Tucked into a residential district of West Jolly Road, a white Buddha statue welcomes visitors to the temple hiding inside what appears to be a plain, yellow house from the street.

Inside, members of the Vietnamese community gather in the small kitchen and dining room to share meals, stories and culture. Leftovers on the stove are evidence of recent meals.

Downstairs, an expansive, empty room is covered with cream carpet where members can gather to pray and meditate in front of the red-and-gold candlelit shrine to Buddha.

Services are held on Sundays at 11 a.m., although the temple, the only of its kind in the Lansing area, is always open for anyone who seeks a warm meal or teachings about Buddha. About 20 people attend services each weekend, but during the New Year's celebration and Buddha's birthday, nearly 100 people might gather to celebrate.

"We're not rich," said Gia Pham, a 2001 graduate of MSU and a researcher in the biochemistry department. "We took this house and made it home for us. It's a community that's so important to its members.

"It's irreplaceable."

But after an unexpected letter from Lansing city officials arrived at their doorstep last week, temple frequenters might have to find a new place to share their religion.

The letter from Lansing zoning administrator Susan Stachowiak said the temple is in violation of a city ordinance. A Special Land Use permit must be granted by the Lansing City Council before a church is allowed in the residential district where the temple is located.

The permit cannot be granted without the temple meeting certain requirements, one of which requires churches in that district to be located on at least 2 acres of land. The temple is located on a small lot about a half-acre in size, so Stachowiak said there'd be no chance of them gaining a permit.

"It's a hard and fast requirement," she said.

The code is designed to ensure that proper parking and access to the temple is available and to discourage churches from being located in close proximity to other houses. The temple has been located at 2514 W. Jolly Road for nearly five years, and the letter was issued March 24, giving the temple 14 days to stop all services.

The temple is owned by the American International Buddhist Association, a nonprofit organization. It doesn't receive any funding; members of the community simply donate what they can to keep the temple running.

Stachowiak said neighbors have called in complaints about a church in the midst of their residential neighborhood.

"These are single-family homes," she said. "They don't want a church in between regular homes."

She also said that because the building hasn't been inspected to hold an assembly, it could be in violation of several other codes, including accessibility for people with disabilities.

"We don't know if it's properly equipped," she said.

Dean George, who has lived two doors down from the temple for six years, said the only problem he's ever had with them is a small light left on in the basement overnight. George says the light bothers him when he sits down in his leather chair to watch TV for the evening and the light peeks in from a nearby window.

"But it's a problem I could have with a regular neighbor," he said. "I've really never had any problems with them."

He did say he wished someone had asked him if it were OK for the Buddha statue to be placed in the temple's front yard. The statue was a gift from a temple in Vietnam and was shipped to Lansing a few months ago.

A Buddhist monk and nun are available at the temple to perform weddings and funerals for the Buddhist members of the community. About 5,000 Vietnamese people reside in Lansing, most of whom are Buddhist, monk Thay Minh Quang said.

Quang came to the United States a year ago to help provide much-needed Buddhist ministry. His depictions of Buddhist philosophy adorn the walls of the temple and his books are available for donations.

"We're willing to look for another place," he said. "But we need time. It's not easy to find another temple."

He said many of the members of Lansing's Vietnamese population are political refugees who came to the United States under the Ronald Reagan administration after helping the American government in the Vietnam War.

"They want to preserve their culture, to practice their meditation," Quang said. "The temple is a place where we can come together."

Quang Duong, a longtime member of the temple, said he used to drive to Grand Rapids or Detroit to attend a Buddhist temple. He doesn't look forward to the long drive that might be ahead if the community has nowhere to worship, but he worries more about other services the temple provides to new immigrants and the Vietnamese community.

"We help them find out how to live here," he said. "We help them fill out paperwork, how to work in America."

Pham, who discovered the temple her junior year at MSU, said she's been attending regularly ever since.

"I almost always come to services," she said. "And sometimes I just drop in to eat. The younger generation helps the older generation with English. Children need to learn about their culture. The people here are silent; they don't want to cause problems. But we need the community to know how much this place means to us.

"Churches with bigger populations - they can afford 2 acres. But we deserve a place just as much. We shouldn't have to drive two hours to come together and share our culture."

Tara May can be reached at maytara@msu.edu.