engineering

International Buddhist Temple

International Buddhist Temple is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand International Buddhist Temple rather than just read about it. In short: The International Buddhist Temple (Chinese: 國際佛教觀音寺; pinyin: Guójì Fójiào Guānyīn Sì; lit. 'Guan Yin Temple') is located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is a Chinese Buddhist temple run by the International Buddhist Society.

Key takeaways

International Buddhist Temple belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect International Buddhist Temple to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of International Buddhist Temple from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The International Buddhist Temple (Chinese: 國際佛教觀音寺; pinyin: Guójì Fójiào Guānyīn Sì; lit. 'Guan Yin Temple') is located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is a Chinese Buddhist temple run by the International Buddhist Society. While the Society officially practices Mahayana Buddhism, the temple is open to Theravada Buddhist affiliates and visitors, as well as visitors of all religious and unique cultural backgrounds.

History In 1979, two Buddhists from Hong Kong donated land and funds to the cause of building an authentic Chinese Buddhist temple in North America. The International Buddhist Society was established in 1981 for this cause by the Venerable Guan Cheng and five other individuals. The International Buddhist Temple officially opened to the public after two years, when its Main Hall was completed. Thousands of people, including Richmond's mayor and Member of Parliament, attended the inauguration ceremony in 1986.

International Buddhist Society The International Buddhist Society is a non-profit organization and a registered Canadian charity. It sponsors charitable programs both in Canada and abroad. Some of the Society's efforts include:

Donations to the Food Bank Rescuing and releasing sealife and other creatures Support for the poor and disadvantaged in rural China Aid for students and the elderly The Society also hosts free events for the community, such as Senior's Day celebrations with free vegetarian lunches for seniors at the temple.

The Venerable Guan Cheng

The Venerable Guan Cheng has been the head of the Society and the temple's Abbot since 1999. A student of Buddhism for more than 40 years, he was ordained in 1999 by the Venerable Master Xu Lang, at the Miao Fa Monastery in the US. The abbot speaks Cantonese, English, and Mandarin, and has a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Toronto. He was one of two delegates for Canada at the First World Buddhist Forum in China. He travels widely to spread Buddhist teachings and perform charity work, and holds frequent lectures and classes. He hosts a radio show on AM1320 (Overseas Chinese Voice) in Vancouver, and Metroshowbiz FM99.7 in Hong Kong. He is also a columnist for Hong Kong's Buddhist Compassion Magazine. The Venerable Guan Cheng has written and published: Happiness Originates from the Mind (2003), How to Attain Happiness by Appeasing One's Mind (2004), Prajna-Paramita Hirdya Sutra Commentary (2006), and A Bouquet of Incense from the Heart (2006).

Architecture The temple is the most authentic structure of traditional Chinese palatial (imperial) style in North America. Its design is based on the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. The International Buddhist Temple features golden tiles on its two-tiered roof, flared eaves, and two scholar's courtyards. Beyond the main courtyard is the classical Chinese garden with lotus ponds, twin gazebos, rock landscapes, and a stone bridge. One attraction is the flowing Wisdom Fountain at the edge of the pond. Worshipers believe that water from the Wisdom Fountain has cleansing properties and other benefits. There is also the Siddhartha Gautama Pool, in which nine white dragons spout water towards the sky. They represent the nine heavenly dragons which bathed Prince Siddhartha Gautama as a newborn. At the centre of the temple is the Main Gracious Hall. Beneath its Northern imperial Chinese exterior of gold and red is a Western structural frame of concrete and steel. It houses five great Buddha and Bodhisattva statues. The statue of Buddha Sakyamuni is the largest in North America. The building contains a gift shop.

Across from the Main Hall in the Worshiping Square is the Seven Buddha Pavilion. Within it are the Four Heavenly Kings and the Avalokitesvara Buddha, or Guan-Yin, with a thousand hands and eyes. There are also a Thousand Buddha Hall, Ksitigarbha (Ancestral) Hall, and Meditation Hall, as well as many smaller shrines on the grounds. As of 2007, the temple is still undergoing expansions.

Art From 1986 to 1991, the Society held a monthly Chinese art exhibition, Karma of the Brush. All artists in the Greater Vancouver area were welcome to share their works with the public. Out of this arose the Seven Buddha Mural, painted by one of the artists and founders of the exhibition, Fung Kai Mun. It took two years to complete, and is currently the largest Buddhist mural in the world. The wall facing the garden displays the Amitabha Buddha mural. It is engraved with the Buddha's name as a reminder of the Mahayana goal of rebirth into the Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land. The Venerable Guan Cheng has an interest in gardening and landscape. All of the flower arrangements around the temple, as well as the garden, are designed by the abbot with both Chinese tradition and Buddhist aesthetics in mind. There are also bonsai, and Buddhist idioms carved in stone. The entrance of the International Buddhist Temple is inspired by Deer Park, with its gentle slopes, trees, and artificial deer. Deer Park was where the Buddha Sakyamuni gave his first sermons to his followers. There are also several other Buddhist stories and historical events tied to the place.

Programs and Services

The International Buddhist Society hosts English-language meditation classes every Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. and the temple periodically hosts retreats. Venerable Guan Cheng himself conducts lectures and Dharma Talks regularly in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. He discusses everything from practical applications of Buddhist wisdom to ancient scriptures in Sanskrit. Visitors may honour the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas by making contributions to the temple. Avalokitesvara, for example, is the embodiment of Compassion, and helps individuals overcome troubles and acquire health and happiness. General Guan represents loyalty and righteousness. Contributions to him will bring protection from harm, illness, and evil. The temple offers guided tours for groups of 15 or more. The Sangha holds daily prayer sessions and special ceremonies in the Main Gracious Hall.

Awards The temple is recognized as the city of Richmond's "Point of Pride". It has also won the 125th Centennial Award from the Lieutenant Governor of Canada, for services to the community. For over a decade, the temple has been the first-place winner for Richmond's Landscape and Garden Contest, in the "church/temple" category.

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with International Buddhist Temple

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what International Buddhist Temple claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to International Buddhist Temple before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about International Buddhist Temple ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of International Buddhist Temple

In research: International Buddhist Temple appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses International Buddhist Temple in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: International Buddhist Temple is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th-century religious buildings and structures in Canada, Buddhism in British Columbia, Buddhist temples completed in the 20th century, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for International Buddhist Temple outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study International Buddhist Temple in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what International Buddhist Temple means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain International Buddhist Temple out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is International Buddhist Temple in simple terms?

Why does International Buddhist Temple matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study International Buddhist Temple?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on International Buddhist Temple.