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Lingyen Temple’s expansion project breaks new ground

Lingyen Mountain Temple, a Buddhist place of worship near No.5 Road and Steveston Highway, will be expanded to about triple its current size, allowing for more functions, including a Buddhism education centre.

Lingyen Mountain Temple, a Buddhist place of worship near No.5 Road and Steveston Highway, will be expanded to about triple its current size, allowing for more functions, including a Buddhism education centre. 

The ground-breaking ceremony took place last week on the site, when masters from Taiwan held a purification rite. MLAs John Yap, Linda Reid and Teresa Wat and Couns. Bill McNulty and Derek Dang attended the event.

The project, approved by Richmond city council in 2016, includes the construction of a new Main Buddha Hall, and a complex similar in size to the current temple for a Buddhism education centre, according to nun Lotus Sie.

“As the number of visitors and nuns increases over the years, we need more space to serve the temple’s functions including retreats, big events, residences for nuns, education and dining,” said Sie to the Richmond News.

Lingyen expansion
Lingyen Mountain Temple is set to triple in size. Photo by DA Architects and Planners

The planned new Main Buddha Hall will take up 12,400 sq. ft. with three levels, including a ground level used for parking and a dining hall. The rest of the new temple will serve as a residential area and as an education centre for children and young people to learn about Buddhism, Sie added.

The new temple, once built, is expected to house 60 resident nuns and up to 70 retreat participants — members of the public who study and meditate for two to 10 days. It will also have 385 parking spaces.

The expansion plan has caused controversy in the neighbourhood since it was proposed more than a decade ago. Most concerns were about the height of new buildings and maintaining the agricultural land on the site.

The project was finally settled after the temple agreed to have the height set at 27.5 metres and not to have the building encroach on farmland on the site.

As for farming the land, the temple will provide a bond of $186,000 to the city to ensure a farming strategy is carried out, which involves fruit tree retention and berry production.

-- With Richmond News file