Sea to Sea in Canada: Monk-y Business

In 2008, a bunch of Buddhist monks from Taiwan moved into the old Lobster Shanty in Montague and made it their home. At first, there were only four of them, but more kept coming, scores filling up the defunct hotel. They were very friendly, and they wore their orange robes, of course, and mostly everyone thought it was nice enough and a good idea and all that. Some of the things they did, such as buying live lobsters from the Atlantic Superstore and releasing them back into the ocean, seemed odd, but what harm could come of it?

That might have been the whole story, but more monks kept showing up—there are about 250 today—and before long they had built their own brand-new monastery in Little Sands, about half an hour’s drive south, a hidden place by the shore where no mere visitor could ever go. They brought some of their lay associates, who began fanning out across the countryside, reportedly purchasing properties that no one else would buy. The Buddhists talked about organic farming and told of a grocery chain in Taiwan. These monks were not what the people of Prince Edward Island had expected. Still, they were glad to see some of the abandoned farms back in use.

It was the image of the monks occupying the Lobster Shanty that captivated me. The Shanty was a Montague institution, a sprawling, half-decrepit motel that offered semi-fine dining and hosted the annual antique-car show. The monks have since decamped to their new monastery, but the “Montague Campus” is still used as lodging for guests on retreat. Peering through the windows, one can see beds lining the walls in each of the rooms. Plain white trailers, of the sort used for portable classrooms in rural high schools, creep down the wide expanse of lawn to the Montague River.

When the monks first moved in, everyone was getting to know each other. The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society, as their organization is called, hosted several public “gratitude teas” at the Shanty, where locals could enjoy a bit of hospitality and get a glimpse of the Buddhist lifestyle up close. However, the monks are reluctant to share too much of their lifestyles with "outsiders".

From what I have been able to learn, the monks have business interests in organic farming, and that they might even hold the key to a vast Taiwanese market for PEI-grown soybeans. But who are these Buddhists, really? In addition to their strong spiritual beliefs, they also have a system that is an innovative and highly successful solution to the problem of destructive farming practices.

The very presence of the Buddhists on the Island has created an awkward situation, an awkwardness that consists of the awkwardness itself. Islanders are not normally awkward people, but one plausible explanation is that they don’t want to seem racist. Some people worry about the long-term “social and cultural effects” of the monks' presence; one farmer reportedly declared that he’d let his property “go to the trees” before he sold to the Buddhists. But, the general view is that everyone’s an immigrant and cultural differences can be good, so long as they are not repressive.

For their part, the Buddhists claim to feel very welcome, and have gone to great lengths and expense to let this be known. In February 2012, they flew in from Taiwan a sixty-member choir and a small orchestra for a free performance of praise music composed by their spiritual leader, Mary Jin.

But the inveterate secrecy of the Buddhists keeps inviting suspicion. If you start asking about them, it’s their seemingly bottomless coffers that will eventually dominate the conversation. “The perception is they come with a lot of money,” said Stephen Visser, a potato farmer in King’s County.

Since 2008, the Buddhists have purchased a lot of land in eastern PEI, from previously unsalable farmland to expensive waterfront property. Yang (public relations spokesman) said that GEBIS itself owns just 485 acres. But one seed-mill manager, who asked to remain anonymous, estimated that the Buddhists—that is, both GEBIS and its lay associates—have purchased a total of 5,000 acres.

Property has always been a contentious commodity on PEI, which has a total area of just 1.4 million acres. The Lands Protection Act, introduced in 1982, was designed to limit large land acquisitions by non-resident corporations and absentee landlords. Even for residents, there are limits: individuals are restricted to 1,000 acres, and for a corporation it’s set at has fallen precipitously over the last ten years, while the number of acres of soybeans has jumped from 7,000 to 55,000.

One serious obstacle for farmers who want to convert from conventional to organic is the conversion process itself. It typically takes at least three years of farming without manufactured chemicals before a farmer can acquire organic certification, and, as the soil replenishes, the yield from the crops can remain low for much longer than that. While much of the land the Buddhists have purchased in the last few years still lies fallow, some of it is now in production, and the Buddhists have been out in the fields, learning from PEI farmers. Presumably, once the soil has been given a chance to recover, that land will become a trusted source of organic food. Indeed, the field behind our house is being tilled by monks, and it appears that the plants that have grown in it over the summer will be plowed under to nourish the soil for next year.

The Monks who own the farm field behind the house where we live.
They are learning and practicing some farming skills.

One of the basic tenets of Buddhism is to take care of life, all life, including lobsters. It’s not a joke—the Buddhists of PEI really do put captured lobsters back into the ocean. This is done as part of their “releasing life” ceremonies, a religious exercise so popular in Asia that there are animal-poaching industries devoted to it, and environmentalists sometimes complain of ecological disasters arising from vast numbers of fish and other animals being released at once. The Buddhists don’t confine themselves to liberating lobsters, however — they also run a horse and cattle rescue farm. Most of the horses are former race animals that would otherwise be destined for the knackers (slaughterhouse) after they’d outlived their careers—some at just two or three years old. Certain areas in Quebec are known for their fondness for horse meat and are a common destination for unwanted horses in Canada, so the monks rescue them when possible. The animals are grain-fed and happy and the farm gets bigger all the time as the Buddhists continually purchase new animals. It’s like a regular farm, except nothing gets shipped out.

The monks also took over Buffaloland Provincial Park (just south of us) in 2014 and its approximately 35 bison. As with the horses and other animals they rescue, the bison are cared for on the property.

The buffalo herd at Buffaloland

(With excerpts from an article written by Mark Mann for the June 18, 2013 issue of Maisonneuve).

My experience of growing up and working in Toronto, a very multicultural city, is that immigrant groups integrate best into Canadian society when they interact in a positive way with the other cultural and ethnic groups. Staying apart in "ethnic enclaves" is not a formula for successful integration. However, maybe when the residents (the monks, in this example) are only here temporarily before returning to China or Taiwan (Buddhist monks and nuns typically spend about 14 years studying) and live a peaceful lifestyle, it can work. I look forward to seeing the results when crops are harvested.

Local monks giving a talk at the Montague outdoor stage at the waterfront

This year the fields have been left to grow wild so that they can
grow organic produce in future years.

This past weekend, we received a call at our front door from three Buddhist nuns. Two of them have lived here in Montague for several years and the third one has only been here for a few months. She spoke no English while the others were well-spoken. They were on a mission to deliver a gift to their neighbours hoping that they have not disturbed us during the summer months. Remember, we have monks who live and work on the farmland behind us. Their gift was three moon cakes which were presented in an elaborate box. We shared this gift with friends whom we had over for dinner that night.