Our family has been coming to this temple for over 30 years. It's my mother's must do list on the…read morefirst day of every Chinese New Year to come here to give blessings, give thanks, and prayers for the Buddha. Quan Yin/ Kwan Ying is the Goddess of Compassion in the Buddhist religion. This temple is dedicated to her. I find this temple is more genuine about the true religion and dedicate to patrons to come here seeking prayers, serenity, peace for their beliefs. Although donations are appreciated it's not expected like some of the Buddhist temples around that make you feel that it's all about the money, how much you donate, and everything and services cost money.

What's up: The family comes to this temple to make prayers and ask for blessings during events such…read moreas beginning the New Year as well as ending the year. It's a bit out of our area, but we like that it's a small temple and that they aren't overly extravagant. Parking: They have a small lot that's up front and is almost always full. But...just because it's full, that doesn't mean the temple itself is. Parking is shared with the America's Vietnamese Chinese Friendship Association. You'll have better luck finding street parking on Gates St or Manitou Ave. Environment: Masks are required. We typically bring our own incense to offer to the gods. If you forget, there are incense available for you to use as people like to donate them. Once you walk in, the incense table can be found to the left. It's recommended to use 12 sticks of incense so you'll be able to at least give 1 stick at the incense pots. We like to bring fruits to offer/bless; there are plates towards the back room if you need to use them. Donation boxes are also available if you like to make one. Restrooms are available in the next building over on the ground floor. Yay/Nay/Meh: Yay. I like that this place feels humble and intimate as opposed to the larger temples. They have the main gods that we would make prayers and offerings to and it's rarely busy unless you come in on one of the major holidays.

It's a beautiful temple. We come here to pray, worship and guidance - usually during times of…read morecelebration or need. The people have always been kind and parking never seems to be an issue.

For Vietnamese New Years, my family and I always like to go to many temples to pray for our…read morefamily's well-being for the entire year. Every year I try to find more temples to take my mom and my aunties so when my friend from my temple's youth group posted a picture with her family here, I knew I had to bookmark it for when I had the chance to come by. I believe this is a Chinese temple. The only big difference from the Chinese temples and the Vietnamese temples I have been to so far is that the Chinese temples let you wear your shoes indoors whereas you take off your shoes when you enter the mainhall at a Vietnamese temple. My auntie and I entered the main hall and my auntie was in awe. She was so happy at the architectural beauty and the temple and the amazing Buddhist statues that they have here. She said it resembled a temple back in our hometown in Vietnam that she would come and visit when she came back from the city. She was so excited that she told me to take pictures to show my mom and their other siblings. Of course, I will have to take my mom back here to experience that resemblance first hand. The smell of the incense already filled the air throughout the mainhall so my auntie and I decided to just burn one incense to prevent wasting too many incenses during the festive New Years celebrating. We said our prayers for the family and walked around to admire the temple. I think they had some New Years fortune things, but I am not able to read the writing so there was no point to grab any fortunes. Among the many tables in the mainhall, I saw this interesting table with red ribbon tied to a coin and I asked the volunteer behind the counter what it was for. From what my nonverbal skills could decipher the red ribbon with the coin is $5 each and the purpose is to make a wish and then throw the ribbon onto this wishing tree for good luck. I'm not sure if this is a new year thing or a Chinese Temple thing... but it sounded fun so I gave the volunteer $10 so that my auntie and I could make some wishes to start off the New Year on positive vibes. I don't know if it matters how high we throw it but I made sure to throw it onto a really high branch!! This is a really nice temple to visit if you are looking for a temple to visit in the area or if you are just curious and want to stop by to check it out for yourself. Lunar New Years is definitely one of the most festive times of the year to visit temple and in my opinion the best time to visit even if you aren't Buddhist.

A wonderful delight place with warm and friendly people. For those who might have a slight…read moreinterest in the 道, to those who are serious in lighting and bowing to the gods and goddesses. 好极了 -- but you don't need to speak Chinese to benefit from a visit there.

I really appreciate this temple because it's close to home and accessible. I normally park on the…read morestreet and just walk right in. I feel that this is more of an intimate setting since it's not a big place. The set up is three rooms right next to one another. Feel free to pick up an incense, light it with a candle, and pray. I made sure to ask for my fortune and this is up to you, but I make a donation after I finished each room. There are signs in Thai. I didn't expect to see this because I thought it was a Chinese temple. I don't visit the temple as much as I should but when I do, I think of this place.

My family has been coming here for so long that the monks gave us all nicknames. This temple is…read morevery peaceful and a good place to unwind if you need to get away from the bustle of the city. They have a daily service from 10:30-noon for the community but you can request a short prayer service before or after depending on the monk's availability. If you're familiar with Thai Buddhist tradition and temple culture, people will bring a dish or more for the monks to bless and later partake in, offer up a blessing/alms for those who've passed, then everyone will pray together while the monks receive the offerings (basically eat lunch), then it's potluck time for visitors after. It's a very laid back temple, they do have classes for youngsters on the weekends, holiday events, can also host weddings and funeral prayer services. They have retreat style meditation and also have community fund raising events as well. Please be kind and respectful when visiting, help out when possible as there are no hired janitors, everyone pitches in to help when organizing the service and you will see the system if you look for it. P.S. No shoes are allowed in the praying/service rooms, available shoe shelves are right outside the doors before entering, the shoes should join the shoe community on the shelves...thanks.

Beautiful temple. Great Ceremonial events. Nice gardens. Willing to let anyone who would like to…read morehave a statue...

This gorgeous temple serves as a spiritual and community center for the Buddhist community in Los…read moreAngeles. I visited for the first time to support the Brew Ha Ha 5.0 fundraiser; as you may have guessed, the fundraiser involved drinking beer (and eating snacks served at "yatai", mobile food booths common in Japan). Any temple that serves beer in the community hall is all right with me, and these pairings of snacks/beer knocked it out of the park. This is a can't miss fundraiser to support the community and truly unique in the L.A. area. The grounds are stunning, beautifully maintained, and with historical features named on informational plaques. I was unable to visit the interior of the temple, but if the exterior is any indication, it's beautiful. Very ample parking. Absolutely wonderful asset to the community; hope to visit again soon.

Call me biased, as this is now my home temple. But from the very first day I wandered in, I knew…read morethere was something special here. Whether you are an experienced practitioner or new to Buddhism completely, the folks at LAAHBT will take great care of you. The services are comforting. The ministers are friendly and very approachable. And they offer a range of classes on a donation basis. Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is not as well known in the USA as other schools like Zen or Tibetan, but it is a Buddhism that embraces the here and now. It sees us in all of our imperfections and differences and welcomes us each as we are. Services are in both English and Japanese and the congregation (sangha) is diverse. They offer special celebrations that are open to the public as well. If you have never been to an Obon Festival, you need to come dance with the folks at LAHHBT! And did I mention how beautiful the temple is inside? You should see it for yourself

My family has been coming to this Buddhist temple since the late 1980s. We generally come here…read moreduring the Chinese/Vietnamese New Year. A very relaxing and calming place to come pay your respects and possibly seeking the answers to your prayers. Parking: They have their own small and dedicated private lot. Should it gets packed, there's also residential street parking (just watch for signs). This Buddhist temple comprises of two levels. After you making your way up the stairs to the entrance, by the doorways is where you can place your money donations with the staff. Afterwards, you'll enter into the Main Floor (Level), which houses the Male and Female Buddhas as well as the Guardian Deities of the Sky. You'll go around the entire Main Floor paying your respects as well as asking for your possible prayers to come true. You can also donate money to purchase a candle to light up along with your prayers or shake out a wooden stick to find out your Dharma meaning to a certain question that you have been pondering. The Monks here are pretty nice and they'll be happy to help interpret for you. The staff volunteers here are pretty nice too and will do their best to assist you with any questions or inquiries that you might have regarding the temple. After you're done with the Main Level, you'll head downstairs to the Basement. Down there, you will head into the room that houses the Master Monk (who was escorted through the world with the Monkey King, Pig and Friar Sandy [Journey to the West Saga] to seek Enlightenment), who oversees the deceases and pay your respects to him as well as wishing safety and goodness for your deceased loved ones in the Underword as well. In addition, the Restrooms are also located in the Basement. There's only one restroom per sex and both are pretty decent and maintained. The Kitchen and Dining Room is also located down there too. The vegetarian meal prepared here, especially, during Chinese/Vietnamese New Year is delicious! Seasoned perfectly and nutritious, my Mom actually prefers the food here more than the vegetarian buffet at Hsi Lai Temple. Each person is given a plate of food and you can either eat it in the dining room or take it home. After you're done paying your respects, you can leave through the small stairway from the Basement or down the stairs from the main entrance (depending on where you're at). Overall, this Buddhist temple has been great to my family. A wonderful and hidden gem in a quiet neighborhood. Definitely worth checking out!

Nice and clean. Feel like home again. They give me suggestions on things. Bring good energy and…read moreluck home. Thank you

Xuan Wu San is NOT a charity. It's a small Buddhist temple. We go here every year after Chinese New…read moreYear to pray for some blessings for the year. There's three different kinds of rituals. One of them requires getting 12 incense sticks to pray at each little shrine in the temple. Each little shrine is numbered so you know which one to go to first. Red envelopes are exchanged for new ones. They also have yellow and green sheets for you to put in the house or in the car for good luck. There is a separate ritual for zodiacs that happen to land on a bad luck year. That's $20 per person. The smell of incense throughout this temple is very relaxing. There's also soothing music that plays throughout. Overall, it's a nice little Buddhist temple. I always feel a little at peace after my visit here. I'll be back again next year.

Earth store buddhisattva is here! every time I went here to attend drama assembly can always grow…read moremy bodhi seeds and belief root! Bowing to venerable Xuan Hua can inconceivably diminish the disaster and increase the blessing in your life And we will be protected and to be the one to be mindful by Buddha and buddhisattva. we can walk on the correct cultivation road to the Unsurpassed Buddhahood! Mamo Amita Buddha! Namo earth store buddhisattva and guanshiyin buddhisattva! Namo venerable XuanHua !