Post by Logan on Feb 1, 2016 0:34:13 GMT -6
San Jose: Buddhist monk, neighbors at odds over temple expansion
SAN JOSE -- For those who want to live in peace and quiet in the tranquil foothills east of town, it would be hard to imagine a better neighbor than a Buddhist monk.
But neighbors say monk Tuan Van Nguyen, who goes by Master Thich Duc Huy, and his Canh Thai Temple have carried on like a boisterous tent revival on Klein Road just outside San Jose's city limits. They call Huy a "little Napoleon," and a "hunk of a monk" with a reputation for doing things that just don't seem very Buddhist. And now they're livid over his proposed 7,000-square-foot temple expansion, which the Santa Clara County Board of supervisors will consider Feb. 9.
Huy wouldn't comment about the flap -- which has turned up on Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" monologue -- but the temple's associates insist through the project's architect and unofficial spokesman that they want nothing more than to create a place to pray.
"They are really nice and accepting people," said architect Reid Lerner. "But they are having a hard time comprehending why the neighbors are so fearful."
Read more: www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29456984/san-jose-residents-face-off-monk-over-proposed
SAN JOSE -- For those who want to live in peace and quiet in the tranquil foothills east of town, it would be hard to imagine a better neighbor than a Buddhist monk.
But neighbors say monk Tuan Van Nguyen, who goes by Master Thich Duc Huy, and his Canh Thai Temple have carried on like a boisterous tent revival on Klein Road just outside San Jose's city limits. They call Huy a "little Napoleon," and a "hunk of a monk" with a reputation for doing things that just don't seem very Buddhist. And now they're livid over his proposed 7,000-square-foot temple expansion, which the Santa Clara County Board of supervisors will consider Feb. 9.
Huy wouldn't comment about the flap -- which has turned up on Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" monologue -- but the temple's associates insist through the project's architect and unofficial spokesman that they want nothing more than to create a place to pray.
"They are really nice and accepting people," said architect Reid Lerner. "But they are having a hard time comprehending why the neighbors are so fearful."
Read more: www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29456984/san-jose-residents-face-off-monk-over-proposed