Cody Funk
Foundations
The beginnings of the Jinyin Temple can be attributed to His Holiness Jinke Xuanlei, an awakened master of Sino Esoteric Buddhism from China. After studying on his own path to Enlightenment under the Sino Esoteric Master Jinyin (whom the temple is named after) for ten years, His Holiness Jinke Xuanlei realized his future as a Mahasiddha, or a “siddha of perfection”, was to spread the word of the Buddha-Dharma to all sentient beings. His Holiness’ journey to the West began with an invitation to Washington DC in 2017 for the World Peace Prayer Ceremony, where he joined religious figures from a vast number of the world’s religions and personally led prayer and meditation practices for the other attendants. The appearance of His Holiness at the event put his image and his mission at the forefront of the minds of American Buddhist leaders, and it was not long before he was fielding many requests across the United States to establish the first Sino Esoteric Buddhist Temple. However, in a deep meditative state of insight, or samadhi, His Holiness is said to have entered arrangements with Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and God in which he was instructed to open his temple in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. That same year, Jinyin Temple construction began in the Pennsylvania Suburb. Other than his affiliation with the Temple and his religion, His Holiness is most known for his pristine art skills, specifically his mandalas
Construction
Jinyin Temple is located along the Northeastern megalopolis a couple hours’ drive from the two metro capitals of New York City and Philadelphia. In contrast to the urban buzz of its close surroundings, the Temple is nestled within the natural solace of the Pocono Mountain’s Forest, a branch of the Appalachians. The Temple was an abandoned ruin filled with trash, feces, and dead animals before its construction in 2017, so it required many hands and many hours of hard work for its renovation. Unfortunately, after a full year of arduous building funded entirely by fundraising and loans from His Holiness (all three and a half million dollars), the construction site suffered a terrible fire that destroyed many Buddhist artifacts, art, and most of the renovation work. It took the help of community funding and volunteer work, along with another year of further renovation, for the Temple to become fully built by 2019. However long the building process may have taken, the product came to be a true expression of elegance, a mixed oasis of vibrant color and natural beauty sticking out from the dense overgrowth of the nearby forest. Currently, the Temple lives on 36 acres of land and is home to an array of buildings that support the residency, ritual practice, and isolation of its Vajrayana Sangha. Perhaps the most visually stunning are the Main Hall which houses many of His Holiness’ prized mandalas and art pieces in addition to three Buddha shrines, and the Outdoor Meditation Park which displays a huge Mahamayuri Vidyarajni altar. Importantly, the Temple combines permanent residency accommodations as well as general meeting, meditation, and classrooms for secular and lay members.
Sino Esoteric Buddhism
Also called Tangmi Buddhism, this form of Esoteric Buddhism is defined entirely by its lineage; it is very similar to other tantric lineages of esoteric Vajrayana Buddhism in India, Tibet, and Indonesia. However, Sino Esoteric Buddhism is chiefly defined as coming from the terma of Vajrabodhi passed down from the great master Nagarjuna. After receiving the teachings through his cognitive connection with the master, Vajrabodhi accompanied two other Indian tantric monks, Subhakarasimha and Amoghavajra, and set off in the latter half of the eighth century to spread the Dharma to China. Sadly, since China has historically been ruled by dynasties that impose harsh religious expression laws, Sino Esoteric Buddhism was practiced largely in secret for hundreds of years after the Tang Dynasty of the eighth century. Interestingly, the origins of Sino Esoteric Buddhism were only recently defined by scholars of the twentieth century through its link to the founders of the Shingon tantric school in Japan. Often referred to as the “mature Tantric” practice, Sino Esoteric Buddhism is distinctly different from other esoteric Buddhist forms with respect to its incorporation of modern, non-traditional Buddhist beliefs. An example of this contemporary thought can be seen right on the Temple’s website:
“We respect and cherish the diversity of humanity which includes differences in sex, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, financial needs, education, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and political perspective.”
Key practices of Sino Esoteric Buddhism shed light on its similarities to other tantric Buddhist lineages, as well as its origins around India’s Hindu community. These include the centrality of the Buddha Vairocana in visualization and identity, the ritual practice of abhiseka initiation, and homa fire rituals. Common to other Vajrayana schools, Sino Esoteric Buddhism places high value on learning from a knowledgeable teacher, as well as yogic visualization of mandalas and personal identification with Bodhisattvas. The end goal of the Sino Esoteric Buddhist is not personal awakening; rather, followers believe in the skillful use of their ever-present inner Buddha natures to help other sentient beings in suffering.
Community Relationships
With respect to other Buddhist schools, the community at the Jinyin Temple has been widely recognized and welcomed by masters of different thought around the world. Namely, His Holiness Jinke Xuanlei was invited to the largest monastery in Bangladesh in 2015, the Dharmarajika. At the monastery, he led prayer and ritual ceremony and engaged in conversation with leaders of the Indian Vajrayana lineage to talk about the best ways to teach and spread the Dharma. Additionally, His Holiness was invited to the Shechen Monastery in 2011, one of the six historic monasteries of the Nyingma school in Tibet. During this trip he met with one of revered lamas of the Tibetan tantric lineage, while also being showered in gifts himself by the many onlookers who believe him to have the powers of a true Bodhisattva.
However, the relationship between Jinyin Temple and the local government in Pennsylvania is of an entirely different tone. Although the website states that the individuals in the neighboring communities are generous and welcoming, it takes a starkly stern view towards the local government. Specifically, the Jinyin Temple stands on the grounds of an old hotel, which by Pennsylvania Law means they are still required to pay huge amounts for sewage management compared to other religious institutions. Even though the Temple is a non-profit and does not house nearly the number of residents that the preceding hotel once had, they are still being charged the same rates by the city. Similarly, local tax rates do not recognize the Jinyin Temple as an economic non-profit and charge them along the higher rates of hotel or residency classifications. Whether these unfortunate economic constraints are due to unconscious religious or racial bias is a point of contention for the local community, as seen on Facebook posts surrounding the subject. On the topic of the incongruency between individual-level amicability and institutional-level shunning, the Temple asks:
The question thus arises: if the hearing committee doesn’t represent the interests and opinions of the residents, then whose interests does it represent?
Dharma and Sangha
At the heart of the Jinyin Temple is its devotion to the teachings of the Dharma and the support of its own Sangha. All activities and classes are funded through the fundraising and donations of the members. Currently, the Main Hall is closed to public viewing due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and the rest of the premises is reserved for members in retreat. Consequently, for the past couple of months all classes have been held virtually over Zoom and are easily accessible via an email correspondence asking for the link to any class of choice. The schedule is as follows:
Monday evening, 7-8pm: Meditation practice, with a focus on centering and clearing the mind for the upcoming week.
Wednesday evening, 7-8pm: Tangmi Preliminary practice, for those interested in more intense study and eventual initiation into the order of monks.
Sunday evening, 7-8pm: Purification practice, with a focus on the visualization of Vajrayana
In addition to the general weekly meetings, Jinyin Temple also hosts a virtual class of intense study called the Golden Sound Study group every Sunday night. I was able to attend one of these meetings and can personally attest that it was a welcome and friendly environment of diverse voices focused on the study of sutras. In general, a peruse through the website pictures, in conjunction with the many Facebook posts from the Temple, shows a diverse Sangha composed of many ethnicities and races. In truth, Jinyin Temple is a stunning counterexample against the common argument of American Buddhists that wish to define two schools of Western Buddhism. There is not a predominantly “convert” of “immigrant” Buddhism behind the walls of the Jinyin, but a hearty mix of Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese Buddhist teachings and mentors with the local community of Pennsylvanians. Even at the top of the hierarchical Sangha, the Chinese-American Director of the Temple, Jack Wang, helps His Holiness, an immigrant, in the day-to-day running of the grounds.
