Richmond mayor says Thrangu Monastery opening highlights religious cooperation

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      Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Thrangu Monastery, Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie was struck by the ability of different religious groups to coexist in one area.

      “I saw people from the Hindu temple, people from the Sikh temple, people from the mosque,” Brodie told the Straight today (July 26), a day after the opening of the Tibetan Buddhist monastery on No. 5 Road. “So, it really is an example of different faiths and cultures cooperating, rather than being at war.”

      On Sunday, Brodie made similar statements inside the vast structure, where dignitaries from all levels of government convened to witness the opening consecration prayers in the main shrine hall, which was filled to capacity with around 500 people.

      At the end of the speeches and prayers, a 13-foot gold statue of Shakyamuni Buddha was unveiled.

      Brodie said by phone that almost 20 years ago, various religious organizations began relocating away from the centre of Richmond.

      They moved to the farmlands east on No. 5 Road, Brodie noted, with the original proviso that some of the lands be farmed.

      “You end up with religious institutions all along, from Blundell right up to Steveston Highway, of all different kinds,” Brodie added. “You’ve got two mosques, one on Blundell and one on No. 5 Road. You’ve got churches and you’ve got the India Cultural Centre, which is our gurdwara [Sikh temple]. You have the Buddhist monastery we opened yesterday, and you have the Ling Yen Mountain Temple, which is a Taiwanese-based Buddhist group. You have the Jewish day school, which is a school for Jewish kids from K through seven, I believe. So you’ve got all these different ethnic groups, and in speaking to me they do tell me that they do have a high level of co-operation.”

      According to Brodie, at a number of these institutions—namely the two mosques, the Jewish day school, and the Christian school—“the kids do play sports and interact. They co-operate. When one is having a big celebration of some sort, they get permission for their people to park on the grounds of the others. For instance, that happened yesterday, I am told.”

      During the interview and in his speech at Thrangu Monastery, Brodie noted No. 5 Road—known as the Highway to Heaven—was one of the nominees in CBC’s contest a few years ago to find the Seven Wonders of Canada.

      “This was an example of multiculturalism, and I think the people of Richmond know about it, the people of the region know about it and are pretty proud of it, that this can work, even though there are certain constraints on it because of size and where it is,” Brodie said.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Strategis

      Jul 27, 2010 at 10:27am

      Groups and individuals of various faiths have co-existed in harmony and even mutual respect and appreciation for many thousands of years. It is always inspiring to see people expressing and supporting religious and spiritual freedom. Without freedom, spirituality is essentially meaningless, because a spiritual journey must be guided by the inner spirit, not political, economic or social pressures to be truly fruitful.