the thai buddhist temple in berkeley on russell street has been an institution to the community for over 27 years. it is home to leaders of a minority cultural community; thais represent only 1% of the asian population in the u.s. they have provided religion, education, food, shelter and guidance on life to whomever needed their help.
i went to the berkeley zoning board hearing a few nights ago to check out the case on oregon street against the thai buddhist temple. what started off as a simple request to examine and update land permits has become an obvious form of discrimination masked by environmental concerns. their complaints were in regards to the congregation's sunday brunches which usually hold celebrations and rememberances. oregon street has complained about noise pollution, commercialism in the neighborhood, disturbing odors and traffic congestion despite berkeley's reputation of having high-density neighborhoods surrounded by commericial property. while i understand oregon street's position in non-expansion as well as the support of the law, they don't have the voracity or the validity to end this religious practice.
many of my friends grew up at this temple and i've gone to the prayers and brunches with them on and off since high school. on top of it being a place of religious worship, i know that the temple gives so much to the community by providing afterschool programs, giving shelter and guidance for the homeless, hold weddings and funerals... the list goes on. and from the practice of buddhism, the temple can only gain money through donations. they cannot survive without the practice of these sunday events.
and i've seen the temple put in a considerable amount of compromise and concession to the neighbors' complaints. over the years, they've rennovated their land and have built beautiful gardens in order to create "noise" and "scent" buffers. there are several parking signs scattered throughout the streets to prevent visitors from parking into private areas. they make sure people come in at 10AM and leave exactly at 1PM and they clean up so well after every event that it doesn't even seem like these super fun times even occurred. with the temple's history and credibility in the bay as well as their long list of good merits, i wouldn't mind having a 3 hour party every week. especially when i know it's for a good cause. and did i mention the food is bombass?
in the end, more than 1,ooo berkeley folks signed a petition for the temple and the board did pass the project. yay, they won the battle. but i still can't help feeling concerned about the situation.
diversity and multiculture is my norm, any other way of living would be considered out of the ordinary for me. and after traveling to so many different places over the past few years, it was abundantly clear to me that the bay area was the only place in the world that has truly engrained inclusivity in their mentality. so how did we let this happen? did this really have to go all the way to the city's zoning board to delegate the issue? bay area people are supposed to stick together and compromise. we're supposed to help minorities flourish and nurture their growth of identity...
let's look at a different scene with similar conditions: farmer's markets. they're held every sunday and close several streets to sell locally grown, green and organic produce. the parking is terrible, there's always that one booth cooking up something "different", they last several hours, and they leave a big mess in the end. but we let this happen all the time. why? because it's for a good cause.
what makes the temple any different?
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