One of the largest temples in North America, the Majestic Temple in Upstate New York, is the last day of New Year's prayers. We come here a few times a year, and today is probably the last day to pray for blessings.
At ten o'clock in the morning, we came here, and we saw about 2,000 to 3,000 people worshipping. Today's fasting includes cabbage, fungus, vermicelli, taro, tofu, bean curd and broccoli, although ** is seven dollars per person, but the taste is not good, very unpalatable.
But even so, everyone waited in line, waiting for this sacred moment.
Located in Kent Township, Bonan County, Upstate New York, USA, the Majestic Temple covers 468 acres, mostly beautiful woodland. In this quiet and solemn woodland**, against the backdrop of the lake, the buildings of the solemn temple appear more solemn.
It is also the headquarters of the Buddhist Church of America. Although the snow has not completely melted this year, it has not reduced everyone's enthusiasm for the temple.
Every year, the temple invites representatives of all major religions to participate in the joint prayer conference, including the monks and nuns of the nearby Catholic Church of San Maryknoll, who have prayed with Buddhists for world peace.
The solemn temple built by Shen Jiazhen, a famous American Chinese scientist and industrialist, has witnessed his lifelong love and contribution to the cause of Buddhism. Since 1962, he has co-founded the American Buddhist Association in New York with Venerable Ledu and others from Hong Kong, promoting the development of Buddhism in the United States.
In 1969, Shen Jiazhen and his wife and Ru lay people donated a house to build the Dajue Temple in New York, which provided an important place for the spread of Buddhism in New York. In 1971, he invested in the establishment of the Institute of World Religions in the United States, which is dedicated to promoting exchanges and understanding among different religions.
Shen Jiazhen's achievements in the shipping industry are also remarkable. He served as Chairman and Executive Director of the American Steamship Company, where he led the company to build a large, modern fleet of ships in the vast Great Lakes and become a successful shipbuilder.
Shen Jiazhen's life is full of love for his career and contribution to society. After retiring in 1980, he and his family donated more than $10 million worth of 125 acres of land to the Buddhist Church of America to build a solemn temple and continue to promote the development of Buddhism.
Shen Jiazhen started a great business in 1981, with 17 years of hard work and tens of millions of dollars of investment, he successfully built the solemn temple.
Now, the temple has become the largest Buddha hall in North America, covering an area of 225 acres and costing more than $1 in total construction$2.7 billion. Inside the temple, you can see the Guanyin Hall, the library of books, the Bodhisattva statue and the Qibao Lake, and many other Buddhist holy places, each of which is full of solemnity and sacredness.
In this place, you need to follow some rules. You can't burn incense sticks at will, and you can barely smell incense. Aside from kowtowing and donation boxes, you can't talk casually, and there's no place to sit and rest.
It's fine if you're here in the summer, but in the winter it takes an hour to drive from New York City here, and about an hour up to go around and head home.
This place is very different from the temples on the mainland, there is no place to worship incense, and there is no place to buy gifts. But as long as you respect the rules here, you can find a special serenity and respect here.