Howell - A room of incense, candles and lotus lights remains under lock and key because of frequent attacks on the Americana Buddhist Temple that houses it.
Buddha statues sit meditating in the dusky silence.
This room once was open to the public, as Buddhist tradition dictates, but vandals have become too frequent for Abbot Cheng Kuan to ignore them.
Kuan said he blames the vandalism on prejudice and ignorance, citing the fact that the criminals did not even spell the name of his religious leader, Buddha, correctly.
Acts of vandalism also were seen in mid-August at the Dhammasala Forest Monastery in Perry.
Unknown people entered the unlocked meditation hall and knocked over the shrine tables. Flowers were strewn, water spilled and statues toppled.
"The attack on ours struck me as someone who came to look inside and got upset," the monastery's Abbot Ajahn Khemasanto said. "For years we didn't have to lock anything, but we do now."
The monastery's members disagree about the reasons of the break-in.
Khemasanto said he thinks the celebrations the Buddhists held and the media attention the events gathered bothered some people in the community.
But Chalmer Clark, who is training to be a monk at the Dhammasala Forest Monastery, said the vandal probably had a less sinister intent.
"Chances are it was probably just kids messing around," Clark said. "I don't think it was an attack on the religion."
But the Howell temple has witnessed longer and more explicit attempts of intimidation. More than 25 acts of vandalism have taken place on the 50-acre religious haven. The temple has been in Howell for 11 years and the destruction started in the second year.
Multiple buildings have been targeted, including the two shrine rooms. A ceremonial drum and light were stolen, as well as a statue of the Buddha.
Police in both communities did not return repeated phone calls made this week.
Both Kuan and Khemasanto have installed higher security in their places of worship, despite saying they do not feel personally threatened.
"Our neighbors are very nice and the mayor of Perry is, too," Khemasanto said. "We don't feel unsafe or that our neighbors don't want us here."
The abbots have invested in security systems and extra locks on the doors.
A padlock resides on the outer door of the Howell temple's secondary shrine and the inside doors have a double defense with a regular door and chain lock.
Kuan still fumbles with the unfamiliarity of having to guard his religion behind steel and wood rather than openly sharing the words of his calling.
"It is a joke for a temple to be guarded by a security system. In my country, this has never been heard of," he said. "It is different here now. I've been waiting for too long, and due to the circumstances, I need to do it differently."
The security measures taken by the monastery in Perry are more severe than those taken by the local churches. Although churches could be targeted, the frequency is not comparable to the vandals at the Howell temple.
Pastor Randy Johnson of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Perry said break-ins remain a concern to him because he once served at a church that witnessed vandalism.
But Johnson said extensive security is not needed in the near future.
"Our building is quite secure and there is never any money on site - churches are notoriously poor anyway," he said. "If someone breaks into a church, there's nothing for anyone to do but vandalize."
Kuan echoes Johnson's idea that break-ins at religious places only can be made with malicious intent rather than material gain.
He said the anger the criminals feel is ignorantly misplaced, and vandalism has increased since the Iraq War.
"The killings in Iraq play a role in their misunderstanding," Kuan said. "They think they are heroic and they are justified in doing this and maybe they are revenging their military."
Buddhism originates in India and Nepal.
While Kuan has alerted the police about the vandals, he does not want the guilty persons to suffer repercussions for their acts.
"There will be no satisfaction whatever if someone gets punished, it won't be a joy for me," he said. "They are in trouble for themselves because they are poisoned in the mind.
"I just want them to know that it is wrong to harm."
