美國圓覺堂 TBS CE Temple next to (Infusion Coffee and Tea, Guam)
泰暮寧市府公園 Tamuning Mayor Office's Park next to (GPO, Guam) corner of Marine Corp Dr. (Route 1) and Chalan San Antonio, Tamuning across from ITC Building.
True Buddha School founder: In this March 2010 photo, founder of True Buddha School, Grand Master Sheng-Yen Lu, gives a dharma talk after a group cultivation at the Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple in Seattle. The grand master will be visiting Guam in May. Courtesy of True Buddha School
A religious leader with millions of followers is scheduled to visit Guam in a few months.
In May, the True Buddha School Complete Enlightenment Temple will host its religious leader, Grand Master Lian-sheng, along with hundreds of his followers.
Born Sheng-Yen Lu, the grand master of the True Buddha School lives in Seattle but has millions of followers all over the world, which will account for the large entourage that will follow him to Guam.
Alice Chou, a TBS Complete Enlightenment Temple member who is helping to coordinate the grand master's trip to Guam, said they have at least 400 hotel rooms booked and have hundreds of seats on two airlines -- Eva Airlines and China Airlines -- reserved for the grand master and many followers from Hong Kong.
She said many other disciples are making individual arrangements to travel here, and she anticipates at least 600 people will be on Guam to see the Buddhist school's leader.
"We might even have as many as 1,000 people," she said.
Tower Chen, retired University of Guam professor and now president of the board that runs the TBS Complete Enlightenment Temple, said they've explained to potential visitors that Guam's hotel accommodations are limited.
"In Malaysia, he had thousands of people attending -- we don't have that room here, especially because the only time he had available for his visit was in May during Golden Week," Chen said.
Golden Week is the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese companies, which typically means thousands of Japanese people travel to various destinations, including Guam.
Guam partnership
TBS Complete Enlightenment Temple is the local chapter of True Buddha School, founded by Lu. Members of the local temple, which opened its doors on Feb. 1, 2011, invited him to the island to celebrate the new stupa. The group is building the Buddhist monument at the park adjacent to the Tamuning Mayor's Office.
"We wanted to build a shrine in a public area to share who we are and reach out to the community," said Tower Chen.
"We talked to the Tamuning mayor ... about building the stupa, but we also asked them if there is anything they need. Because we want this to be a partnership, and we want to help the community."
Chen said they discussed having a stage at the park that the community can use for events.
"It's a good location because the kids can do performances at a place that's safe -- it's near the mayor's office, it has a tennis court and the fire department is right next door," Chen said.
He said the stage was completed just before Christmas, noting that it was decorated with lights and figurines to celebrate the holiday season.
"It was beautiful and we were proud to be a part of that," Chen said.
Now, the group is waiting for the stupa, which is being built in China, and is expected to arrive in the next several weeks.
"When it gets here, we will assemble it at the site," Chen said.
Its completion will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with the grand master as the guest of honor.
"Then we will have a dharma ceremony," Chen said. "We will try to show everyone how we practice."
