I have been meaning to check out Buddhist temples in/around Austin for quite some time and I…read morefinally had a chance to this past weekend with my daughter who is in town from college. This was our second stop of two that day. Nice location and beautiful setting! We enjoyed it but it was very hot and muggy outside so we couldn't walk around outside for very long. I walked inside the temple expecting a quiet place to reflect but there were 3 people inside chatting and their phones next to them, so we just walked around in our socks as they require removal of shoes before going into the buildings, which is a nice thing to do. We saw one Buddhist monk/nun from afar walking around. The old buddha bronze statues surrounding the inside were nice. I assumed it would not be right to take photos inside so we didn't. I walked into the food area and saw they were prepping for an event. Shoes were not permitted in the dining area. The food they had left smelled nice and it was nice to see who was donating the food each day. I look forward to going back some day when it's not so hot and when the inside temple space has chanting or silence. :-)

Very peaceful buddhist temple with hugeeee pagoda. Reminds me so much of Burma. Inside the pagoda…read morewas cool and breezy. It was a quiet place to meditate. Highly recommended for anyone who is visiting Austin. There are plenty of parking spots.

This is an amazing place to visit. It's a beautiful Tibetan architectural Buddhist temple,…read moreVajrayana style Temple, from Nyingma Lineage! I was really well treated by resident lama and by the leaders. I really appreciate de visit!

It's a miracle that a Tibetan Buddhist temple connected to an authentic lineage can be found in…read moreAmerica. This is a place where those who want to commit to a serious practice of Buddhism can learn and grow.

Really beautiful temple filled with loving monks - my uncle's remains are currently residing at…read morethis temple and the amount of care they have shown our family has been absolutely incredible. Whether it's lending an ear for my aunt, a community for us to grieve with, and friends to share in the happy memories.. this temple has been a haven for us. The facilities are cleaned and cared for, celebrations are truly worth a visit, and the food is top notch!

I had such an amazing experience here from the care and phenomenal attentiveness of the family…read morehere. Tien H (the only other person who left a review for this place) is an idiot. don't listen to her. But come visit and support this amazing experience.

I started my practice at Austin Zen Center about 4 years ago. I moved away from Austin and one of…read morethe things I miss the most is AZC. I loved the no-pressure to be or do beyond what I felt comfortable with. My introduction to the practice was held by Pat as part of their weekly Beginners Instruction class. I enjoyed the gentle and to the point guidance so much that I took the class several more times since they use different teachers each weekend and I wanted to gain insight from different perspectives. An underlying theme there was the point of trying and doing without judgement. AZC is a place of refuge where you can build community and people will meet you where you are without the pressure to become or do more than what you want to seek and explore. Love it.

I went to their Beginner class this morning because I've been reading and enjoying a fair amount of…read moreZen literature over the past year and one of the authors said joining a zendo was critical to growth in the discipline. This one seemed reasonable on the face of it because I wasn't sure I wanted to get involved in heavy Buddhism right away. I have a background in a different world religion that wasn't the best experience, so a place focusing more on the philosophy than the religion sounded like it might be the right speed. I read up on the FAQ and Etiquette on their site ahead of time and saw they have a particular dress code asking that people wear loose clothing with no brands or designs in calming colors that covers from shoulders down to below the knee. I had to do some digging in the closet to put something like that together, as athleisure is too tight and all my non-branded tops are tank tops. Ended up going with a loose long skirt and a T shirt turned inside out to avoid having a design on it. A little weird, but not too much effort to put in to be respectful. I showed up a little early to avoid being late and much like the other 1 star review of this place, I was a little shocked at the way the monk or teacher etc I was in proximity to on the porch deliberately cut his eye contact away and made an effort to turn his shoulders away from me. My normal experience with Buddhist monks is that they are at times reserved but generally friendly, so to get the "popular girl refused to see you in the hall" treatment from one raised my eyebrows a bit. But I rallied and sat outside waiting for the class to begin, as after that greeting I certainly wasn't going to barge into the building without a specific invite. The teacher for the class, Pat, I think, was warmer and friendly and pleasant about showing us the ropes. But the ropes! Weird ropes. Part of the class was showing us the temple mandated way of holding your hands during meditation. Yes, they have a single specific way, and by God you'd better get it right. It involves jamming your thumbs together tip to tip, which I couldn't do because it wasn't in the FAQ that I'd need to cut my nails down to the quick before class and I tend to have 1/3 to 1/2 cm long natural nails because I just do. They grow quickly and don't break off. I'd have to cut my nails every day to keep them short enough to be able to stick my thumbs together flat finger-trap style. The other girl in the class also got a snip that her form wasn't good, and I suspect it was due to a similar issue. I really hadn't expected extremely precise physical forms to be part of the day one instruction and I've never seen a meditation class where everyone in the class was required to hold the exact same hand position. I particularly didn't follow the logic when we're all doing the meditating facing the wall, so it's not as though my thumbs creating an imperfect circle could be distracting anyone near me. I completely understand trying to avoid meditation postures like a ghost girl crawling out of a TV for the sake of others in the room, but to pick like that over something so minor and to have a specific temple rule that everyone regardless of arm length, hand shape, and nail length, would adopt identical arm and hand posture did not feel very Zen. I had anticipated instruction more on how to avoid distraction, demos of breathing and sitting techniques (Pat did nicely here), and connect better with myself and the energy in the room but found myself instead incredibly self-conscious that the Thumb Police might be back after me. There was also unnecessary fussing about knee placement and the assurance that body parts falling asleep at times painfully would be a normal part of the process. Disagree, but okay. Here's where they finished losing me. At the end of the class, the regular member meditation group began to assemble in the outer lobby. Imagine the journey my eyebrows took when I saw a guy walk in wearing skinny jeans cut off well above the knee, followed by a woman wearing strappy tank athleisure with a bright neon bra underneath, and another guy wearing an AZC-branded big logo tee. After everything my thumbs and other peoples' knees had been through, now this??? And a good 2/3 of them had Active Btch Face same as the guy from the porch. I'm no stranger to performative piety because I was raised Southern Baptist, but I hadn't expected to run into such a strong blast of it here. I definitely won't be back because I'm not sure what's going on with this place to make people act this way but it's decidedly both dualistic and hypocritical and not a vibe that lends itself well to the pursuit of a clear mind. I'm sure some people there are nice and normal but that was a hell of an intro class that could be actively harmful to peoples' perception of Zen and Buddhism if they're less experienced with religious sects choosing to act funky when the behavior is not required in the texts.

10-25-21 Drove by…read morethis Temple on the way to Chinatown Center. We enjoy new experiences and are constantly learning new things. We enjoy exploring and getting "lost". Quality/Quantity - Good. Atmosphere - Good and very clean environment Temple for worship Pond Bamboo shacks Rest area Service - N/A, nobody was here, we let ourselves in; checked out the place, took pictures and left. Price - Free/Donation Looks like they also welcome sponsors - Joe Nails Owner Suggestion - Maybe a greeter, someone to invite and educate visitors?

This is not good Buddhist Temple. They are selling…read more Vietnamese vegetarian foods. They sell Eggrolls, Bi sandwich's, different spring rolls. The price of Eggrolls go from $5 to $7 for 10 Eggrolls, 40% increase. The sandwitch go from $3 to $4, 33% increase. It does not Cost much to make these foods, no meat, just Taro Potato and Tofu. The labors are mostly from volunteers. This Temple just want to make big profits out of people. Go to different temples and try out.

2 hours ago It's been at least a year since I had been here…read more I came today very much looking forward to starting up my meditation practice again. The meditation was happening in the smaller Ayala room this day. As I approached I noticed there was a walking meditation taking place. Not sure if I should go inside or wait until the group was seated again I asked a woman who has just exited if it was ok for me to enter. She tried her best to avoid eye contact with me and stated "I don't know you!" With a straight face. I felt so offended by her lack of compassion and basic kindness I immediately left. What a negative energy this woman brought into the place. I didn't feel comfortable there. I won't be back.

It's been nine years that I've been attending the Austin Shambhala Center, and have felt no…read morepressure to do anything. It's all a personal path, and the sangha (community) is your support along the way. Everyone is so supportive if you voice your need to learn more. Chogyam Trungpa was a messenger. The teachings he gave have been passed down for thousands of years. Regardless of his imperfect nature, the teachings still stand firmly rooted in basic truth. Please come by and see how wonderful this group is.

Sam and Kevin (along with John) really made the services tonight great for beginners like me…read more The whole group tonight was outstanding. I really enjoyed this. They meet every Monday night from 7-8:30 but we were able to stay because I had so many questions until 9:30. If you would like further information, please let me know. Directions here are tricky however Kevin will greatly assist you with that.

Wonderful and compassionate Buddhist community. Very peaceful and great for anyone interested in…read moreBuddhism. They give Introduction to Buddhism classes and have regular chanting for world peace. Come check it out! You will leave feeling more peaceful and empowered. They seek to empower the individual and bring world peace through individual happiness and they seem to be quite successful because these Buddhists are some of the truly happiest and most empowered people I know. They have child care! They even have young women's and young men's meetings! Something for everyone. I know people who have been greatly helped by this community.

This is a place to find peace and bliss within yourself. The temple is open to all faiths and is…read morevery inviting. The management expects visitors to dress conservatively so as to respect the faith. All major Hindu festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm and traditional way. A team volunteers is ever ready to manage special events. Check out the website for latest updates on prayers, special events and volunteering opportunities.

July 4, 2025 review ---…read moreI've been there 3-4 times and this place always brings the peace. This place is focused on Goddess radha as name suggests but they also have lord Krishna statue next to goddess radha and some of her friends. Land or overall space when temple is built is huge. It's a giant entrance with a quite big parking lot. Volunteers are very humble and explains all the questions very politely. They have stay facility, kitchen which serves food for guests staying and snacks shop as well. One of the volunteers mentioned they have devoteee coming for overnight stay all across USA and even international. Every Sunday, they have an satsang type event, followed by lunch. This time, since it was rainy weather, we got to see the bunch of peacocks hanging around. They have a pond in back area and little trail to walk as well. Excited to visit the janmashtami there in August.