Just a few feet from Southern California's newest Buddhist temple, a six-lane boulevard carries harried business commuters in Irvine past a blur of low-rise industrial buildings. The temple's Far East architecture is intriguing enough to motorists that they stop in and ask: When does this Japanese restaurant open?
The confusion is understandable. No one in these parts has ever seen anything like the $5-million Pao Fa Buddhist Temple, Orange County's first mega-temple. It's 41,000 square feet of prayer halls, 8-ton jade Buddhas, classrooms, a library, dining hall and 42-room monastery.
And this morning, after nearly five years of construction, an expected crowd of 3,000 will get the first public peek inside during an open ceremony that mixes elements of the East and West with the consecration of the Buddhas, recitation of sacred readings, and the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner."
"We don't have a big temple like this from Orange County down to San Diego," said May Wen, chair of the South Coast Chinese Cultural Assn., an Irvine-based group devoted to educating immigrants and their children. "This temple will touch a lot of people."
Even in the days leading up to its opening, the mood within the temple has been established. In the main prayer hall, wisps of smoke from incense ascend to the 4,000 golden Buddhas lining three upper walls of the enormous sanctuary. On the 71-foot-long wooden altar near the far wall sit three 8-ton statues, carved from solid white jade.
Thirty monks, nuns and volunteers kneel for their evening prayers -- chanting in ancient cadences punctuated by a drum, bell and gong for more than an hour. Though work crews still hammer, saw and drill here and there, life inside the largest Buddhist temple in Orange County already reflects the serene countenance of its abbot and founder, Venerable Master Jen-Yi.
"The secret is to not have too many expectations," said Jen-Yi, a 66-year-old Buddhist monk who was born in Taiwan and speaks through a translator. "We knew we were going to have obstacles going in."
Delays in construction were caused by Jen-Yi's extensive travel to two sister temples in Taiwan that slowed decisions and also by problems generated when temple designs didn't match with city building codes. Jen-Yi said the $5 million raised for the construction and $1 million spent acquiring the 3.2-acre lot in 1995 came from members of the two temples in Taiwan he helped to start.
