Hsi Lai Temple

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Hsi Lai Temple (Chinese: 西來寺; Pinyin: Xi Lai Si) is the largest Buddhist temple and monastery in the Western hemisphere. It is located on the foothill region of Hacienda Heights, California, USA, a suburb of Los Angeles. The name "Hsi Lai" means "Coming to the West".

The temple is one of the first branch temples of Taiwan's largest charity and religious organization, Fo Guang Shan, founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. This temple is also the site of the founding of Buddha's Light International Association, which was established in 1991. The temple, like its main temple in Taiwan, follows the Rinzai Zen school of Buddhism, and also follows the Pure Land School.

History

The temple was finished in 1988 at a cost of $10 million. The planning and construction of the temple, in the 1980s, were met with suspicion and resistance from local residents outside of the Asian/Buddhist community, many of whom knew little about Buddhism or had negative attitudes. Such feelings have diminished as the general level of awareness has been raised and as the temple and its residents have proven to be good neighbors. The current abbot (as of 2005) is Venerable Hui Ji.

To court the Chinese-American community in the San Gabriel Valley, the temple was a venue during the campaign of the Mexican American Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

In 1991, Hsing Yun founded Hsi Lai University in Rosemead, California. In 2004, the university changed its name to the University of the West and appointed Lewis Lancaster, a religious professor at UC Berkeley, as president.

Sites

• The Bodhisattva Hall: The first shrine before entering the temple. It is a large hall that honors five Bodhisattvas, Samantabhadra (Puxian), Ksitigarbha (Dizang), Maitreya (Mile), Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin), and Manjushri (Wenshu). Outside the shrine, on each side, honors the Bodhisattvas Skanda (Weituo) and Sangharama (Qielan).
• The Arhat Garden: Located on the left of the temple, it contains 18 statues of the earliest known disciples of the Buddha.
• The Avalokitesvara Garden: Located on the right of the temple, it is also known as the "Salvation Garden". It contains the acolytes of Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin) and statues of the Four Heavenly Kings.
• Founder's Statue: Recently in 2005 after the inauguration of Hsi Lai's sixth abbot, the temple also unveiled a statue of the founder of Fo Guang Shan, Venerable Master Hsing Yun. It is an bronze effigy of a standing master, walking on a cane. The statue is facing the main shrine.
• Main Shrine: The heart of the temple's activities. It contains the statues of the historical Sakyamuni Buddha (Shijiamounifo), Amitabha Buddha (Omituofo), and Bhaisajyaguru Buddha (Yaoshifo). Thousands of niches containing an image of the Buddha can be seen on the walls. Outside, a large bell and drum can be seen on either side. They are used to wake monastics up to practice daily chanting. These instruments are no longer regularly used because of their loud volume when played, and there are residential areas at the foot of the temple. The bell is now only used to mark special occurences; it was most recently rung to mark the passing of Pope John Paul II.

• Requiem Pagoda: Located at the summit of Hsi Lai, it honors those who have passed away. In the past, it was also a mausoleum, but since there was no more room for urns to be interred, the urns were moved to a new Buddhist mausoleum built by Hsi Lai Temple in 1999, located at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. The Requiem Pagoda is now for people who entered their loved one's names in the pagoda, and can only be accessed by request.
• Meditation Hall: Meditation classes are held here.
• Dining Hall: Vegetarian foods are served here every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, free of charge. In the past, people were charged to pay for these foods, but due to complaints that the temple was seen as "money-grubbing" (which Hsi Lai Temple is usually known for pressuring people to donate), they have stopped charging people since.

Attraction and services offered

The temple mainly attracts local Chinese-American Buddhists and Buddhists of other ethnicities, and especially those who are interested in Chinese culture or the religion. The temple usually gets elementary and college students from California to tour the temple.

Regular services are held weekly on Sunday, where they usually chant various sutras, such as the Diamond Sutra or the Amitabha Sutra, and classes are held on some days of the week. A service of interest is the Great Compassion Repentance service, which is held in the evening, monthly on the second Friday.

1996 Presidential Election controversy

Main Article: Al Gore controversies

During the 1996 presidential campaign, Vice President Al Gore held a controversial fundraiser at Hsi Lai Temple. The temple fundraising luncheon attended by Gore was implicated in a campaign donation laundering scheme. In that scheme, donations nominally from Buddhist nuns, Venerables Man Ho and Yi Chi, in lawful amounts had actually been donated by wealthy monastics and devotees. Critics noted that the nuns, who each supposedly gave $1000 to the Clinton-Gore campaign, had actually taken monastic vows of poverty. Gore attempted to dodge the criticism by claiming ignorance, saying he had "drank a lot of iced tea" at the function and, as a result, had made several trips to the bathroom. It was during these bathroom breaks, he claimed, that he missed the illegal activity. This was widely perceived as disingenuous and, by critics, as an outright lie designed to avoid the consequences of illegal fundraising.

In this context, Hsi Lai was often referred to in the media as simply "the Buddhist temple".

Past Abbots of Hsi Lai

• 1988-1991: Ven. Tzu Chuang
• 1991-1995: Ven. Hsin Ting
• 1995-1997: Ven. Yi Kung
• 1997-1999: Ven. Tzu Jung
• 1999-2005: Ven. Hui Chuan
• 2005-Present: Ven. Hui Ji

External link

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• Hsi Lai Temple website (http://www.hsilai.org)