Buddhist monks and nuns on P.E.I. 'disheartened' by negative comments about land ownership

Buddhist monks and nuns who live in eastern Prince Edward Island say they were disappointed to hear some of the concerns expressed at a planning meeting this past week in the Town of Three Rivers.

The monks and nuns say their organizations own slightly more than 500 hectares (1,247 acres) of land in eastern P.E.I. Some residents have long been unhappy about that and speculate that the Buddhists — or interests close to them — actually control much more property.

Tensions were evident at Monday's planning board meeting, for which the town hired security guards after someone posted on social media that it was "time to get the guns out and sharpen those knives" with regard to land ownership in the municipality. 

"It was actually quite disheartening," said Sabrina Chiang, a frequent spokesperson for the 600 Buddhist nuns, who are mainly from Taiwan. 

She also referenced negative comments on Facebook about the groups, some of which urge the Buddhists to be sent "back overseas" and allege they are tools of the Chinese Communist Party.

"It's a really strong allegation. And we are not part of the communist party, we are just students of the Buddha," Chiang said. "We have no political ties with any group." 

"It's surprising, I think, to see some of the comments we've been seeing," added nun Joanna Ho. She said they've been "grateful" for P.E.I. to give them a safe, stable place to study, offering freedom of religion and respect for individual human rights.

'Baseless accusations'

Eli Kingston, who was born and raised on the Island, has been a Buddhist monk for 12 years. 

"I'm from P.E.I. so I understand it, I get it," Kingston said. "But anytime there's acts of violence, lashing out, personal attacks, that kind of disheartens me.

"There's fear, and genuine concern is good, but we all know now with social media how information can spread… baseless accusations, misinformation."

This isn't just verbal attacks anymore. This is actually escalating into encroaching on someone's privacy, and people aren't feeling maybe as safe.— Eli Kingston, Buddhist monk

He said that with online rhetoric heating up recently, more people have stopped at the monks' properties in Little Sands and Heatherdale, where 700 monks live and study. Some take photos from the road, he said, but some are actually driving onto the property and "snooping around."

"We've had a monk pulled over on the side of the road and kind of harassed," Kingston said. "This isn't just verbal attacks anymore. This is actually escalating into encroaching on someone's privacy, and people aren't feeling maybe as safe."

Both the nuns and monks say rumours and misinformation abound about what they are doing in the area, and they welcome dialogue with anyone who has concerns. 

The nuns say they are not worried about their safety, as long as the threatening comments stay in the online realm.

"The kind people and the kindness in P.E.I. makes P.E.I. the beautiful place that it is," Chiang said. "Even though there is this negativity going on on social media, I do not feel it represents Prince Edward Island."  

'Gated communities'

At the planning meeting Monday, Victoria Cross resident Janice MacBeth rose to speak about zoning issues — in particular, concerns about institutional zoning in areas where the Buddhist and nuns are living in communal settings.

There has been widespread talk online of this allowing groups to build their own hospitals and police stations in the future. 

"Our provincial government and our municipality is supporting the development of gated communities not open to the general public," MacBeth told planning board members.

"The divide between rich newcomers and poor Islanders has never been as wide, as homes and property values continue to rise and undermine our young families' ability to live in Three Rivers in the future."  

Ho said the nuns' organization owns 670 acres of land in Vernon Bridge and Brudenell, while about 10 individual nuns and their families have purchased a total of about 270 acres.

Kingston said GEBIS owns 577 acres of land in the area, plus an unknown amount purchased by individual monks and their families or followers.

"There's accusations that there's one entity controlling all this land. There isn't," Kingston said. He said they are within provincial land limits and "do not feel we have done anything wrong." 

'We don't want to create any discord'

The organizations say they chose rural P.E.I. because it is quiet and peaceful, a good place to try to keep alive the fading heritage of Tibetan Buddhism.

As for the "gated communities" comment, Ho said there is a gate at the driveway leading to the nuns' residence — for the women's safety. 

"I don't know what they are referring to with these closed gates, and they'll never be able to come in," Kingston said. "I look at it as like UPEI." 

This past July, the nuns held an open house at their new monastery to try to dispel any misconceptions about what they do, and Chiang said about 1,600 people attended. The nuns' plan is to eventually have a multimillion-dollar monastery complex that could accommodate up to 1,400 nuns. 

As Buddhists, we don't want to create any discord. We definitely wouldn't want our presence to bring any negativity to the community.— Sabrina Chiang, Buddhist nun

The nuns and monks say they want to preserve the serenity and beauty of the rural landscape. They are doing some organic farming and plan lots of green space, and say they don't intend to build infrastructure for police or fire as the online critics fear. 

Both groups say their funds come from donations — from their members' parents, followers and supporters — and not political parties or organizations.  

"As Buddhists, we don't want to create any discord," Chiang said. "We definitely wouldn't want our presence to bring any negativity to the community."  

She said she is optimistic the rumours will pass and the nuns' presence will eventually "bring goodness to the people and to the world."