by David Ham

WVEC.com

Posted on October 28, 2011 at 5:41 PM

Updated today at 5:42 PM

VIRGINIA BEACH -- A Virginia Beach Buddhist temple is stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to its statues.

Several of its statues at its educational center on Downey Drive are zoning violations. The land is zoned residential and inspectors say the land should not have the towering statues on display.

Monks at Dong Hung Temple say that they are trying to find a way to move the statues to its new temple on Davis Street. The challenge is finding a way to pay for the forklifts to move the heavy statues.

"Everything is slow now, because we live based on the support of donation from the Buddhist follower," said Chuc Thanh.

Thanh say the statues are supposed to bring a sense of calm.

"It's a good channel for us to learn and be happy."

Inspectors at Virginia Beach Planning and Zoning say that although the statues are zoning violations, they are working with the monks to try and find the best way to move them to their new property on Davis Street.