For seven years, monks have had no peace

Monks living at the Buddhist Support Society in Rochester had to replace their mailbox after vandals damaged it. They own a 10.5-acre site they bought for tranquil reflection. (Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune)
Monks Chhan Aun, left, and Sim Ouk (Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune)

Vandalism has plagued a Buddhist temple near Rochester for seven years. Neighbors and police are outraged and baffled.

May 29, 2010
By CURT BROWN
Star Tribune (Rochester, Minnesota)

VANDALISM MEETING

• What: Prompted by a string of vandalism at the Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester, monks, neighbors, city leaders, youth groups and members of police neighborhood watch program will gather to discuss the issue.
• When: 4 p.m., Thursday
• Where: Buddhist Support Society Address: 4462 29th St. SE, Rochester

A chorus of chirping crickets and the smashed shell of a mailbox greet Chhan Aun when he steps out the door of his monk's residence at the hilltop Buddhist temple southeast of Rochester.

"We are quiet and peaceful; we try to pray for good things, not bad," he said, wrapped in his orange robe, as a former monk translates his Cambodian words. "We don't understand why people are doing things like this."

This month's busted mailbox is the latest in a seven-year string of vandalism that has jarred the four monks who live on the grassy, rolling, 10.5-acre site they chose for tranquil reflection.

Someone sprayed-painted "Jesus Saves" and a cross on their driveway last May. Dozens of lights have been broken and stolen. Flowers and trees have been yanked from the earth. Instead of studying the teachings of Buddha, the monks have been installing motion-detecting lights and asking the Postal Service to approve moving their mailbox down from 29th Street and closer to their house.

"One night at 2 a.m., a group of four or five people were outside and I shined my flashlight in their face," said Aun, 63. "They never confront us face to face; they just run away."

Neighbors and police are outraged and baffled at what would motivate the vandals to harass such gentle men, some of whom, including Aun, lived through the Cambodian genocide of the late-1970s Khmer Rouge killing fields.

"They believe in peace and tranquility, and they sure don't deserve this," said Glenda Bale, who moved into the quiet residential area in 2003, just as the temple construction was completed and the monks moved in next door from their former downtown location.

Back then, her place was an overgrown "jungle," and as she worked to clear the lot, the monks would bring with food offerings. They invite Bale to all their celebrations.

Her friend's unlocked car was broken into once and papers were scattered. The monks say they've been struck three or four times a year since they arrived.

"For this stuff to only happen to them is totally uncalled for," said Bale, 47. "You couldn't ask for better neighbors, honestly."

Police cite six documented cases of criminal damage to property since last May, but the monks say the harassment dates to a group of aggressive opponents speaking out against the temple at city zoning meetings before the two temple structures were built. Opponents' concerns about increased traffic congestion have proven to be completely unfounded, Bale said.

"We have absolutely no idea as to why these people are doing this," said Sgt. Scott Behrns of the Olmsted County Sheriff's Department. "We're confident we'll catch the people doing it; it's just a matter of how long it takes."

Deputies have stepped up patrols in the neighborhood, and if arrests are made, Behrns said prosecutors will be asked to use state laws that target bias-motivated crimes. That could mean elevating misdemeanor charges into gross misdemeanors or felonies.

"Based on the way the crimes are occurring, one would think it's the same" person or people behind the vandalism, said Behrns, who thinks a baseball bat was used to destroy the mailbox earlier this month.

Community meeting slated

Rochester's Buddhist Support Society serves roughly 500 people, mostly Cambodian refugees who fled during the Vietnam War era and emigrated to Minnesota. The group owns the temple and recruits monks from Cambodia who make minimum five-year commitments to study, pray and teach at the hilltop temple.

Aun said that the destroyed mailbox, in itself, is not a big deal.

"But if they try to set fire to our buildings or hurt the monks, that would make us upset," he said.

He's speaking out despite some concerns that the vandals will relish the publicity.

"We want to show the community that we are doing something," he said. "It is 98 percent positive to get the word out and maybe two percent negative."

About 20 concerned citizens, mostly members of Rochester Meditation Center, met at the temple last Sunday, and a larger meeting is scheduled for June 3 at 4 p.m. Members of Rochester's Diversity Council, teenage youth groups, local church members and representatives of the police-sponsored Neighborhood Watch program will look for ways to enhance understanding about Buddhism and curb the vandalism.

Until then, Aun and his fellow monks will do what they came to Rochester to do. They will sit on pillows on the floor, surrounded by colorful paintings of Buddhist scenes, and recite prayers of loving kindness to the perpetrators of the vandalism.

"They know what they are doing is not right," Aun said. "We will pray for them to do good things instead of bad."

Curt Brown • 612-673-4767

More Vandalism At Buddhist Temple In

May 21, 2010

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) ― Police are asking whoever's behind a string of vandalism incidents at a Cambodian Buddhist temple in Rochester to stop.

Investigators say the latest incident was Monday, when rocks, dirt and sand were put in the temple's mailbox. Twenty solar-powered lights were also taken.

Members say the mailbox has been vandalized five times in the past month, and there have also been five attempted break-ins.

Vandalism at the temple a year ago included smashed lights, yanked flowers and a cross along with "Jesus saves" spray-painted on the driveway in orange.

Olmsted County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Behrns says the crimes are obviously motivated by bias.

Buddhist temple heightens security after vandalism, harassment

5/17/2010
By Matt Russell
The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

The Cambodian Buddhist temple in southeast Rochester has taken a series of security measures following a string of vandalism and harassment.

The temple installed motion-detecting exterior lights and a steel-barred security door in the monks' residence in March after attempted break-ins by a man wearing a ski mask, said Chhan Aun, 60, the temple's head monk. The measures have not stopped the break-in attempts, five in total, Aun said.

Following a suggestion from the post office, the temple also removed its mailbox from 29th Street Southeast last week and and placed it next to its main building at the end of a long driveway.

The box has been repeatedly vandalized. Incoming and outgoing mail has been stolen in recent years, including bank statements, bills, and immigration documents whose theft has complicated the arriva of new monks from Cambodia, according to temple members.

"Our mailbox has been destroyed so many times, we're sick of it," said temple member Tracy Sam.

Vandalism at the temple a year ago included smashed lights, yanked flowers and a cross along with "Jesus saves" spray-painted on the driveway in orange.

Aun hasn't gotten a clear view of the mailbox vandals because the street is far from the building where he lives with two other monks. He's seen a car drive away after hearing what appears to be a hammer banging the box, he said.

The would-be intruder in the first attempted break-in earlier this year was a man in his late 30s or early 40s who didn't appear Caucasian, Aun said. The man tried to open several doors but ran when he looked in the window and saw Aun holding up a telephone threatening to call police.

Aun said he isn't sure if the same man has been involved in subsequent break-in attempts because the suspect has been wearing a ski mask.

Mailbox vandalism and mail thefts have happened at the temple sporadically since 2005, according to temple members. They haven't reported this year's vandalism and attempted break-ins out of fear of retribution but finally did so on Friday after their mailbox was damaged four times in a month, Sam said. The temple has had to buy four replacement mailboxes since 2007, she said.

Mailbox vandalism is common, especially this time of year, but it is very unusual for one mailbox to be targeted as often as the Buddhist temple's has been, said Olmsted County sheriff's deputy Jim Schueller.

"If it's happening this often, we want to start tracking it and see if we can do something about it," Schueller told Aun and other temple members Friday.

Schueller said he would request extra patrols of the temple area.

Local Buddhists say 'thank you' for support from the community

6/13/2009
By Matt Russell
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

The Cambodian Buddhist community in Rochester is extending a "thank you" to community members who offered an outpouring of support this week following reports of harassment and vandalism at the local Buddhist temple.

Residents have dropped off flowers to replace those torn up by vandals, and several churches have called to offer support, said temple member Tracy Sam.

"They said if we ever need something, to contact them," she said.

The community response followed reports of vandalism at the temple on May 24 and June 4. Vandals spray-painted "Jesus Saves" in orange on the driveway, threw eggs at an entrance sign, ripped up flowers, and smashed lights.

Temple members say a group of boys have also harassed temple members recently by shouting obscenities at people, including monks, from the road.

The incidents led temple members to say that they feared worse damage or that they might be attacked on their property.

The support from the community this week, however, has been reassuring, Sam said.

"Some people out there really care," she said. "They think about us and they pray for us. It feels good to know that there are people in the community out there who support us."

Editorial: Temple vandals know not what they do

6/12/2009
Post-Bulletin (Rochester, Minnesota, USA)

To those responsible for the vandalism and harassment outside the Buddhist Temple south of Rochester in recent weeks, here's a little history of which you might not be aware.

Many of the people who live or worship at the temple came to this country because they wanted a better life for themselves and their children.

For five years they suffered through what can only be described as hell on earth.

From 1975 to 1979 their country, Cambodia, was ruled by a regime called the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer instituted an extreme form of agrarian Marxism in which everyone was forced to work for the government, often in the rice paddies. Husbands and wives were separated. Children were taken away from their parents. Most lived in conditions we wouldn't tolerate for livestock.

The regime distrusted intellectuals, business people, teachers, and anyone else they viewed as a threat to them. An estimated 200,000 people -- twice the population of Rochester -- were executed. To save bullets, the executioners often used shovels and hammers to crush the skulls of their victims.

You're probably too young, but maybe you've heard of the movie "The Killing Fields." It won three academy awards and is named for the fields where the Khmer's victims were buried. Many of them were forced to dig their own graves before they were murdered.

In addition to the 200,000 Cambodians who were executed, at least another 1.3 million of them -- one-fifth of the population -- died of disease, illness and starvation.

So, you can see -- at least we hope you can -- why so many Cambodians fled the land of their birth for a better place. A place founded on the principle that on this soil we treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, gender, education level or religious beliefs.

We're not suggesting to you that the monks and others who worship at the Buddhist temple south of town should be treated with more respect and compassion than any of the other people with whom we share this planet. They don't want that.

For 30 years, Cambodian refugees, their children and grandchildren have lived among us. They are your classmates. They are your doctors and police officers and clergy people. They are part of the fabric of our community.

When you painted a cross and "Jesus Saves" on the driveway at the temple, were you really attempting to preach Christianity to a people who practice a religion you don't understand? We think not.

Please understand that when you harass these victims or vandalize their property, you are committing crimes not only against the Buddhists among us. You are also staining our community's integrity.

Then again, maybe you don't care about things like civic integrity and reputation and pride. Maybe you don't care that some are calling this a racist or bigoted place. But most of the rest of us care.

There's little to gain by preaching at you. We've probably done too much of that already. The challenge before us is to figure out why you think and act the way you do -- why you bully people. Are you bored? Do you feel neglected? Are you just angry?

These are among the questions we all should be asking ourselves as we attempt to deal with the ugly issues of bias and racism in and around Rochester. But here's the most important question -- What can we do to change this?

The following is a quote from The Buddha, but there are similar verses in the Bible, the Koran and most other holy books: "Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule."

Let's talk.