Source: The Register Citizen
http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9910959&BRD=1652&PAG=461&dept_id=12530&rfi=6
On July 28, 2003 The Register Citizen reported that "it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the hundreds who gathered at the New International Buddhist Temple on Sunday. Surrounded by the unmistakable smell of incense and sounds of traditional Buddhist chants, Asians and Caucasians alike celebrated the coming of three new statues depicting the Lord Buddha... At the forefront of the temple, the massive statues were heralded during an Open Eye Ceremony and the ordination of one Litchfield County resident into the Korean Buddhist Order... 'The three statues were constructed specifically for this temple,' said Brian Vaugh, who welcomed monks from around the world into the temple known by Koreans as Dae Yan Sa. Loosely translated, Dae Yan Sa means big lotus flower, a direct reference to one of the prominent symbols of Buddhism... The ceremony itself included more than 100 practicing Buddhists from Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Shedding various forms of footwear at the entrance to the temple, each in attendance sat quietly before the giant, gold-plated statues of Buddha."