SGI temple installs Stewart Filmscreen
Published: WORSHIP
KOREA: Buddhist movement Soka Gakkai International (SGI) recently opened a new temple with a large screen made by California-based Stewart Filmscreen and supplied by local integrator Tovi Virtual Systems.
According to Perrie Leong, sales and administration manager at Stewart Filmscreen’s Singapore subsidiary, SGI Korea needed a motorised screen in order to provide a good size in the space available. ‘Tovi Virtual Systems has a lot of experience in projection screens,’ she said. ‘SGI Korea was shown another site where Tovi had supplied a large, 500-inch motorised screen – the very size SGI wanted. They were very impressed by the seamlessness of the screen, even at 500 inches; the flatness of the screen, achieved by using the tap-guy tension system; and its durability.’
The screen is used for Buddhist services and gatherings, especially events after the main services. During a special ceremony period it gets used every day; otherwise over 2,000 believers gather in the temple twice a week. The video content shows SGI’s missionary works and the activities of other branches of the movement in various countries.
‘This new temple is the SGI headquarters in Korea,’ according to Tovi. ‘And they are growing fairly well, although the percentage of growth is not as high as with other religious organisations in Korea.
SGI is a lay Buddhist movement, with headquarters in Tokyo, linking more than 12 million people around the world. SGI members integrate their Buddhist practice into their daily lives, following the Lotus Sutra based teachings of Nichiren, a 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest.