February 13, 1999
Source: The Houston Chronicle
On February 13, 1999, The Houston Chronicle reported on the newest Buddhist worship center in Houston, the Texas Guandi Temple. The temple honors Guandi, a "Chinese Buddhist guardian deity known for virtue, honesty, and power over evil spirits." The temple to Guandi was prompted by a hold up in 1989 of a grocery store owned by Charles Loi Ngo. Ngo prayed to Guandi during the crime and narrowly avoided death. Ngo founded the Hai Nam Association, a community group of 200 Asian families that raised the funds for the temple, in 1996. The 45,000 square foot, $1 million temple is one of the largest in the United States. The temple pays homage to both Guandi and Confucius.