Buddhist Monks Open Monasteries for Public Tours

0:00Buddhist monks on Prince Edward Island are opening their monasteries to free public tours, aiming to cut through years of local suspicion. The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society started these visits in January at their spot in Monogu's Heatherdale Hills. Over 100 people have checked it out so far, seen the dining halls, prayer spaces, and daily life. They estimate around 700 monks and 600 nuns living there, mostly from Taiwan. Meanwhile, this comes amid a big land dispute. The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission is probing of these groups' own more than the 3,000 acre limit for corporations under provincial law. Critics say they link to a bigger outfit called Bliss and Wisdom, pushing them over the cap, but the monks call it just a religious tie. Last year, the RCMP reopened looks into foreign interference and money laundering claims, though past probes found nothing. Locals are super cautious about newcomers, as one visitor put it, but they're warming up. Folks like Charlie Des Raches, who's known them for three years, say Islanders are friendly,

1:04yet watchful. Newcomers describe the tours as eye-opening, with even a local monk like Venerable Eli Kingston getting why curiosity runs high amid all the rumors of. Spying gear and secret ops. The monks are pushing back with real community work. They've handed out over 4,000 free food boxes since 2015, packed with their homegrown bread and veggies. They scraped paint off a neighbor's church, baked rolls for food banks and schools, and planned to give away 10,000 veggie seedlings next year. All this outreach is straight from their teachings, stay compassionate, help anyway, and let folks see the truth for themselves. It's building bridges one tour, and good deed at a time. That wraps Canada News Today, brought to you with AI. I'm Corey with The Story.