Place of Peace, Japanese temple at Furman University in Greenville, United States.
Place of Peace is a 900-square-foot Jōdo Shinshū temple on the Furman University campus in Greenville, South Carolina. Built in Japan in 1984 as Hei-Sei-Ji, it was dismantled into more than 2,400 pieces and rebuilt here in 2004. The meditation hall (shomen) holds a calligraphy scroll brushed by Koichi Tohei.
The building was originally constructed in Japan in 1984 before being taken apart into thousands of components for overseas transport. It arrived in South Carolina in 2004 and was reassembled on the university campus, where it has since served as a center for Buddhist practice.
At the front of the meditation hall (shomen) hangs a scroll brushed by Koichi Tohei reading "信奉宇宙霊感応即現成". David Shaner rendered it as "Blessed Universal Spirit at this very moment I feel your presence." The temple is used as a learning space teaching students and the public about oneness.
The temple stands on the Furman University campus in Greenville, South Carolina, and visitors are asked to remove their shoes before entering. Guided tours of the building are offered. Because it sits on a private campus, check opening times and any access restrictions with the university before setting out.
The temple was never assigned a Buddhist priest to serve a lay community in Japan, which is why it could be removed from the country. It was built in 1984 by Daibun Co. as Hei-Sei-Ji and Tsuzuki Hondo, and shipped in four containers through the Panama Canal to Charleston in 2004.
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