Buddhist monks seek to stay in temple

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Buddhist monks in Virginia Beach are hoping to continue to seek tranquility and worship with others in a nearly $1 million dollar brick ranch home.

While the monks urged patience, for several Virginia Beach Planning Commissioners the clock had run out. In a vote earlier this week, the commission recommended that the monks shut down their temple in rural Virginia Beach. Now the city council will be asked to decide in the next month, if they can continue to live there.

The Buddhist Education Center of America had requested a two-year extension to a permit issued last August that allowed the organization to hold worship services in the house. The master Buddhist monk lives in the house, along with some younger monks, and worshippers come there on Sundays and for three celebrations during the year.