September 3, 2013

By Tex (David) Allen

A new statue honoring a female Buddhist image was installed at the Buddhist Temple in Columbia PA USA today (Tuesday).

The statue is located outside of the temple, stands approximately 10 feet tall not including it’s pedestal, and is estimated to weigh 3 tons.

It was manufactured in Vietnam.

The interior of the temple also includes 2 large statues of the traditional male Buddha image, the famous 5th century BC prince also known as “Gautama.”

Most of the members of the Buddhist Temple congregation in Columbia PA USA are Vietnamese immigrants to the USA.

The CHUA PHAP HOA Buddhist Temple is located at the corner of South 2nd Street and Cherry Street at 203 Cherry St., Columbia PA 17512.

(General Phone for the Buddhist Aassociation Of PA Chua Phap Hoa Temple in Columbia PA USA: 717 – 684 – 4301, also Mr. Dang. T. Thao at 717-684-7368,  and Mr. Le T. Mu Ng at 717-431-0711, and Mr. Nguyen Quang at 610-927-2190 … principal contact persons identified as part of a Vietnamese language sign on the Temple office door at 203 Cherry St.).

The Chua Phap Hoa Buddist Temple has been located in Columbia PA USA for the past 18 years when the Buddhist Association Of Pennsylvania purchased a large, ornate, no longer used of occupied Methodist Church building located at 203 Cherry Street, Columbia PA USA 17512 in the Columbia PA Historic District (designated by the National Register Of Historic Places in 1983), directly across the street from the oldest existing building in Columbia PA USA, the “Wright Ferry Mansion,” 38 South Second Street, Columbia PA, the most famous and often visited tourist site in Columbia PA (daily tours operated currently during summer months by the Hess Foundation … no charge for the hourly tours).

The newly created entrance display is located exactly at the south-east corner of Cherry Street and South Second Street in Columbia PA USA, and includes a new enclosed and artificially lit sign enclosed in an oriental motif decor structure which displays the words “Buddhist Association Of Pennsylvania CHUA PHAP HOA TEMPLE,” the latter four words in large gold-colored 5 inch high letters).

There are approximately 150 to 165 Vietnamese Buddhist temples in the United States, with most adopting a mix of Pure Land (Tịnh Độ Tông) and Zen (Thiền) doctrines and practices.^[30][31] Most temples are small, consisting of a converted house with one or two resident monks or nuns.^[30] Two of the most prominent figures in Vietnamese American Buddhism are Thich Thien-An and Thich Nhat Hanh.^[31

Buddhism ranks fourth among major world religions.

Approximately 250,000,000 persons worldwide are estimated to adhere to it either as practicing Buddhists or “cultural” Buddhists (the latter accept the ethical precepts of Buddhism, but are not active members of Buddhist temples or religious groups).

Buddhism in Vietnam is said to have roughly 69,000,000 “cultural” Buddhists, and roughly 15,000,000 “practicing” Buddhists.

Christianity is estimated to rank first among world religions with roughly 2 billion members, followed by Islam with roughly 1.6. billion followers, with the Hindu religion ranking third….. followers of Hindu religion number roughly 900,000.

TOP METROPOLITAN AREAS BY VIETNAMESE POPULATION BY REGION

EASTERN CITIES

1. Washington D.C./VA/MD/WV/PMSA – 43,709
2. Boston-Worcester-Lawrence MA CMSA – 31,325
3. Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA/NJ/DE/MD CMSA – 24,779
4. New York City, NY PMSA – 12,040
5. Baltimore, MD PMSA – 3,616 6. Hartford, CT MSA – 3,590
6. Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle PA MSA – 2,649
7. Rochester, NY MSA – 2,603 9. Springfield, MA MSA – 2,220
8. Lancaster, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) – 2,178

The Buddhist Association of Pa and Buddhist Temple (where the new female image statue was installed Sept. 3, 2013)  serving Columbia Pennsylvania USA and nearby areas is located at 202 Cherry St  Columbia, PA 17512. Telephone (717) 684-4301.

The largest populations of Vietnamese immigrants to the USA are in the Greater Los Angeles, California area and in Texas.

Nationally, according to the 2010 Census, there are 1,548,449 people in the USA who identify themselves as Vietnamese alone or 1,737,433 in combination with other ethnicities, ranking fourth among the Asian American groups in the USA.

TOP 5 U.S. METROPOLITAN AREAS BY VIETNAMESE POPULATION UNITED STATES CENSUS 2000

1. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CA CMSA – 233,573 people
2. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA CMSA – 146,613
3. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX CMSA – 63,924
4. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX CMSA – 47,090
5. Washington D.C./VA/MD/WV PMSA – 43,709