Hsi Lai Temple

Hsi Lai Temple

The mountain gate of Hsi Lai Temple
Basic information
Location 3456 South Glenmark Drive, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Geographic coordinates 33°58′33″N 117°58′04″W / 33.9757°N 117.9679°W / 33.9757; -117.9679Coordinates: 33°58′33″N 117°58′04″W / 33.9757°N 117.9679°W / 33.9757; -117.9679
Affiliation Humanistic Buddhism
Country United States
Website www.hsilai.org
Architectural description
Founder Hsing Yun
Completed 1988
Hsi Lai Temple
Traditional Chinese 佛光山西來寺

Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple (Chinese: 佛光山西來寺; pinyin: Fóguāngshān Xīlái Sì) is a mountain monastery in the northern Puente Hills, Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, California. The name "Hsi Lai" means Coming West

Hsi Lai Temple is affiliated with Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist organization from Taiwan. It is the order's first overseas branch temple, and serves as the North American regional headquarters for Fo Guang Shan. Hsi Lai Temple was the site of the founding of Buddha's Light International Association, established in 1991. The temple, like its mother temple in Taiwan, practices Humanistic Buddhism.

History

Hsi Lai Temple and its surroundings

In 1976, Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the order, represented a Buddhist group from Taiwan to participate in America's bicentennial celebration. Master Hsing Yun was asked by American friends to build a monastery in the United States. Therefore, Fo Guang Shan asked the Venerable Tzu Chuang (who, upon the inception of the temple, became the founding and first abbess of Hsi Lai Temple) and Yi Heng to plan and organize the construction of the temple in the Greater Los Angeles area. It was officially registered under the name of International Buddhist Progress Society. Until the temple was complete, Ven. Tzu Chuang bought an old church building, which was to be Hsi Lai's temporary headquarters. The original temple, located in the city of Maywood was called the Bai Ta (White Pagoda) Temple.

The planning and construction of the temple in the 1980s was met with suspicion and resistance from local communities, many of whom knew little about Buddhism and had unfounded fears of Buddhist practices. Many felt that the project was too big for a neighborhood of single-family home and that the traditional Chinese architectural style would not fit in. The main reasons for resistance against the building of the temple were the impact of weekly services, heavy traffic, noise, and concern about environmental damage.[1]

Originally, the organization had planned to build the temple in South Bay, Los Angeles but were blocked from acquiring land. They also tried to acquire the historical Pyrenees Castle in Alhambra, California, but also met opposition from the community.[2] The building of the temple at its current location survived six public hearings and more than 100 community meetings. In 1985, the temple was finally granted a building permit. The groundbreaking ceremony was held the following year, and was completed on November 26, 1988.

Negative feelings about the building of Hsi Lai have since diminished as the general level of awareness has been raised and as the temple and its residents have proven to be good neighbors.[1]

Immediately after its opening, Hsi Lai Temple was the venue of many important events. The 16th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the 7th conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth were held from November 19 to the 26th, an international Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony for monastics was held for over a month, and a Land and Water Dharma Service was held prior to the temple's opening.

In 2008, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the opening of Hsi Lai Temple, another international Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony for monastics and a Land and Water Dharma Servce was subsequently held.

In the summer of 2011, Hsi Lai Temple was the starting location for The Amazing Race 19.[3]

On September 4, 2012, Hsi Lai Temple abbot Hui Chi was elected to the post of head abbot of the Fo Guang Shan order, succeeding Hsin Pei.[4]

University of the West

In 1990, in conjunction to the completion of Hsi Lai Temple, Master Hsing Yun founded Hsi Lai University, one of sixteen Buddhist colleges and universities operated by Fo Guang Shan. The university relocated to Rosemead, California in 1996. It is one of the first Buddhist colleges in the United States.

Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctorate in Buddhist studies, comparative religious studies, and a Master of Business Administration are available at the university.

In 2004, the university changed its name to the University of the West and appointed Dr. Lewis Lancaster, a professor at University of California, Berkeley and longtime member of Fo Guang Shan, as president. Dr. Roger Schmidt became Lancaster's successor in 2006, and was replaced by Dr. Allen M. Huang a year later.

Sites

The Arhat Garden in the temple

Retreats and Education

A bell within the grounds of Hsi Lai, traditionally used to mark the start or end of daily activities at a monastery.

The temple offers a wide variety of retreats and classes in English and Chinese to promote Humanistic Buddhism and has started an extended retreat program for those who want to experience monastic life for a longer period of time. The retreats generally consist of classes, meditation, mindful eating through the traditional practice of formal Buddhist dining, and communal chores.

Recurring retreats

Education programs

The temple holds Buddhism classes in Chinese on Saturdays and in English on Sundays. The temple also has occasional lectures by monastics or professors in both Chinese and English. The classes in English are divided into Core Teachings and Sutra Study. The classes in Chinese are divided into lectures (sutra study), practice (meditation and pureland chanting), and crafts (flower arrangement, guzheng, erhu, drum troupe, and Tai Chi). The temple also has separate Saturday Chinese language programs for children and adults in addition to an after school program for children.

Dharma services

Dharma services are held in Mandarin, but the chanting books have English pinyin phonetics and translation. Each service is accompanied a Dharma talk by the presiding venerable. Monks and nuns who reside at the temple speak a variety of languages besides Mandarin, primarily English and Cantonese.

Main Hall.

Annual ceremonies and services

Monthly ceremonies and services

Hsi Lai Temple offers community service to a variety of people in need of hours. Jobs range from cleaning and sweeping around the temple to serving lunch in the dining room.

Past Abbots and Abbesses

The first abbess, Tzu Chuang. Behind her is Venerable Tzu Jung, the fifth abbess.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Pan, Philip P. (1993-08-08). "Good Neighbor : Hemisphere's Largest Buddhist Temple Wins Over Residents". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ↑ http://www.cityofalhambra.org/community/castle.html Pyrenees Castle
  3. ↑ "CBS Announces The Cast For The New Season Of "The Amazing Race," Premiering Sunday, Sept. 25 - Ratings - TVbytheNumbers.Zap2it.com". TVbytheNumbers. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  4. ↑
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