I was wandering around the Richmond Art Center campus when I spotted this beautiful little gem out…read moreof the corner of my eye. As I walked closer I noticed some workers painting the sculptures out front so I decided to walk closer. As I turned the corner around back I saw the parking lot gate was open and I decided to walk in. I approached one of the workers and asked if the place was open and he said yes and asked me if I wanted to come inside and pray. I gratefully declined and said I just wanted to have a look so he invited me in and I was allowed to wander around. Everyone I encountered inside was extremely nice and inviting. I sat down in the meditation room and had a moment to myself. It had been a seriously long time since I've had a moment to myself and my mind and body were so glad that this happened. I met a monk on my way out and had an extremely great conversation about how I had been feeling lost and needed this moment to help me get a better footing on my mind. He explained that they were getting ready for Laotian New Years and invited me to come back and join the festivities. I thanked him for his time and quickly hurried back to my day to day. When I got home I told my GF about the experience and mentioned that we should come visit. We came back for the festivities and it was amazing. So many families and so many smiles. Everyone was super inviting and friendly. One uncle saw us standing around and said to us "EAT" so we did. There was so much food and drinks. We almost exploded with the amount of amazing stuff there was available. This place has been built by hand and from donations by the community, a few years of work to have this magic in the middle of Richmond. I'll never forget my experience here and it allowed for me to return to my practice. I will be forever thankful for this first step. Thank you so much

I came here for the first time during the water festival in April. Monks are very friendly or are…read moretemple members. This temple is the center of the community in richmond and the bay area. I really enjoy the festival. It has dancing, singing and many foods to buy during the festival. Donation is not required.

so the old man is a buddhist. for the record i am not. but i adhere to buddhist principles. and…read morewe met at a buddhist retreat center. and we got married at said retreat center on a stage built for his holiness the dalai lama. so when it was time to pick a wedding favor for our guests...we decided to make our own tsa tsa's...or mini molded buddha statues. we took a class on how to mix and pour the molds and they gave us a key to the studio so we could drive up from santa cruz whenever we wanted to make them. we chose to make medicine buddha statues because we got married at land of medicine buddha and were able to able to make them the beautiful royal blue color. it wasn't cheap, but it was a great experience to make our wedding favors from scratch together and we had a lot of fun. they even supplied the boxes and helped us print up little cards to put inside. it is a lot of work but it was worth it.

Beautiful and peaceful setting away from all the city noise to sit and reset for a nice relaxing…read moreday.

Beautiful place to find your peace, walk in the garden and turn some prayer wheels. There is…read moreobviously a very caring community involved to maintain such a beautiful place. Donyo has a great sense of humor. What a bright spirit he is!

This is such a cool, community experience in the East Bay. I've heard about Wat Mongkolratanaram…read morefor quite some time from friends in the area, and both read about and viewed so much content about this local Sunday event as well. Finally was able to go and experience it! If you've been, would love to hear about your experience too! Essentially, Wat Mongkolratanaram is a Buddhist temple located on Russell Street in Berkeley. They serve lunch to the community (I believe 10a to 1p, although do research ahead of time to ensure they're serving the day you come). I would recommend coming earlier than later, as some items do go quickly. Bring cash with you because your cash = how many coins/tokens you will receive to give the food stations. Right by the coin checkin area, you will find the beverage area of water/Thai tea, and other bevvies. The Thai Tea goes fast too, so also recommend grabbing one early if that's your go-to. There are community-style tables/chairs and also a grass area to enjoy your meal. I noticed several groups bringing blankets and picnic baskets for their afternoon set up. A great idea! For vegetarians or those looking for a more veggie focused lunch, there was a separate line for that. We arrived a little late, so the food stall I waited in line for only had minced pork, yellow curry, and rice, although that alone was filling enough and so delicious. My husband stood in a line for a beef noodle soup. I noticed a food stall with papaya salad, potentially fried chicken, and I believe a mango sticky rice. For dessert we waited in line for the Thai coconut pancakes or Kanom Krok, in cinnamon and plain flavors..they also were serving chive too! I love that you can 'leave a bag/take a bag' if you want to grab these items to-go, as well as grab plastic to-go containers too. There are napkins, utensils, and a sauce station. This is run by all volunteers I think, and everyone was so friendly and helpful. Parking isn't impossible, but because this happens only on Sundays, it did take a few minutes additionally to grab street parking nearby. All in all, a lovely afternoon paying homage to the beautiful Thai culture through food and community. Would def do it again and just prepare to arrive closer to the beginning of the event.

CASH ONLY! Sunday brunch…read more Just based off sheer selection, the Thai temple in Berkeley is the place to go to eat on Sundays. Came on a rainy day and the place was still pretty packed. I really enjoyed the plate and all the sides were pretty solid. Well-spiced and perfect with rice. The soup noodle was good, the celery kind of threw me off but it's filling and warm. The mango sticky rice is classic. Definitely going to stop by again.

My daughter grew up a Buddhist in this temple. This is Jodo Shinshu, vs Zen Soto based, however,…read morethey are conducting "Intro to Buddhism" classes now (3/20/13) thru April, as well as meditation an Sunday services. This is a very very small sangha and many members are Japanese-American (2nd or 3rd gen) but there is a smattering of others, too. There used to be an elaborate Obon festival but as the sangha had aged, well.... If you would like a low-key Buddhist community where there's not hundreds of book-end Buddhists to rush to and away, rather to be part of a quiet sangha, check it out. They will welcome you and adopt you.

on june 22(sunday), the buddhist temple of marin will host a "summer obon festival from 12-7. the…read morepublic is invited. admission is free. they will feature cultural exhibits, food, games, i.e. fun for the whole family" chicken teriyaki is the featured entree. (of course, some events will cost monies. this event is also a fundraiser for the temple). -(from shizko mishima, about..com) "obon is a buddhist event and is one of the most important traditions of japanese people. it is the period of praying for the repose of the souls of one's ancestors. people believe that their ancestors' spirits come back to their homes to be reunited with their family during obon...

It's a beautiful place and the people are even better. It's not what I expected it's so much more.read more

As a former member of SGI-USA, I had heard a lot from them about "the Priesthood issue", which was…read morea covert way of referring to strained relations with Nichiren Shoshu. I was told the Priests are greedy, mean, and power-hungry. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The Priests are kind, warm, and approachable. The members are open, caring, and loving. The Temple and its administrators value the privacy of the members. I have taken many friends as my guest to the Temple, out of my pride and love for this Temple. It is a very comfortable, even transformative place to be. I find myself making excuses to go there weekly, all the way from Fremont to Pinole! If you are interested in creating peace, joy, and fullfilment in your life, the Buddhism of Nichiren Shoshu is for you! Come check out our Temple!!!

Vallejo Zen Center, or Clear Water Zendo, is fully functioning temple with early morning zazen…read more(meditation), Saturday morning program including lecture, One-Day Sittings and multi day Sessions. There are scheduled classes and monthly Full Moon Ceremonies. This temple has been a big help for me. Daily zazen gets me off to a good start each morning. I enjoy learning the teachings of Dogen and more contemporary teachers. The temple is welcoming and the Sangha is there to help, especially newcomers. Abbess Mary Mocine is available to help students with their practice and how to apply it to our lives. We also have speakers from San Francisco and Berkeley Zen Centers. Vallejo Zen Center is a wonderful place to discover and develop a Zen practice.

Vallejo Zen Center (Clearwater Zendo) is a welcoming community with a peaceful space to practice…read more There's ample room to feel comfortable in the beautiful Zendo along with chairs and cushions, depending on one's needs. We are fortunate to have Mary Mocine offering Zen teachings in this part of the Bay Area and to experience the warmth of her heart. I am happy to practice here.

Unreal slice of Heaven nestled in the valley of marin headlands. We hiked from Tennessee Valley to…read moreMuir Beach and decided to hike through the valley on our way back instead of an out and back. What an incredible stumble upon in the midst of our hike. Pictures don't do this beautiful spot justice. It felt unreal when we walked up to the garden then through the zen center. We merely wandered through the grounds, we didn't take advantage of any services so I can't attest to what is available on the grounds besides the incredible gardens. Our round trip hike was almost 10 miles and worth every step taken. Beach, redwoods, valley rolling hills, gardens filled to capacity with beautiful blooms, veggies, and lovingly sculpted grounds. Truly an incredible experience and what a treat to allow it to be open to the public.

I just returned from a weekend yoga retreat at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. It was my second…read moreretreat here and henceforth second time going here. I was on a digital sabbatical so no photos from my smartphone and no laptop. In retrospect from being there would say it was a lovely experience. It was great to unplug and get out of the city aka San Francisco for a weekend. The farm itself is about 30 acres. Green Gulch Farm Zen Center is affiliated with the San Francisco Zen Center in the City and Tassajara. All three is in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi from the Zen lineage from Japan. Suzuki Roshi wrote Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind and other works. I was primarily with my group here doing our own retreat yet did sit on one talk by a senior Zen teacher which I enjoyed. The talk was followed by an insightful question and answer Satsang aka philosophical discussion and tea. The hiking here is wonderful. They have been an organic farm since 1972 supplying the famous Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. The food here was quite alright. Many vegan options. One improvement would be to simply label the food items vegan or not instead they have symbols donating if the item has dairy or eggs yet majority of the food was vegan anyways. It was tasty and fresh as much of the ingredients are grown on site. The accommodation was comfortable. It was about a mile hike to the ocean to Muir Beach and explored the Tennessee Valley trail for a more challenging hike with amazing vista views of the ocean. I also saw two deer while here. If you get a chance to go to the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Go! Recommended!

We went here recently to sit with Ajahn Amaro, a Theravadan monk in the Thai Forest tradition. He…read moreteaches here once a month. It's an interfaith Buddhist monastery, and there is a variety of stuff that happens here -- sittings, classes, ceremonies, etc. The space is absolutely gorgeous! The main temple room is like 3 stories high, with gorgeous stained glass. There are cushions and chairs, the chairs being quite comfortable and sturdy. You have to remove your shoes, and there is a nice plush carpet (light blue, no less!) in the temple room. If it's winter and you're going to sit here, I recommend wearing a lot of clothing or bringing a blanket. We were freezing when we were there. I imagine it's hard to heat a room that's 3 stories high.

An Indonesian friend introduced me to this place. I have to admit I thought the white monks were…read moreweird. Not because they did or said anything weird. Just because they were the first white monks I ever met. But it was good to know I was wasn't the only Buddhist born person there. I trust they don't use Buddhism for commercial profit. How could they be Buddhist if they did? My brother goes here every time he comes to visit from the east coast. He's not Buddhist anymore, but still likes the meditation classes. I wish they would convince him to stay Buddhist. I also wish they had more Sri Lankan monks, more kids activities, yoga, and female monks. The location is perfect for kids. The temple is in between 2 elementary schools. Teaching children how to meditate would be so nice! The space would also be good for family yoga. I hope they take these suggestions into consideration.