The memories I have with this temple have been pleasant and heartwarming…read more I can remember holding my ba ngoai's hand going from statue to statue and praying with heart as I place each incense in their holder. But as I got older and moved out I found myself going less and less. But I felt that this year was the year to rediscover my culture and I came back during Lunar New Year's weekend. I came on Lunar New Year day (1/29) and once more on Sunday (2/03). Being able to come and pray once more has brought more peace and ease to my heart. Especially now knowing that my dad's photo is here makes me so happy to know how close to home he is. When my mom told me my dad's photo was here I knew I had to come back, but when I came I was overwhelmed by how many photos there were and asked one of the ladies there to help. She was able to find my dad through his name and birthday and lead me to his photo. I was so happy to see his smiling face once more that I got a little misty eyed. But held back my tears because it is not good luck to cry on Lunar New Year LOL The temple is clean with helpful volunteers and monks. I love the food they make here and my boyfriend is hooked! They mentioned on Sundays at 9am they start selling food so I know where I'm heading that morning to grab a quick bite, say hi to my dad, and donate to the temple.

The Amazing Temple, along with the Most Venerable Thich Vien Ly, helped me discover a true sense of…read morefamily.

xei xei. In loving memory of Dr. Li, an amazing and selfless physician, husband, father, son,…read morebrother and friend.

Sometimes, it takes more than Google Maps for me to find where I'm going. This temple on New Ave…read morewas so nicely decorated on the exterior and welcoming that I decided to enter the vicinity. The parking lot was small. There were some people leaving.... Service must have ended. I parked and asked for directions to the Chinese New Year 2017 Rooster Celebrations. Friendly group. And apparently, due to weather conditions... the festivities were changed to January 28th & 29th instead. Also, this place was not a temple. This was a beautifully decorated Buddha Monastery. The inside was gorgeous too. Yellow gold and red were prominent colors. There were lots of incense, flowers and fruit offerings to the statues. Peaceful. Happy Chinese New Year / Happy Spring Festival

I can't believe there's only 2 reviews for this temple. Believe it or not but my family helped…read morebuild this temple when it was nothing but a patch of land. My parents and a couple of their friends decided to build a temple, then when word got out, a lot of people donated money to help build this temple. Then as people started to come, they wanted to build an outdoor kitchen to cook for the poor and unfortunate people and people started to donate rice and vegetables and cooking utensils. Then they started to have people joining the prayer group, both my parents and sister joined. They go to temple to do prayer on special occasions and chat for enlightenment. Before Covid, I always go there every Sunday to help them chopped vegetables to make lunch for the needy people, i mean the poor folks, some ain't even poor, they just go for the free food and the take the offerings, which they not supposed to unless the people managed it says is ok. But I see a lot of greedy people who just take more than they need. Every Sunday, lots of people come to help prepare the food, set up the chairs and tables, wash all the pots and pans, serving trays, clean the area. But now, they're only doing it once in awhile. If you want to donate money, they have these metal boxes by the front entrance and the goddess of mercy. You can also donate rice, cooking oil and vegetables. My family also donated grapefruit and tangerines because we grew them, we do it every harvest. We donated a lot of things too like the incense, rice and cooking oil. Is a good place to go and help out, you can also chat with the monks, they have a book if you don't know the words of the chants. Sometimes the chants can go for hours, but they take breaks and then go back to chanting lol. A good time to go is usually on the weekends. But if you happen to drive by and see the gates are open, then is open. Go pray for good health, for new babies , or for your loved ones who passed away to have a good journey and don't pray to win the lottery or get rich, is not going to work and it might backfire, you might end up even poorer lol Everyone is welcome to come by. One more thing, when they serve free lunch on Sundays, they sometimes sell the food for $5 a box and they sell the pickle vegetables for $5, is really good. They make their own pickled veggies. Is that sour mustard green veggies. Is delicious.

The San Gabriel Buddhist Temple is a small community temple. It's a small sanctuary dropped in a…read morebusy street. There is no religious restrictions so everyone is welcome to come to seek prayers or listen to chants offered by monks. From talking to the "manager" the temple is not open regularly Monday to Friday (but accessible by appointment). There are limited services and events aligned to the lunar calendar 1st and 15th of the month so please contact the temple for hours to access the events or services.

OK, came here on a visit after moving away from LA back to the East Coast. I love this place. I…read moredidn't realize I was coming the weekend after Ching Ming, and that's why it was so happening! On busy days like this, they have many volunteers to help direct traffic. I learned about their underground parking for the first time, it was so crowded! And they don't pressure you to join service. Be as active as you wish. I miss this airy temple with such positive vibes. The only drawback on this place (and it's ok, I don't need it), is they have no fortune sticks.

Happy Lunar New Year! I wish onto you, dear reader, happiness, love and prosperity this year!…read more The year of the horse is supposed to be a pretty bad year for my zodiac animal (not a horse). I don't practice Buddhism, but my mother insisted that I lessen my bad luck this year by bringing me to a temple to "An-Tai-Suay" (this is a verb. I think it means to ask my god "pu-sah" to protect my animal?) I'M TRYING! I'm no regular temple-goer, and I've only been to a few temples in my lifetime...but besides Shi Lai, this one has to be my favorite. It's spacious, peaceful, clean & well kept, beautiful, and full of helpful and friendly staff members who can try to explain things to you even if you don't understand (like me). The smell of incense fills most of the buildings' entrances and it really brought me a sense of peace and serenity. I can't really explain it well, but being here kind of made me feel like I had been lifted away from all of hustle & bustle of my day-to-day life and placed in a zen garden. Today, we wrote our family members names on a small card and hung it on a little lantern among hundreds of lanterns. Along with our names, we wrote/asked for happiness and luck this year, and to keep us safe. Then we went to "An-Tai-Suay" and I think they will be posting/hanging something with my name or something in one of the temple buildings for this lunar year. Although I don't normally go to Temples, this is a place I have really enjoyed being at. I do recommend anyone, buddhist or not, to come here at least once and experience this place. You don't have to wait for an unlucky year either.

Dharma Seal Temple is a neighborhood Buddhist temple -- relatively new and inviting…read more The attendants here are nice but speaks Mandarin (I think). The temple offers a weekly prayers and community service with the added convenience of plenty of underground parking. I came during the week of Chinese New year so lots of red lanterns, festive decorations and I was lucky enough to have a monk offer his blessings.

The north hallway of the main shrine. It's a beautiful…read moretemple. Not sure if they always open to the public. I'm here to pick up a relative during their Sunday service. Friendly staff (volunteers?)here. As a Christian I don't felt uncomfortable or unwelcome here

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.

Wong Tai Sen is a place of worship and culture. You feel a sense of community when visiting. We…read morefrequent the temple during Lunar New Year and this year was no different. It's smaller compares to many other temples but it's filled with great volunteers, and religious figures. Behind the temple is an outdoor deity, it's something you can't miss. They usually will sell Buddhist lucky charms, free lucky charms etcetera. Depending on the day and the time you visit, there will also be free meals available for visitors.

Pretty nice temple, alot of parking. We come here to pai tai sieur. There are alot of buddhism…read morebooks that you can purchase through donations, my sissy has started up a small collection throughout the years.

Very nice Buddha Hall and a lot of informational texts you can take, make sure to make a donation!…read more The vegetarian food they serve here when they do is pretty good too.

I visited this temple from time to time or when I am having dimsum at NBC…read more.. This week I made a trip to visit and pay my appreciation. In the past few months, I have learned more about their charity work and their dedication in support the community. They have been generously donated masks, face shield and KN95 masks to local groups to help families in need. All the canned food that were brought to the temple for blessings are being safely collected then donate to LA foodbank. We go to temple to seek for inner peace and by sharing our blessings, we found peace.

We've been coming here for several years and it continues to be humble in their practice. They…read morestill give out free vegetarian food. The parking situation is not that great. It is mainly street parking right on Atlantic Blvd or the side streets. El Portal Pl is a popular spot (plus there's a cool water feature). You can also access the rear entrance from El Portal Pl by following the small alley behind the stores. The rear entrance is clearly labeled with a sign in Chinese and the words "Buddhist Mission 527." This time around, we used the rear entrance since we parked on El Portal. When we arrived at the temple, the place was fairly busy with people making their prayers and offerings to the gods. Since it was the start of the New Year, people were also making their offerings to Tai Sui to prevent misfortune/disturbances and ask for peace and good fortune. Overall, the place is pretty busy. They don't have a great parking area as it is mainly street parking. It's not a very lavish temple, but it has a nice homely feel to it.