind at first, then you think of something good, then you think of a bad memory,” Mariana said. “Then you forgive yourself, the situation or the person who made you feel like that. That’s probably what I do most.”

When Mariana went to the Unity Temple on the Plaza, the people who attend greet each other as they come inside of the temple. Then meditation would be performed for approximately 45 minutes. Loving Kindness Meditation and Mindfulness of Breathing Meditation were both used.

“Sometimes they’ll say words in-between but it’s mainly Loving Kindness Meditation and along with that they’ll give you a story about the Buddha,” Mariana said.

Mariana said she saw life differently through her Buddhist lifestyle.

“It’s more humbling and most of it is de-stressing,” Mariana said. “It definitely makes you look at life differently.”