Buddhist Monastery "Plants Seed for Future Growth"

April 8, 2005

Original Source: The Miami Herald

Wire Service: AP

https://www.deseret.com/2005/4/9/19886207/buddhism-buds-in-brazil

On April 8, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "As the Buddhist monastery's sweeping red roof comes into view above the rolling green hills, a visitor can imagine its chambers filled with robed monks meditating and chanting. Instead, the sprawling monastery and temple is home to just 14 young Brazilians studying to become Fo Guang Shan monks or nuns in this city about 20 miles west of Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city. 'We have planted a seed for the future growth of Humanist Buddhism in Brazil,' said Chueh Cheng, abbess of the Zu Lai monastery. 'It is a slow and gradual process that will require a lot of patience because we do not proselytize.' Still, Chueh - who is known by the nickname Sinceridade, Portuguese for sincerity - says the monastery is the cornerstone of a plan to help Buddhism grow in the world's largest Roman Catholic country."