Tu Viện Quảng Đức105 Lynch Rd, Fawkner, Vic 3060. Australia. Tel: 9357 3544. quangduc@quangduc.com* Viện Chủ: HT Tâm Phương, Trụ Trì: TT Nguyên Tạng   

Buddha seems to bring tranquility to Oakland neighborhood

08/10/201408:15(Xem: 15966)
Buddha seems to bring tranquility to Oakland neighborhood


Oakland


Oakland_2
   

Dan Stevenson is neither a Buddhist nor a follower of any organized religion.

The 11th Avenue resident in Oakland's Eastlake neighborhood was simply feeling hopeful in 2009 when he went to an Ace hardware store, purchased a 2-foot-high stone Buddha and installed it on a median strip in a residential area at 11th Avenue and 19th Street.

He hoped that just maybe his small gesture would bring tranquillity to a neighborhood marred by crime: dumping, graffiti, drug dealing, prostitution, robberies, aggravated assault and burglaries.

What happened next was nothing short of stunning. Area residents began to leave offerings at the base of the Buddha: flowers, food, candles. A group of Vietnamese women in prayer robes began to gather at the statue to pray.

And the neighborhood changed. People stopped dumping garbage. They stopped vandalizing walls with graffiti. And the drug dealers stopped using that area to deal. The prostitutes went away.

I asked police to check their crime statistics for the block radius around the statue, and here's what they found: Since 2012, when worshipers began showing up for daily prayers, overall year-to-date crime has dropped by 82 percent. Robbery reports went from 14 to three, aggravated assaults from five to zero, burglaries from eight to four, narcotics from three to none, and prostitution from three to none.

"I can't say what to attribute it to, but these are the numbers," a police statistician told me.

Back in 2009, when word got around that Stevenson was the person who'd installed the statue, offerings began to appear on his doorstep. It was like a scene straight out of the Clint Eastwood film "Gran Torino."

"They left a ton of fruit and Vietnamese specialty foods and candy, but there's only me and my wife, Lu, here and we can't eat all that stuff - but it's so good," said Stevenson.

"I've tried to explain to them my reasons" for placing the statue, he said. "I have nothing against it, but I don't believe what you believe!"

I don't think it matters to them.

To this day, every morning at 7, worshipers ring a chime, clang a bell and play soft music as they chant morning prayers. The original statue is now part of an elaborate shrine that includes a wooden structure standing 10 feet tall and holding religious statues, portraits, food and fruit offerings surrounded by incense-scented air.

"This used to be a huge spot for dumping stuff," said Alicia Tatum, 27, on an early morning walk with her dogs Lulu and Mya. "But over time, it's blossomed with more and more and more flowers - and they are out there every morning like clockwork."

On weekends, the worshipers include more than a dozen people: black folks, white folks, all folks, said Andy Blackwood, a neighborhood resident. Two weeks ago, a group of German tourists visited the shrine.

"The dope-dealing has stopped, the ladies of the evening have stopped," Blackwood said.

The Buddha has withstood two attempts to remove him from his watch, one criminal and one governmental. Neither has worked.

Soon after its installation, a would-be thief tried to pry the statue from its perch, but Stevenson had secured him with reinforced iron bar and "$35 worth" of a powerful epoxy - and Buddha didn't budge.

In 2012, after a resident's complaint, the city's Public Works Department tried to remove the statue but received such passionate blowback from neighbors that city officials decided to table and "study" the issue. Two years later, the administrative effort is long forgotten, and Buddha is still there.

When I went to visit the shrine, four small-framed ladies who don't speak or understand English decided I looked like a convert.

The moment I started talking, one of them politely took my pen from one hand, my notepad from the other and directed me to clasp my hands together, bow and repeat after her - so I did. When in Rome, right?

Apparently, my Buddhist chants aren't half bad either because they won some approving "oohs and aahs" from the flock - and carried me to Step 2 in the conversion process. The same woman who had grabbed my gear sat me cross-legged on a prayer rug in the street and placed a stool with a book on it before me. If nothing else, Buddha and I share the same body type - short, squat and happy. I sat there for a moment thinking that I might resemble him - and maybe that's why they seemed to like me.

I thought it might be a good opportunity to get a question in, too - and this time my spiritual guide seemed to understand.

"Next week," she replied.

Thank you very much, but I think I've already found what I was looking for.


Chip Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column runs on Tuesday and Friday. E-mail: chjohnson@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @chjohnson.

- See more at: http://www.saungon.net/tbl/item_2429.html#sthash.aMzSpCrt.dpuf

Gửi ý kiến của bạn
Tắt
Telex
VNI
Tên của bạn
Email của bạn
03/12/2014(Xem: 8953)
Your Holinesses, Your Excellencies, Your Emminencies, dear Most Venerables, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. Please allow me to read the words that our Beloved Teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, wished to deliver here today: “We are grateful to gather today to announce to the world our commitment to work together to end Modern Slavery; and to plea to those who traffic in human beings to stop their exploitation; and to ask world leaders and organisations to protect the dignity of these young women, men and children. They are our daughters and sons, our sisters and brothers.
21/11/2014(Xem: 19057)
As a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, working as a Buddhist chaplain at several of Melbourne's hospitals and as well as Melbourne assessment prison, I have witnessed many personal tragedies faced by the living and of course the very process of dying and that of death and many of these poor people faced their death with fear, with misery and pain before departing this world. With the images of all these in my mind, on this occasion, I wish to share my view from the perspective of a Buddhist and we hope that people would feel far more relaxed in facing this inevitable end since it is really not the end of life, according to our belief.
07/11/2014(Xem: 8454)
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He said..... "Then I thank you from my heart." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.
04/11/2014(Xem: 5143)
If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
31/10/2014(Xem: 17505)
A roof of the prayer hall collapsed early this morning at the Vietnamese Buddhist Center in far Southwest Houston. The Houston Fire Department tells Eyewitness News that no one was inside at the time and no one was hurt. An alarm went off about 1:45am this morning at the temple on Synott between Old Richmond and West Bellfort, alerting the monks who live on property the building to collapse. One Buddhist follower we spoke to says he received a phone call at home and just had to come see this for himself. A roof of the prayer hall collapsed at the Vietnamese Buddhist Center in far southwest Houston KTRK Photo/ Linh Nguyen "At first we didn't really believe it... We drove out here. Luckily nobody was in the building," said Khoa Ngo. The prayer hall can hold hundreds of people, and parts of the ceiling collapsed to the ground. HFD says engineers will inspect the building later today to determine what should happen next.
30/10/2014(Xem: 5049)
Two men shot in the head with a nail gun after an attack at a Buddhist temple Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2812103/Two-men-shot-head-nail-gun-attack-Buddhist-temple.html#ixzz3HaZ9wRnH Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
28/10/2014(Xem: 4594)
Disappeared, The Official Documentary for TwoTooMany. Released on the 26th of October, it marks 4months since the 2 Woodville High School boys where taken. Quoted from one of the main powers behind this campaign, Wathnak Vy “4 months of SADNESS”. After these 4 months, the 2 boys have not been returned. The Immigration Minister has still made no comment upon this issue. The Woodville High School Community and the Community abroad will continue to fight for these 2 boys and all Asylum Seeker rights. JLe Productions will continue to support them all the way. Official Correspondence: BringBackTheWoodvilleKids@gmail.com Twitter - @two_too_many FaceBook Group - bringbackthewoodvillekids --- Featuring --- Meredith Edwards Kyle Rigney Kevin Chung Wathnak Vy Kathy Nguyen Narridy Loechel Special Appearance from Neo Pitso --- Crew --- Director - Jordan Le Assistant Director – Jake Capasso and McKenzie Whyte Producer – Kenley Walter and Jordan Le Co-Producer – Alex
27/10/2014(Xem: 5238)
The Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia–New Zealand has received the news that the Former Prime Minister of Australia, The Honourable Edward Gough Whitlam passed away in Sydney on October 21st, 2014, aged 98 years. We Vietnamese Buddhists began arriving in Australia as refugees from communism in the mid-1970s during Mr. Whitlam’s term as Prime Minister. From our reading we know that the Late Former Prime Minister has become a legend, and that for his near century of life all Australians are grateful to him and admire, respect and honour him. He has through his determination and strength of spirit and to the best of his ability brought progress to Australia making her an equal among free, democratic and powerful nations of the world. Through audacious and welcome reforms to education, justice, health, etc… he made Australia and its people feel reassured and more confident in the future.
02/10/2014(Xem: 5455)
Someone once said to me that nothing stays forever No state of mind, stays good or bad but it could, if we were together
facebook youtube google-plus linkedin twitter blog
Nguyện đem công đức này, trang nghiêm Phật Tịnh Độ, trên đền bốn ơn nặng, dưới cứu khổ ba đường,
nếu có người thấy nghe, đều phát lòng Bồ Đề, hết một báo thân này, sinh qua cõi Cực Lạc.

May the Merit and virtue,accrued from this work, adorn the Buddhas pureland,
Repay the four great kindnesses above, andrelieve the suffering of those on the three paths below,
may those who see or hear of these efforts generates Bodhi Mind, spend their lives devoted to the Buddha Dharma,
the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association of Victoria
Tu Viện Quảng Đức | Quang Duc Monastery
Most Venerable Thich Tam Phuong | Senior Venerable Thich Nguyen Tang
Address: Quang Duc Monastery, 105 Lynch Road, Fawkner, Vic.3060 Australia
Tel: 61.03.9357 3544 ; Fax: 61.03.9357 3600
Website: http://www.quangduc.com
http://www.tuvienquangduc.com.au (old)
Xin gửi Xin gửi bài mới và ý kiến đóng góp đến Ban Biên Tập qua địa chỉ:
quangduc@quangduc.com