<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>By Erik Ortiz, <A href="http://www.ocregister.com/">www.ocregister.com</A>, October 23, 2006</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Yorba Linda</SPAN></st1:City><SPAN lang=EN-US>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></SPAN></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-US> -- The altar was lit in a golden hue, reflecting off a statue of the reclining Buddha, depicting the moment before his death and entrance into Nirvana.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Shinso Ito, head of the Shinnyo-en order of Buddhism, chanted in front of the statue as about 260 people echoed the words behind her in the worship hall.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Sunday's ritual was part of the grand opening of the rebuilt <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Shinnyo-en</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Buddhist</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">USA</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Temple</st1:PlaceType>, one of six in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The <st1:City w:st="on">Yorba Linda</st1:City> location is home to 1,500 members from throughout Southern California and as far away as <st1:City w:st="on">Las Vegas</st1:City> and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Phoenix</st1:place></st1:City>.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>It also is the only temple in the country with a designated space to hold the ceremony of Saito Homa, an ancient Buddhist fire ritual planned for next spring.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Ito, who made a special trip from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, is considered the Keishu-sama, or successor, to Shinnyo-en founder Shinjo Ito, who died in 1989. The order has an estimated 800,000 followers worldwide.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>"Before (Ito) got here, the Buddha statue was just a statue," said temple staff member Jay Gibson of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Yorba Linda</st1:place></st1:City>. "We don't pray to that image, but we recognize the spirit that the Buddha represents. She has opened the eyes of that Buddha statue."</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>With her dark hair streaked with blue and yellow coloring for the festivities and a vermillion surplice, the diminutive Ito thanked the audience, which included more than 500 others watching from television screens throughout the temple.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>"Let us carry the sacred wish of bringing peace to the world and contribute to building a future world that is full of hope," Ito said in Japanese to the audience.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Orange</SPAN></st1:PlaceName><SPAN lang=EN-US> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></SPAN></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-US>'s Shinnyo-en Buddhist temple opened in <st1:chmetcnv w:st="on" UnitName="in" SourceValue="1990" HasSpace="True" Negative="False" NumberType="1" TCSC="0">1990 in</st1:chmetcnv> a former residence that seated 35 people. A growing membership required the temple to expand, and the original building was demolished in 2004 to make way for the new, 22,000-square-foot stucco structure.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Although many of the temple's members are of Japanese heritage, they make sure to incorporate American customs, Gibson said. For instance, no one has to take off their shoes upon entering.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>And after the ritual, a group of youths belonging to the temple greeted Ito in a distinctly American way, singing a round of the Disney tune, "It's a Small World." They then presented her with a glass bowl of marbles: blue ones representing the Buddha's teachings as a vast ocean and clear ones signifying the nature of the Buddha in all people.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>"I was so nervous," said Jack Nguyen, 18, of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Claremont</st1:place></st1:City>, his hand still visibly shaking after handing Ito the gift. "I thought I was just going to put it on the table, but she took it from my hands."</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Rina Reyes, 28, of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fountain Valley</st1:place></st1:City> said she was impressed by the ceremony.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>"This is a place where people of different backgrounds can come together," said Reyes, who grew up Catholic.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>For Judy Blanco, becoming a Buddhist with her daughters has given them a religion that is "inclusive and non-judgmental," she said.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>When a smiling Ito brushed past Blanco, tears formed in the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Santa Barbara</st1:place></st1:City> woman's eyes.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>"You can feel the joy and affection in her face and voice," Blanco later said. "You don't need to know Japanese to understand."</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>Shinnyo-en timeline</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>1936: Shinjo Ito, an aeronautics engineer in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, founds the Shinnyo-en order of Buddhism with wife, Tomoji.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>1960s: The Itos travel throughout Asia and <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place> to spread their beliefs and help establish future temples.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>1973: The first temple in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> opens in <st1:State w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:State>, followed by locations in the <st1:City w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:City>, <st1:City w:st="on">Seattle</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">New York</st1:State> and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City> metropolitan areas.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>1989: Shinjo Ito dies. Disciple Shinso Ito becomes his successor.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>1990:The <st1:City w:st="on">Yorba Linda</st1:City> temple opens on <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Bastanchury Road</st1:address></st1:Street> as the metro <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:City> location.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>2004:The temple is demolished for groundbreaking of a larger, two-story building.</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-US>2006: New building opens.</SPAN></P>
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