Fort Worth Buddhist temple gears up for Lunar New Year, million-dollar expansion

Fort Worth Buddhist temple gears up for Lunar New Year, million-dollar expansion

Monks and members of a Buddhist temple in southeast Fort Worth are gearing up to open its doors to all interested in celebrating the Lunar New Year. Located near the Stop Six neighborhood, the Chùa Hu’o’ng Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center is hosting its 2025 Spring Blossom Festival from Jan. 18 to Feb. 2. The festival commemorates the arrival of spring, the Lunar New Year and the first full moon of the year on Jan. 29. Pink cherry blossom trees and colorful lanterns dress the grounds of the temple. For the next several days, Fort Worth residents can visit during festival hours to view the flower and bonsai show, grab a bite to eat at the vegetarian food court or watch lion dancers jump and sway to the beat of rumbling drums and cymbals. If you go

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What: Lunar New Year festivitiesWhen: Through Feb. 2. See program for details.Where: Chùa Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center, 4717 E. Rosedale St., Fort WorthAdmission: Free, prices at food and decor vendors may vary. Lunar New Year symbolizes a transition period from old to new, Chien Le, secretary for the temple, said. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, families come together to visit the temple and pray, pay respects to their ancestors, and receive blessings, Le said. “During the midnight period, we would have chanting. The monks would come and they would chant, and they would be blessing all the people who come to the temple to bless them and hopefully bring them luck in the new year,” Le said.A fan bearer known as the ‘uncle,’ or the God of Smiles, greets the crowd at the Spring Blossom Festival on Jan. 15, 2023, at the Chùa Hương Đạo Temple, 4717 E. Rosedale St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)While monks and practicing Buddhists are preparing for a night of sacred chants and prayers to ring in the new year, members are also planning for a $150 million expansion of its temple. Fort Worth City Council members approved a zoning change to enable the 14-acre expansion during the Dec. 10 council meeting. The project aims to build 840 large and small stupas, Buddhist monuments typically housing sacred relics and teachers of the Buddha.A replica of the ancient sacred Buddhist scripture stupas, “Dhammacetiya” is on display inside the Chùa Hương Đạo Temple. The temple plans to build its first stupa by the end of 2024. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)Organizers of the project are now looking into different permits for the building, plotting land and taking other steps needed to move the project forward, said Tue Nhan Bhikkhu, the vice president of the temple who is known as the Rev. Nguyen. While Lunar New Year is more of a cultural event, it serves as an opportunity to introduce the expansion to visitors and upcoming religious events dedicated to the groundbreaking of the grand stupa of the project, Nguyen said. From late April to early May, the temple is expected to host chanting ceremonies, light thousands of candles and celebrate Vesak, an important Buddhist holiday commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha.“After all that hard work from all monks and nuns and lay people around the world, we must be able to kick-start this project, even though we are still far away from the completion of this project, but it is something that is coming together piece by piece,” Nguyen said. Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org or @marissaygreene. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here. 

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