{"id":496,"date":"2026-06-04T23:34:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=496"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:34:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:34:53","slug":"bay-area-woman-accused-of-setting-fire-to-nations-oldest-buddhist-monastery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=496","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area woman accused of setting fire to nation’s oldest Buddhist monastery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Police have arrested a 36-year-old Mountain View woman in connection with a fire at the\u00a0Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in Carmel Valley earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>

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Announced Tuesday\u00a0by the Monterey County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the arrest comes after an investigation that revealed\u00a0GuoGuo Lu was allegedly making online statements tied to the fire and threats toward other Buddhist temples in the state. The fire happened on March 27 at the oldest Japanese Buddhist Soto Zen monastery in the country, officials said.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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The sheriff\u2019s office said\u00a0Lu is facing several charges, including arson, making criminal threats and committing a felony hate crime. She was already booked in Napa County Jail for unrelated charges, the sheriff\u2019s office said, and is expected to be moved to Monterey County. Her bail has been set at $130,000.<\/p><\/div>

In a statement, Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto\u00a0said her office will ensure that community members can practice their faith without feeling afraid.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cWe take allegations involving crimes motivated by bias or hatred very seriously and will continue to work diligently to investigate these incidents and hold those responsible accountable under the law,\u201d Nieto said.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, which is run by the San Francisco Zen Center,\u00a0is the first Zen monastery to open outside Japan and was\u00a0founded in 1967. According to a blog post from the San Francisco center at the time of the fire, the center\u2019s zendo, which is a meditation hall in the monastery, was destroyed in the blaze.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cCharred wood, scorched metal, grey ash, and open space are all that remain of the structure, which had stood since 1978,\u201d the center said. A 2,000-year-old stone Buddha statue crumbled in the fire, but the head was \u201cmiraculously\u201d still intact, according to the center.\u00a0<\/p>

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