A rural Redmond property may soon become the site of a Buddhist temple and meditation center.

Two owners of Oishi Japanese restaurant in Redmond have purchased 12.5 acres off state Highway 126 west of Redmond with the intention of transforming the property into the International Insight Meditation Center of Oregon.

The owners, Preecha Tingakrau and Yee Thanittithanand, see the location as a silent retreat center for intensive meditation led by experienced monks, according to Ben Heffer, who’s a student of one of the monks and currently visiting from Colorado. Tingakrau and Thanittithanand live in Redmond and have wanted to start a meditation center for years, and the property they own outside the city limits would be great for such a project, Heffer said Friday.

Heffer spoke to The Bulletin about the plans on behalf of the owners, who are Thai, because of a language barrier.

At a hearing before a Deschutes County hearings officer Tuesday night, a few neighbors who share the private road that enters the property raised concerns, Heffer said. The neighbors are worried the center will become a busy resort that clogs traffic in the area and also would damage the road, according to Anthony Raguine, Deschutes County senior planner. Fifteen to 20 people showed up at the hearing, he said.

The hearings officer will look into these concerns over the next few weeks, Raguine said. Beyond the road issues, county staffers concluded most criteria have been met to allow the temple in an area zoned for exclusive farm use. Conditions include requiring enough parking and a paved pedestrian walkway.

Raguine said that next week the public process will enter a phase where all parties — the applicants and the neighbors — will have a chance to file complaints and rebuttals. Ultimately the hearings officer makes a final recommendation by mid- to late December, which then goes to county commissioners.

The county has until the end of January to issue a final land use decision.

Ajahn Chalee, a senior monk from Thailand, lives on the property in a small house next to a stable and greenhouse.

Chalee, 82, would lead the temple and meditation center once it is built, according to Heffer, his student.

“This center is reminiscent of where he taught when he was in Thailand,” Heffer said. “It’s intended to be completely a place of silent practice. This location is going to have no ceremony. Nothing more than morning chanting and evening chanting, and that is it.”

Heffer, who hopes to be an English-speaking instructor at the temple, said some temples are loud, busy places, but that is not the plan in Redmond.

“It’s important that the community knows that it will be a nonsecular and nonprofit, strictly for teaching and practice,” Heffer said.

The temple and meditation center are being proposed within the existing dwelling and detached stable, located at 805 NW 95th St. The stable would be remodeled to include 12 meditation rooms. Meditation sessions guided by monks would be held 10 to 12 times per year, consisting of about 10 to 15 people. About five of those sessions would include up to 30 people.

In addition, five monks may live on-site.

Randall Ireson, a member of the Wat Buddha Oregon congregation in Turner, south of Salem, submitted written testimony in support of the proposed project. Ireson said there are relatively few opportunities in Oregon for training and extended practice of Buddhist meditation. He expects the center to attract people throughout the state. More visitors would not mean more traffic, Ireson said, because a typical retreat lasts at least a week, with participants arriving at the beginning and remaining on site until the end.

“I believe this center will provide an important resource for the practice and study of meditation, and will have a minimal impact on the surrounding neighborhood,” he said.

In other written testimony, neighbors expressed their concerns with the center affecting the rural lifestyle of the area while causing additional traffic on unpaved roads.

Ronald Stephens, who owns two adjacent lots, wrote that the area is meant for private family residences and ranches, and the current zoning must be preserved.

“It would be a tragedy to compromise this rural area with such an ‘out-of-place’ facility that would diminish the natural beauty of the existing landscape, cause increased congestion on the highway and further compromise the ambiance and beauty of the Redmond Sisters Scenic Highway,” Stephens wrote.

James Mayhill, who lives nearby, wrote that the project sounds more like a business than a religious center, since people will be staying on the grounds overnight as well as paying for their stay.

“I object to this being characterized as a Temple and meditation center,” Mayhill wrote. “If individuals are coming and staying overnight as a retreat, it in effect is a resort/hotel and, therefore, comes under very different county codes.”

Heffer, who has studied with Chalee for nearly two decades, said he does not expect the center to have any of the negative impacts described by concerned neighbors. He said similar centers have successfully operated around the country.

Chalee previously practiced in Denver, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas before moving to Oregon.

“It’s a wonderful location because it is so quiet and so far from Las Vegas,” Heffer said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820,

kspurr@bendbulletin.com Reporter: 541-617-7829,

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