Local Buddhists say 'thank you' for support from the community

By Matt Russell

Post-Bulletin,

Rochester MN

The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is extending a "thank you" to community members who offered an outpouring of support this week following reports of harassment and vandalism at the local Buddhist temple.

Residents have dropped off flowers to replace those torn up by vandals, and several churches have called to offer support, said temple member Tracy Sam.

"They said if we ever need something, to contact them," she said.

The community response followed reports of vandalism at the temple on May 24 and June 4. Vandals spray-painted "Jesus Saves" in orange on the driveway, threw eggs at an entrance sign, ripped up flowers, and smashed lights.

Temple members say a group of boys have also harassed temple members recently by shouting obscenities at people, including monks, from the road.

The incidents led temple members to say that they feared worse damage or that they might be attacked on their property.

The support from the community this week, however, has been reassuring, Sam said.

"Some people out there really care," she said. "They think about us and they pray for us. It feels good to know that there are people in the community out there who support us."

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Letters to the Post Bulletin

Buddhist monks know how to respond to vandals ... with compassion

We are members of a Rochester group that has met weekly over the past five years to learn how to meditate and to support each other in that effort. Among the members of our group are monks and lay people from the Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester.

It's with great sadness that we've learned about the repeated acts of vandalism against the Cambodian Buddhist temple in recent weeks.

Many members of the Buddhist temple in Rochester have a lot of experience with being victims of violence, having left Cambodia during the genocide there between 1975 and 1979, which claimed two million lives.

We hope that law enforcement works quickly in Rochester and that members of other faith communities in Rochester step forward to show their support of the temple. In the meantime, we offer this loving-kindness prayer that Buddhists offer when they become targets of violence, hatred and aggression:

"We pray that we may clearly understand the roots of these violent acts and that we respond to them not out of anger or hatred, but rather with wisdom and compassion. To both the perpetrators and to the victims of these crimes, we pray that you be safe. We pray that you be protected. We pray that you be happy. We pray that you be at peace."

Doug McGill

(For 21 members)

Rochester