A Fort Worth Buddhist temple’s $150 million, 14-acre expansion is coming together piece by piece, with its first stupa planned to be built this year.
Visitors and members of the Chùa Hương Đạo, located near the Stop Six neighborhood, plan to have a 10-foot by 10-foot stupa, a monument made of stone, to house sacred teachings of the faith by the end of 2024.
It is one of hundreds of monuments expected to come to Fort Worth through the temple’s multimillion-dollar expansion, called the Dhammacetiya, announced in May 2023. The campaign is to expand the temple by 14 acres and build 840 large and small stupas, with the largest structure expected to tower at 130 feet tall, according to the press release.
Tue Nhan Bhikkhu, vice president of Chùa Hương Đạo Temple and known as Rev. Nguyen, hopes to have the expansion complete within the next 15 years, he said.
The biggest factor that could slow the project down is funding, which is a concern for An Truong, longtime Chùa Hương Đạo Temple member and Haltom City mayor.. Truong helped build the original temple nearly three decades ago and has been a member since.
“It will be excellent for the community, but my only concern is the financials,” Truong said. “The more you do, the more people have to put money in, and right now the economy is pretty bad.”
Funding for the project is still underway according to Bhikkhu, who has been traveling to India, Nepal and Myanmar to promote funding for the expansion.
“We only have 1% of the $150 million. So we’re working hard to promote it, and, hopefully, more people will hear about it and join hands to support this project,” Bhikkhu said.
Looking ahead, the temple plans on having a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2025 to kick-start the project and try to raise more funding, Bhikkhu said.
The Chùa Hương Đạo Temple has been located in Fort Worth for over 26 years. The temple serves a predominantly Vietnamese-American community that follows the Buddhist faith.
Once the project is completed, Bhikkhu hopes the site will become a place in Fort Worth where people can learn more about the faith through the Tipiṭaka stupa, which will include a library of Buddhist scriptures.
“The stupas will house all the Buddha’s teachings, which are worldwide and especially on the internet but whether it is correct or not is very hard to tell,” Bhikkhu said. “With this project, people can come in, do the research, study and learn about it, and practice. So we’re trying to get this Tipiṭaka preserved and as accurate as possible for future generations.”
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org or @marissaygreene.
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