One of the most impressive-looking construction projects in Westlock County is nearing completion, with a grand opening set for early next month.
Since May, volunteers at the Westlock Meditation Centre just north of Busby have been putting together a meditation garden, which is full of impressive statues representing different aspects of the Buddhist tradition and belief system.
Dominating the landscape is a 10-metre (33-foot) statue of a bodhisattva, the term used to describe someone who has reached enlightenment in this life but chosen to stay here to teach others rather than becoming a buddha themselves, known as Avalokitesvera.
“She’s the bodhisattva of deep listening and deep compassion,” volunteer Peter Trang explained.
The statue has three faces, which represent three traits Buddhists aspire to: compassion, insight and courage.
In front of the main statue, there are 12 smaller statues surrounded by four medium statues, each representing a Buddhist ideal in one form or another.
Trang explained each one has something for a Buddhist to contemplate in their practice. For example, one statue depicting someone playing a stringed instrument represents balance.
“The string can’t be too tight or too loose; you have to find the middle way. You look at the image; you can learn from the picture and learn from the practice.”
At the other end of the garden is a scale stone replica of the Jade Buddha statue that was brought across North America and made stop in Busby in 2010.
Khai Tran is the volunteer who has been coordinating the construction of the meditation garden, which has relied mainly on volunteer work but some local contractors as well for things like landscaping and pouring concrete.
The statues themselves were carved in Hainan province in China, and were then shipped to Busby where they were put in place. It’s taken a lot of work to get the project to the point it’s at now, and Tran said there’s still more to come.
“Three years ago we started with the project,” he said. “We have to develop a lot of stuff yet.”
Thay Phap Hoa, that abbot at the meditation centre, said while the Truc Lam Monastery has a facility in Edmonton as well, the space in Westlock County provides something the city can’t — a place to meditate and contemplate with the quiet sounds of nature rather than the noise and traffic of the city.
“It’s hard to have a quiet environment. Everything depends on us, but the environment can help make it easier. In this life we need both inside and outside.”
A grand-opening ceremony, which is open to the public, goes Aug. 9-10. The Avalokitesvera statue will be lit up at 9 p.m. Aug. 9, and a ceremony will be held the next morning at 11 a.m.
