Hsi Lai Temple - History

History

In 1976, Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the order, represented a Buddhist group from Taiwan to participate in America's bicentennial celebration. Master Hsing Yun was asked by American friends to build a monastery in the United States. Therefore, Fo Guang Shan asked the Venerable Tzu Chuang (who, upon the inception of the temple, became the founding and first abbess of Hsi Lai Temple) and Yi Heng to plan and organize the construction of the temple in the Greater Los Angeles area. It was officially registered under the name of International Buddhist Progress Society. Until the temple was complete, Ven. Tzu Chuang bought an old church building, which was to be Hsi Lai's temporary headquarters. The original temple, located in the city of Maywood was called the Bai Ta (White Pagoda) Temple.

The planning and construction of the temple in the 1980s was met with suspicion and resistance from local communities, many of whom knew little about Buddhism or had negative attitudes toward it. Some main reasons for resistance against the building of the temple was the promise of weekly services, heavy traffic, noise, and concern about environmental damage.

Originally, the organization had planned to build the temple in the South Bay, Los Angeles area, but were blocked from acquiring land. They also tried to acquire the historical Pyrenees Castle in Alhambra, but also met opposition from the community. The building of the temple at its current location survived six public hearings and numerous explanatory sessions. Finally in 1985, the temple was finally granted a building permit. The groundbreaking ceremony was held the following year, and was completed on November 26, 1988.

The temple was finished at a cost of $10 million. Such negative feelings about the building of Hsi Lai have since diminished as the general level of awareness has been raised and as the temple and its residents have proven to be good neighbors.

Immediately after its opening, Hsi Lai was the venue of many important events. The 16th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the 7th conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth were held from November 19 to the 26th, an international Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony for monastics was held for over a month, and a Liberation Rite of Water and Land, the first of its kind in North America, was held prior to the temple's opening.

In 2008, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the opening of Hsi Lai, another international Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony for monastics and a Liberation Rite of Water and Land was subsequently held.

In Summer 2011, Hsi Lai Temple was the starting location for the 19th season of the Emmy Primetime award-winning reality series The Amazing Race.

On September 4, 2012, Hsi Lai Temple abbot Hui Chi was elected to the post of head abbot of the Fo Guang Shan order, succeeding Hsin Pei.