Spent the day at Hsi Lai Temple to slow down, clear my mind, and enjoy a peaceful vegetarian meal…read more Hsi Lai Temple was founded in 1988 by Fo Guang Shan, one of the largest Buddhist organizations in the world. It's also one of the biggest Buddhist temples in the United States and is known for its beautiful traditional Chinese architecture and peaceful surroundings. One thing to keep in mind is that photography isn't allowed in many areas of the temple, so be sure to watch for the posted signs and respect the rules. Before heading out, we stopped by the dining hall for lunch. The vegetarian buffet is just $10 per person and you can go back for more if you'd like. The food is simple, comforting, and filling. Just remember to take only what you can finish and avoid wasting food. It's always a peaceful place to visit, whether you're here to pray, take a walk, or simply enjoy a quiet afternoon. Hsi Lai Temple 3456 Glenmark Dr, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

My mom wanted to do a good luck prayer for the LUNAR NEW YEAR so I searched on Yelp for the nearest…read moretemple to us and found Hsi Lai Temple!... FIRST OF ALL: WOW!! What a gorgeous and magnificent temple this is!! It has about 2 floors of parking and the temple also has additional floors to go up as well. So be expected to walk up quite a few amounts of stairs!! FIRST FLOOR: We did a prayer with a donation and it came with some apples and other assortments in a red gift bag. The red gift bag required a donation of $20 per bag so me and my mom bought 2. Then, their were some nice ladies there who helped guide is on what to do. We prayed in front of 5 statues and posted the red gift bags in the middle... SECOND FLOOR: This is where we can do another prayer with 1 incense. And this is also where the restrooms were as well so make sure you don't back down to the first floor because the RESTROOMS are on the second floor!!! PARKING: Plenty of parking. There are 2 floors available for parking!! This temple really transported us to another country!! It was also very peaceful and quiet!! SATU HSI LAI TEMPLE!!!

We came to check out this Buddhist temple and everyone was so friendly! There was a lunch event and…read morequite bustling despite the rain. They served Biriyani, one of my favorite Burmese dishes, and the various Burmese desserts were so good and not that sweet. The temple area to pray was on the smaller side compared to the temple in Azusa and the surrounding area was also small. There is an area where someone will receive your donation. Overall, it was a lovely experience!

Amazing Buddhist Monastery that does alot for the Burmese Community here in Southern California…read more They usually have different Buddhist teachers from Burma come here and preach different sermons here during the weekdays. Weekends are usually more social events. Large Courtyard Area for seating large groups of people. Meditation Hall.

I had the immense privilege to be able to join this temple's celebration of Losar, the Tibetan New…read moreYear. (Tashi delek) is what I heard upon entering this temple, with kindness emanating from the Tibetan monks as well as the Chinese speaking docent of the temple. Services are often conducted in Tibetan, Mandarin, and English, and visitors such as myself are welcome to participate in the Buddhist religious practices, such as the mantra chanting. Buddhists of all ethnic backgrounds come here to be in community with their faith. On this occasion, Tibetans gathered to celebrate their New Year and generously allowed us to celebrate with them.

I'm taking their Beginner's level Tibetan language class here. Their pedagogy is very different…read morefrom other American schools', e.g., Beverly Hills Lingual Institute, UC extension. Instead of the familiar explanatory and full immersion approaches which American schools usually employ, Land of Compassion Buddha's monks pretty much use the most primitive way to teach a new language-recitation, memorization and repeated practices-in class! I basically don't do any revision at home, as I'm busy with other things; and they go over the new things like 30 or 50 times in class with us to make sure we do the work even if after class we don't study ourselves. I'm wondering if it's a monastic way of language learning as self-study may not take up as much time of a student's, at least when they are on elementary level. Just my guess. Venerable Thupten Jangchu is pretty awesome. I honestly don't remember learning like this after graduating from the kindergarten at six. He guarantees everyone in the whole class "gets it" before he moves on to something new so it becomes not only about learning but also practicing patience, which is sometimes even more important to a student. My class becomes something I look forward to through the week. Nothing is better than learning a new thing in a tranquil place filled with beautiful dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) tools and nice people. The accent/dialect Venerable Jangchu teaches is Khampa which is spoken in Eastern Tibet. If you need to learn another accent/dialect, you should ask in advance when you sign up. I think I paid about $200 for a boot camp lasting 1.5 months. The text book costs $15. A steal, right? Oh, no shoes in the center. There's tea for students. Just make sure you clean up after yourself. Volunteer to put the study trays and sitting cushion back to the storage after class. There are no chairs; we sit on the floor so I find pants more convenient than dresses or skirts. As for lunch, the mall with eateries, Starbucks, Westfield and Ikea is 5 minutes away.

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...

The Bottom Line Up Front: This is not a restaurant or…read morefarmers market but rather a Buddhist temple -- or rather the site of a future temple. Organizers are raising funds to build a larger facility by hosting a Thai food market of sorts from Sunday morning to about 3 p.m. Select dishes and drinks from a variety of Thai food vendors, get a glimpse of Buddhism, and enjoy the great outdoors all at the same time. The Setup: Similar to a state fair, you exchange your cash for tokens then use those tokens to pay the food vendors. Don't worry, there's no funky conversion rate to trick you like at some carnivals. Here a Jackson gets you a $20 token, a Hamilton gets you a $10 token, etc. The Food: It's not a huge place like the 626 Night Market; maybe 6 to 9 vendors total -- but there's more than enough to either get your Thai food fix or to explore different offerings if you're new to Southeast Asian cuisine. My wife got the boat noodles, which was standard. A solid amount was given, but the taste just didn't wow us. Still, she was satisfied with it. I wanted something unique and this Thai-American fusion stall kept catching my eye after I kept walking around indicisively for 10 minutes. So, I ordered the BBQ wings with Thai chili sauce and Thai-seasoned french fries. There were only 3 wings, but they were substantial in size and quite moist and tender. The seasoning was pretty understated, and I was hoping for more flavors. The fries took 15 minutes longer than expected and were still not super crispy. And like the wings, it lacked strong flavors. Overall, they were fine but a little underwhelming. I ended up dipping them in the wings sauce, and that elevated them quite a bit. Together, my wife and I shared mango sticky rice, which came in a big portion. We ended up eating it the next day and it was still tasty. The mangos were nice and ripe, while the coconut drizzle on the rice was mildly sweet -- a perfect balance. The Cost: All told, we spent $40 -- $10 for the boat noodles, $15 for the BBQ wings, $5 for the fries, and $10 for the mango sticky rice. At first, I thought that was kinda expensive for just above-average food, but then I remembered that if we had purchased the same things at a sit-down restaurant, we'd probably be paying $60 to $80 these days. So this was an affordable alternative. The best part? It's a donation to a worthy charity. The Setting: All of the vendor stalls and seating are outdoors. Picture handmade picnic tables and you get the idea. There's a good amount of seating, but if you get there after 12 p.m., it might be hard to get an open table with some tree shade. The Parking: The site is located along Chino Hills Parkway, tucked behind a row of trees and residential neighborhoods. If you don't slow down to spot Rustic Drive or the tiny sign the organizers posted at the intersection, you'll easily drive by without realizing it. Also, if you don't come well before noon, the paved parking lot gets filled up quickly, as does the very limited street parking. The Conclusion: If you go in looking for top-of-the-line Thai food, you'll be disappointed. But if you go in looking for a fun outdoor dining experience and to support a good cause, you'll enjoy this market as much as I did.

Great Thai street food vibes. It's only on Sunday mornings, located at a temple until 2 or 3pm…read more It's a token system where you exchange cash for tokens to pay for your food. There are multiple food vendors, from $1 skewers, desserts, to typical Thai dishes that they cook up fresh. They have bench seating areas, but keep in mind it could get hot and sunny during summer. You can order a Thai Green Tea/Thai Tea/ Thai Coffee/Pink Drink for something refreshing.

Spoke to one of the sister / nun , even though her English were not perfect she tried her best to…read moreexplain to me about the rituals of 49 days death anniversary rituals . She were so kind and patient to answered some of my questions . She also welcome me and my family to come visit the temple on the weekends for their traditional annual celebration. She says every one is welcome , no matter race or religion background . come to pray pray when ever one feel like . Since it's COVID she states the men hall is closed off to public and some of the inside rooms. We are welcome to pray at the praying hall

For Vietnamese New Years, it is our tradition to visit many temples for good luck. Growing up in…read moreUpland, there were not many Vietnamese Buddhist Temples in the area. Vinh Nghiem Temple is one of the three temples in a 30 minute radius for my family to visit during New Years since my mom cannot drive on the freeways. The Headmaster and the Buddhist Nun here are both really nice and welcoming. My mom and I are not regulars to this temple, but every time we come, they always offer us a vegetarian meal and well blessings. I know the temple underwent construction in recent years and now they have a private lot that makes it easy for visitors to park. Back in the days, we would have to park a few houses down on the street. With the new construction, the main hall has also been refurnished with new Buddha statues. The interior and exterior of this place looks great. I am slightly surprised that Vinh Nghiem Temple has no reviews yet, but then it makes sense since their regular disciples seem to be an older more traditional crowd of older ladies. If you are looking for a nearby temple to visit, this place is great!

As a Buddhist of the Thai Theravada tradition, I was excited when I first thought I could attend…read moredharma talks by legit Thai monks here in CA. When I looked into visiting, it was quite odd to me that the website was asking me to pay to reserve a seat before ever even going. This struck me as odd. Only a bit of investigation was needed before I quickly learned this is a cult with tremendous wealth and power. Rather than accepting "Dana," a contribution made of generosity in Buddhism, where no one is turned away due to a lack of funds to meditate, they specifically charge and further proclaim, the more you donate, the 'better your merit. Be careful if you get involved with this group. They advocate for materialism and wealth, which is absolutely not in alignment with the ancient teachings of the Buddha. In fact, his views were *the very opposite*.

Beautiful guided candlelight meditation to honor Earth Day! I loved it so much! I practice…read moremeditation daily at home, but I really enjoyed the guided meditation that the monks did for us. It left me feeling grounded, naturally elated, and connected. Loved the message that the monk gave where he emphasized on world peace through cultivating inner peace. Also, loved how he reminded us not to force our thoughts away, but to relax and release into the experience that arises. Thank you so much for such a blessing! Also, the grounds are beautiful! I enjoyed and loved walking in the garden! The staff was also nice and kind as well! 10/10 will come back again for another free collective meditation event!

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.