PINE BUSH – The Society of Wonderful Enlightenment is a Buddhist temple based in Chinatown, in New York City, which plans to erect an 11,600 square foot temple, with a 60 foot high peak on its roof, near Thompson Ridge outside Pine Bush. Neighbors are upset, noting in planning sessions and public hearings on the temple proposal that they prefer trees to buildings on the society's property. The projected temple also lies within a protected viewshed that stretches from Route 302 towards the Shawangunk Ridge in the Town of Crawford.

Recently I conducted an interview with Patrick Lung Kong, who handles public relations for the society. Kong laid out some of his temple's history.

"The Society of Wonderful Enlightenment was founded by the Venerable Reverend Si Chen, who was born in 1932 in Guizhou province in China," he started, noting that Guizhou lies in the southwestern sector of China and has long been a relatively poor, backward area. "He became a novice monk at age 15, and a full monk at 17. When the Communist Party took control of China in 1949, the Reverend Si Chen undertook an arduous journey on foot to a monastery in Burma, where he became the abbot of his own monastery by 1954."

The Reverend remained in Burma for seventeen years.

"In 1971 he was invited to come to New York to run a newly-constructed monastery in South Cairo. In 1979, he left that position to establish a temple in New York City called the Buddhist Society for Wonderful Enlightenment," he continued. "The society continues to operate in New York City, serving the needs of its local community and assisting those seeking to learn from Buddhist dharma. Its purpose is to serve the local community and has no connections to China, Taiwan or Myanmar."v In 2000, the Society purchased 137.9 acres of land on the north side of County Route 48, near Gillespie Street, in the Town of Crawford. The property was part of what was once the Pine Hollow horse farm, which sprawled across Route 48 back in the 1970s. Since the property was purchased, the house that already exists has been used for visits by members of the society, including the Venerable Si Chen.

"The Rev. Si Chen and Rev. Raymond Yu do in fact often visit the Thompson Ridge property to meditate there," Kong explained. "The purpose of building a monastery at this property is to accommodate the growth in membership of the society for special services and events, and to provide a place for quiet meditation. We feel the peaceful surroundings of the property will be ideal for this."

Kong addressed some of the issues that neighbors had brought up at zoning and planning board meetings.

"Buddhist ceremonies do not involve loud drumming, firecrackers or blowing loud horns. Chanting and prayer services would not generate any significant noise outside of the temple. There will be meditation classes or retreats," he said. "From past experience, I can say there may be 20 to 30 people per meditation class. The classes would take place in the early morning or late evenings and are inside the temple. Meditation is a silent practice and noise is not generated."

Asked about large crowds coming to the temple, Kong noted that, "A Buddhist temple is not like a sports stadium. Even if there are many participants, the festivals are generally solemn and contemplative events. There are three to four major festivals that will be celebrated throughout the year. These ceremonies usually last from two hours to half a day. At most we anticipate 200 to 300 people will attend."

Discussing the size and scale of the projected building, he said, "Buddhism has been around for 3,000 years and there is a distinct historic and traditional style of building Buddhist temples. The layout and design of our temple conforms to traditional Buddhist architectural style, which is important to defining the purpose of the building. It is similar to the way a traditional church or synagogue has its own defining architectural elements."

"The framework of the temple is built with steel," Kong continued. "Other materials used include tiles for the roof, bricks for the walls and fireproof materials wherever possible. The traditional Buddhist colors for the temple are saffron-yellow, maroon-brown, green and red."

Naturally, neighbors' concern about the visibility of the projected temple had to be addressed, too.

"The visible scenery of our property may become different, but that does not mean it is bad," he stated. "A Buddhist temple represents love, purity, harmony, tranquility and peace, and we do not believe it should be hidden from view. After the temple construction is complete we plan to transform its surroundings into a beautiful and scenic view of nature by planting trees, shrubbery, and flowers all around. We do not feel it is necessary to otherwise disguise or screen a structure representing peace from the community."

Turning to the community, Kong said, "One of the goals for building our temple here in Crawford is to reach out and engage the local community. A Buddhist temple is always open to all, regardless of whether they are Buddhist or not. We are open to being involved in our local community and seeing how we can be involved with community events in the future, where it is consistent with the mission of a Buddhist temple."

Finally, Patrick Lung Kong spoke to the matter of transportation. The Society has sought to create less parking area than required in Town Code.

"Based on our experience, the majority of our participating members traveled by bus, three to four times a year," he explained. "We have usually used only two to three buses, and using a bus is definitely more green and efficient as it reduces the traffic on the roads."

"Buddha Sakyamuni's teachings mainly help people to change delusion into awakening, to liberate themselves from afflictions and to escape suffering and attain happiness," Kong concluded. "To provide service to all beings is our only goal. Causing fear and suspicion is not what we expected and something we deeply regret."