林世菊 文/譯 Written and English Translated by Lin Shiju VBS 663
加州州參議院現任執行議長麥克・麥奎爾，於2025年7月30日參訪萬佛聖城。他於2014年當選加州州參議員，代表金門大橋以北的七個沿海縣份，包括萬佛聖城所在的曼多仙諾縣。
Mike McGuire, the current President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate, visited the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas on July 30, 2025. He was elected to the State Senate in 2014, representing seven coastal counties north of the Golden Gate Bridge, including Mendocino County, where the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is located.
7月30日當天，他和兩位隨行人員於午後來到萬佛聖城，進入萬佛殿時，恰逢大悲懺法會，他有機緣看到大眾繞念，並聆聽〈大悲咒〉念誦。他也參觀了祖師殿、地藏殿、法界佛教大學，並在育良培德中小學女校門前，以及醫務大樓外駐足，聽取簡介；最後在山門前合影留念，總計在萬佛聖城停留45分鐘。
On July 30, McGuire and two accompanying staff members arrived at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the afternoon. Upon entering the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, they happened to witness the Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony in progress, where they observed the assembly circumambulating and chanting the Great Compassion Mantra. He also toured the Patriarch Hall, Earth Treasury Hall, Dharma Realm Buddhist University, and paused for brief introductions outside the girls’ school of Instilling Goodness and Developing Virtue Schools, as well as outside the medical building. The visit concluded with a group photo at the Mountasin Gate, totaling a 45-minute stay.
當天他在臉書貼出在萬佛聖城山門前的照片，指出萬佛聖城是西半球最大的佛教團體之一，並附文字介紹：「曼多仙諾縣的萬佛聖城，有一所幼稚園到高中的學校，還有大學、有機農場等諸多設施……」
That same day, McGuire posted a photo on Facebook taken in front of the Mountain Gate of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, noting that it is one of the largest Buddhist communities in the western hemisphere. He added: “City of 10,000 Buddhas in Mendocino County is home to a K–12 school, a university, an organic farm, and so much more…”
這則貼文吸引了逾50則留言，其中署名為凱若•懷特的留言頗具代表性：「我喜愛那個地方。對曼多仙諾縣而言，（萬佛聖城）是一份真正的禮物。能將充滿濁氣的機構從不幸的殘酷轉化爲神聖美麗之地，是一項令人驚喜的壯舉，也是極大的祝福。」
This post has attracted over 50 comments, among which the one by Carol White is quite representative: “I love that place. A real gift for Mendocino County. Transforming that sordid institution from abject cruelty to a place of sacred beauty is an amazing undertaking, and an enormous blessing.”♦