The Buddhism Convocation (4/15)

I have always wondered about the eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, etc. Growing up in a reasonably conservative Christian environment, I was sheltered from a majority of the other religions. We studied them in high school but not in detail. I only knew a few Jewish and Catholic people who went to my school, so that was my closest experience to any non-Protestant religions. All of the popular religious groups I ever noticed were usually affiliated with the Presbyterian or Methodist church.
When I first walked in they were chanting a prayer which sounded so unique. There was a wooden display with a paper and light inside with a Buddhist prayer written in a specific type of Japanese dialect. Apparently, there are many different sects of Buddhism which may speak different dialects and use different formats or ceremonies of meetings. I thought it was unique that there is not one specific hold day like Sunday in the Christian religions, and the religion is so open to a variety of people. The speaker, who was a transgender, shared her story about growing up in a conservative Christian household and dealing with her inner battles about who she was. The people in this group welcomed and accepted her with open arms and did not preach to her about sins and hell. The question and answer forum which followed helped explain some questions I had like the language spoken and the various forms of the religion. It sounds like the Christian religion in that there are many forms with one common base. I would be interested in exploring the religion further.