Near a New Jersey Highway, a Large Statue of Buddha

In the eastern American state of New Jersey, a large statue of Buddha has become a gathering place for people of many religious faiths.

在美国东部的新泽西州，一尊巨大的佛像已成为多种宗教信仰人士的聚集地。

The nine-meter-high statue has stood among the woods in Franklin Township since 2009. It was built under the leadership of the Venerable Hungampola Sirirathana Nayaka Thera, a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka. He says his dream is to unite people of all faiths.

这座九米高的雕像自 2009 年以来一直矗立在富兰克林镇的树林中。它是在斯里兰卡佛教僧侣 Hungampola Sirirathana Nayaka Thera 的领导下建造的。 他说他的梦想是团结不同信仰的人们。

The statue is on the grounds of the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Center. The center has become a spiritual place for Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians.

该雕像位于新泽西州佛教寺院和冥想中心的场地上。 该中心已成为佛教徒、印度教徒和基督教徒的精神圣地。

Among those who praise the center are a Princeton University professor who grew up in a Korean Christian church and who follows Tibetan Buddhism; a leader of the local Nepali community who organizes interfaith gatherings; and a woman who became a Buddhist after living near the statue.

赞扬该中心的人包括普林斯顿大学的一位教授，他在韩国基督教会长大，信奉藏传佛教； 组织跨宗教聚会的当地尼泊尔社区领袖； 还有一位住在雕像附近而成为佛教徒的女士。

“It just seems to be a nexus where a lot of people connect,” said Daniel Choi. He follows Tibetan Buddhism and teaches writing at Princeton. He has been meditating in front of the Buddha statue since 2015.

“这似乎是很多人联系的纽带，”丹尼尔·崔 (Daniel Choi) 说。 他信仰藏传佛教，并在普林斯顿大学教授写作。 自2015年起，他就开始在佛像前冥想。

Choi said that the center is open to the public. He said that is unlike most Buddhist centers in the U.S. which are run by private organizations, “where you wouldn’t be able to go in for open practice,” he said.

崔说，该中心向公众开放。 他说，这与美国大多数由私人组织经营的佛教中心不同，“在那里你无法参加公开修行，”他说。

He also noted that the center is in an unexpected place. Thera built the statue and meditation center behind a house close to a highway.

他还指出，该中心位于一个意想不到的地方。 锡拉在靠近高速公路的一座房子后面建造了雕像和冥想中心。

“You hear traffic; you hear cars rushing by; you hear airplanes flying above…You hear the construction work going on,” Choi said.

“你听到交通声； 你听到汽车呼啸而过； “你会听到飞机在上空飞翔……你会听到建筑工程正在进行，”崔说。

The meditation center follows Theravada, the main form of Buddhism observed in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. But it welcomes all Buddhist traditions and other faiths.

冥想中心遵循上座部佛教，这是斯里兰卡、缅甸和泰国佛教的主要形式。 但它欢迎所有佛教传统和其他信仰。

When Choi first visited, he was surprised to find a statue of Kuan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of compassion. The goddess is important in Mahayana Buddhism observed in Tibet, China and Korea.

当崔第一次参观时，他惊讶地发现了一尊佛教慈悲女神观音的雕像。 该女神在西藏、中国和韩国的大乘佛教中具有重要地位。

“For me that was very welcoming because I thought: ’OK, so there’s something for me as well,’” Choi said.

“对我来说，这非常受欢迎，因为我想：‘好吧，这也适合我，’”崔说。

Local students have painted a wall in the center with images showing different world religions, from Baha’i and Christianity to Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. All of these religions are practiced in New Jersey.

当地学生在中心的墙上绘制了展示不同世界宗教的图像，从巴哈伊教和基督教到锡克教和琐罗亚斯德教。 所有这些宗教都在新泽西州盛行。

Tulsi Maharjan is director of the nonprofit organization Friends of Nepal - New Jersey. He has led projects involving more than one religion, including the wall painting and a peace garden.

图尔西·马哈詹 (Tulsi Maharjan) 是新泽西州尼泊尔之友非营利组织的主任。 他领导过涉及多个宗教的项目，包括壁画和和平花园。

He said that when he first came to New Jersey 35 years ago, he had to drive almost three hours to go to a Buddhist temple. But now, people from all over the world live near the Vihara Meditation center and statue.

他说，35年前，当他第一次来到新泽西州时，他必须开车近三个小时才能去一座佛教寺庙。 但现在，来自世界各地的人们住在精舍冥想中心和雕像附近。

“Now, within ten minutes…from my home, I can go to the Buddhist temple. But there are so many others,” he said listing nearby Jain, Sikh and Hindu temples that make him proud of the religious diversity in central New Jersey.

“现在，从我家出发……十分钟之内，我就可以去佛寺。 但还有很多其他寺庙，”他列出了附近的耆那教、锡克教和印度教寺庙，这些寺庙让他对新泽西州中部的宗教多样性感到自豪。

Maharjan said that anybody who comes to the temple “feels so calm and collected once they see that big Buddha.”

马哈詹说，任何来到寺庙的人“一旦看到那尊大佛，就会感到如此平静和镇定”。

Carol Kuehn is a 76-year-old retired high school teacher who lives next to the Buddhist center. Kuehn said: “It’s the first thing I look at in the morning.”

卡罗尔·库恩 (Carol Kuehn) 是一位 76 岁的退休高中教师，住在佛教中心旁边。 库恩说：“这是我早上看到的第一件事。”

Kuehn grew up in a Christian family and became interested in Buddhism after reading Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha.

库恩在一个基督教家庭长大，在阅读赫尔曼·黑塞的小说《悉达多》后对佛教产生了兴趣。

She became a Buddhist after the leader of the temple arrived in 2002. Buddhism, she said, helped her deal with grief after the death of her husband.

2002 年寺庙负责人到来后，她成为一名佛教徒。她说，佛教帮助她应对了丈夫去世后的悲伤。

“The whole point of Buddhism is to live in the moment,” she said.

“佛教的全部意义就是活在当下，”她说。