From The Associated Press:
Just off a state highway in New Jersey, one of the largest statues of the Buddha in the United States appears unexpectedly in the middle of a backyard.
It rises 30 feet high from the woods in Franklin Township, near Princeton, where it was built a decade ago under the leadership of a Sri Lankan monk ordained in Theravada, one of the oldest forms of Buddhism. His dream? Uniting people of all faiths. Today, the statue in the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara and Meditation Center has become a hub for interfaith efforts and a spiritual home for practicing Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, reflecting New Jersey’s diverse religious landscape.