Buena Park, Southern California, October 5, 2008:
The Jain Center of Southern California celebrated the inauguration of the new temple and cultural complex. A colorful procession marks opening of Jain Center in Buena Park. The Jain Center has about 1,000 families. Many live within a few miles of Buena Park, but others come from as far away as Bakersfield to attend prayers on the weekends.
Marble idols of Tirthankara ride in convertibles as 2,000 people in bright garb walk to the $6-million temple, the spiritual home of about 1,000 families in Southern California. The Jain center's opening Saturday was a triumph for the local Jain community, most of whose members have come to the United States from India in the last three decades.
The new worship complex marks the second of three phases in construction of a $20 million complex on Commonwealth Avenue. Its design is based on existing temples in India and was custom-built using yellow limestone and white marble imported from Asia. It is decorated with carvings, paintings and murals reflecting Jain heritage. Marble elephants, their trunks raised, guard the doors to the temple. Construction began in early 2007 and finished last month, paid for entirely by the Jain community.
Jain leaders began planning the center more than a decade ago. The community celebrated the completion of the temple with 11 days of festivities. Scholars and religious leaders traveled from across the U.S. and India to give lectures. In India, Jain monks are prohibited by discipline from traveling in vehicles or planes; they must travel by foot wherever they go. As the faith has spread to countries beyond India, some have broken with discipline to join communities abroad. On Saturday, a dozen monks were on hand for the celebration.
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