It’s an expansion that could take up to seven years to complete and one that is creating hundreds of P.E.I. jobs.
The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) gave The Guardian a tour of the grounds last week.
By the time everything is said and done, there will be six new dormitories, a temple and lecture hall. There will also be gardens, lots of trees planted and ponds. An animated video shown to The Guardian, showing what it will all look like when it’s finished, almost makes it look like a high-class resort.
There are about 200 monks on P.E.I. now, studying in Little Sands and Heatherdale.
The Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute (GWBI), a completely separate entity that represents Buddhist nuns, will be undertaking a similar project when the nuns move from their temporary quarters in Uigg to Brudenell.
“There is five years worth of construction here,’’ said Floyd Sanderson, spokesman for GEBIS. “(Asian) coaches have been brought in to teach the construction workers how to build Asian (architecture). This is the beginning of a new design (for P.E.I.). You won’t see vinyl siding here.’’
Sanderson couldn’t put an exact dollar figure on the expansion, but did confirm that there is no P.E.I. government money involved.
Outside of the Asian construction coaches, all of the work is being done by Island companies.
Islandwide Roofing, EMC, Island Coastal, Cardigan Excavators and MacKay Construction are just some of the P.E.I. firms that won contracts on the job.
“It’s completely Asian construction so it’s very, very high-end materials. The tiles are hand-made and engineered for a Canadian winter. It’s the first time ever you’ll see this kind of structure (in P.E.I.).’’
The materials used are built to last, too. Some of these structures are designed to stand for 1,000 years.
These are temporary residents, either. When Buddhists are ordained to be a monk, they will spend up to 14 years in P.E.I.
And they’re families are coming here to visit, buy property and spend money.
There is a tourism component as well for things like lectures that bring in people by the hundreds.
All of the farming done in the monastery and in the surrounding area is organic.
“These people are the quintessential meaning of peace. It’s part of their faith,’’ said Sanderson.
Helping out in the community daily is part of the faith as well.
The Buddhist monks in Heatherdale recently donated $50,000 to the Town and Country Aquatics Plus facility in Montague where the local community has spent months trying to get the pool complex up and running again.
The monks have also hosted free suppers for seniors over the holidays and help out local families in need.
A new monastery site is set for the Buddhist nuns is also in the works although plans have not been finalized yet.
The monastery will be built on the farm sold to GWBI by Willy and Jenny Delodder. The property is located on the Brudenell Point Road (which corrects information The Guardian previously published) and is 225 acres with a partial water view.
The waterfront lots are owned by both residents and non-residents.
Need to know
Buddhist monks and nuns in P.E.I. now welcome questions from the public.
• Buddhist monks can be reached at [email protected]
• Buddhist nuns can be reached at [email protected]
