Rev. Danny Fisher

The Ann Arbor News reported on Friday that this past month someone left a six-foot-tall wooden cross and a note reading, “Dear sinners, Repent and ye will be saved” at the historic Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor, MI–one of the affiliate temples of the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom.

The story quotes Ann Arbor Police Lt. Michael Logghe as saying that “there is a report of the incident on file, but with few clues [and] no action…planned for now.”

The note was signed with the name of an unidentified local student group, but the leadership of that group has apparently denied responsibility for placing the cross and the note.

I find incidents like this one very frustrating and disheartening, so I admire the attitude and actions of priest Haju Sunim and the temple’s members, who have put out a rather thoughtful call to the community:

…The cross remains behind the temple wall, and members there would like to give it to someone who would better appreciate it.

“Someone went to some trouble to make it,” said Haju Sunim, the temple’s priest about the cross, which is made of four-by-fours, with angled ends.

Persons interested in taking the cross are encouraged to call the center at 734-761-6520.

(Also, bringing it all back home, if you’re interested in Buddhist ministerial work and chaplaincy, the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom offers two training programs through their centers and Maitreya Buddhist Seminary. Visit http://www.zenbuddhisttemple.org for more information.)