| Name of Religious Site: |
Montreal Chinese Buddhist Society Inc. |
| Tradition: |
Pure Land Buddhism |
| Address: |
3rd Floor of 1072 St. Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H2Z 1J5 |
| Phone Number: |
1 (514) 875-2038 |
| Fax Number: |
1 (514) 272-7490 |
| Date Center was Founded: |
1990 |
| Lay Leader and Title: |
Ms. Jiang |
| Date Center was Founded: |
1990 |
| Researcher: |
Alnis Dickson |
| Date: |
Monday, April 15, 2002 |
Affiliation with Other Communities/Organizations:
There is a very loose affiliation with Venerable Master Chin Kung, and other satellite Pure Land organizations such as the Dallas Buddhist Association and The Amitabha (Six Harmony) Buddhist Organization of Canada. |
Activities and Schedule:
An open service takes place on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM, involving reading of a sutra, chanting, nien-fo, and listening to a wide variety of taped lectures by different Masters. There is another service on the weekends beginning at 10:30 AM for the more experienced members who have been with the temple for seven years or more. |
History:
This temple has not moved since Ms. Jiang and Mr. Ma founded it, twelve years ago. Since that time, some money has come from voluntary donations by the congregation, while the rest has been generously donated by Ms. Jiang and Ms. Zhou. |
Demographics:
Usual services include roughly 15-20 people, but large ceremonies may involve up to 60. The congregation with which I was involved can be divided into two generations, one of which is elderly and mostly comes from mainland China (Hong Kong), the other is middle aged half of whom come from mainland China and half from the neighbouring countries of Thailand and Cambodia. Apparently there is a group of eight students between the ages of 20 and 24 who come during the summer months. Roughly 70% speak Cantonese and 30% speak Mandarin. No members’ first language is either English or French. |
Description of the Center:
Temple is on the third floor of a building owned by La Société des Francs-Maçon Chinois in the Montreal’s Chinatown district. There are four rooms: an office, a place to hang coats, a back room (with books, a large table, a fridge, a sink, and a television), and a main practicing room. The main practicing room has one central altar on the West wall and two smaller altars on the South wall. |
Activities:
There are no formal classes or lessons, although each weekend session begins with a reading of different selections from the final sutra and end with a taped lecture (audio) from their library. Any training is done informally by various members of the congregation. |
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