Buddhist monks and nuns who live in eastern Prince Edward Island say they are disappointed to hear some of the concerns expressed at a planning meeting last week in the town of Three Rivers.

The monks and nuns claim to own just over 500 hectares (1,247 acres) of land in the east of the Island. Some residents have long been unhappy about this and speculate that Buddhists – or their vested interests – actually control many more properties.

Tensions were evident at Wednesday’s planning board meeting, for which the city hired security guards after someone posted on social media that it was “time to get the guns out and sharpen those knives” regarding land ownership in the municipality.

“It was actually quite disheartening,” said Sabrina Chiang, a frequent spokeswoman for the 600 Buddhist nuns, mostly from Taiwan.

She also referenced negative comments on Facebook about these groups, some of which urge that Buddhists be sent “abroad” and claim they are instruments of the Chinese Communist Party.

“This is a very strong allegation. And we are not part of the communist party, we are just students of the Buddha,” Chiang said. “We have no political ties to any group.”

“It’s surprising, I think, some of the comments we’ve seen,” added nun Joanna Ho. She said they were “grateful” to P.E.I. for offering them a safe and stable place to study, offering freedom of religion and respect for individual human rights.

“Unfounded accusations”

Eli Kingston, born and raised on the island, has been a Buddhist monk for 12 years.

“I’m from Prince Edward Island, so I get it, I get it,” Kingston said. “But every time there are acts of violence, personal attacks, it kind of discourages me.

“There is fear, and genuine concern is a good thing, but we all know now with social media how information can spread… baseless accusations, misinformation.”

It’s no longer just about verbal attacks. This actually results in an invasion of someone’s privacy, and people may not feel as safe.— Eli Kingston, Buddhist monk

He said that with the recent intensification of online rhetoric, more people have stopped by the monks’ properties in Little Sands and Heatherdale, where 700 monks live and study. Some take photos from the road, he said, but some actually go onto the property and “snoop around.”

“We had a monk stopped on the side of the road and kind of harassed,” Kingston said. “It’s not just verbal attacks anymore. It actually escalates to invading someone’s privacy, and people may not feel as safe.”

The nuns and monks say rumors and misinformation abound about what they are doing in the area, and they welcome dialogue with anyone with concerns.

The nuns say they are not worried about their safety as long as the threatening comments remain on the Internet.

“The kind people and kindness of Prince Edward Island make the Island the beautiful place that it is,” said Chiang. “Even though there is this negativity on social media, I don’t think it represents P.E.I.”

“Gated communities”

At Wednesday’s planning meeting, Victoria Cross resident Janice MacBeth stood up to speak about zoning issues – particularly concerns about institutional zoning in areas where Buddhists and nuns live communally .

There has been a lot of talk online about this possibility, allowing groups to build their own hospitals and police stations in the future.

“Our provincial government and municipality support the development of gated communities not open to the general public,” MacBeth told planning board members.

“The gap between wealthy newcomers and poor Islanders has never been greater, as home and property values ​​continue to rise and compromise the ability of our young families to live in Trois-Rivières over the years. ‘future.

Ho said the nuns’ organization owns 670 acres of land in Vernon Bridge and Brudenell, while about 10 individual nuns and their families have purchased a total of about 270 acres.

Kingston said GEBIS monks own 577 acres of land in the area, plus an unknown amount purchased by individual monks and their families or disciples.

“There are accusations that one entity controls all of this land. That’s not the case,” Kingston said. He said they were within provincial land boundaries and “didn’t feel like they had done anything wrong.”

“We don’t want to create any discord.”

The organizations say they chose rural Prince Edward Island because it is quiet and peaceful, a good place to try to keep the disappearing heritage of Tibetan Buddhism alive.

As for the comment about “gated communities,” Ho said there was a fence around the nuns’ residence – for the safety of the women.

“I don’t know what they’re referring to with these doors closed, and they’ll never be able to get in,” Kingston said. “I think of it as UPEI.”

Last July, the nuns held an open house at their new monastery to try to clear up any misconceptions about what they do, and Chiang said about 1,600 people attended. The nuns’ plan is to one day have a multi-million dollar monastic complex able to accommodate up to 1,400 nuns.

As Buddhists, we do not want to create any discord. We certainly would not want our presence to bring any negativity to the community.— Sabrina Chiang, Buddhist nun

The nuns and monks say they want to preserve the serenity and beauty of the rural landscape. They practice some organic farming and plan lots of green space, and say they have no plans to build infrastructure for police or firefighters, as online critics fear.

Both groups say their funds come from donations – from their members’ parents, supporters and sympathizers – and not from political parties or organizations.

“As Buddhists, we don’t want to create any discord,” Chiang said. “We certainly wouldn’t want our presence to bring any negativity to the community.”

She said she was optimistic that the rumors would pass and that the nuns’ presence would ultimately “bring good to people and to the world.”