The problem is you think you have time---the Buddha…read more This is a beautiful Buddhist temple in the heart of the Mission. I lived over a year in an intentional Buddhist community with 30 folks along with a Tibetan Lama. There are different branches of Buddhism just as there are different styles of jazz music. The nuns here were very kind giving us a tour of the facility. One giant Buddha was here that was quite impressive. One of the Buddhist nuns was doing an interesting ritual carefully lighting heaps of candles. Lovely welcoming place. Be sure to have a look inside and except to be greeted by warm hospitality. The outside architecture is beautiful as well.

A beautiful temple with many unique Buddha statues. The Amitabha Buddha statue on the second floor…read morewas huge and touched my heart. I felt peace right after I looked up at the Buddha. It was nice to have a Spanish-speaking girl or volunteer there to give you a tour and explain some Buddhist history in fluent Spanish. Una amable señorita! I forgot her name but overall, a great experience and tour if you want to visit a Buddhist temple in San Francisco.

My daughter and I were visiting de Young Museum and I saw it on Google map so I decided to check it…read moreout. The place was very small but very authentic. There were free incense that can used for praying and the lady told me I would need 7 sticks of incense for each god. They ranged from Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙, himself), Guan-Yin (觀音), Guan-Yu (關羽), Tu-Di-Gong (土地公), etc. What surprises me was they have a Tai-Sui (太歲) as well. I've only seen on reels made in Asia that especially if one's Chinese zodiac sign lays on the same zodiac sign year, that person's life might be a little difficult for that year, aka Clashing with Tai-Sui (沖太歲). So praying to Tai-Sui helps reducing the hardship that one might experience for that Tai-Sui year. It was exhilarating experience for me to see they have a place for Tai-Sui! It was raining and they just opened when we got there. But, I saw an elderly lady was there, drawing stick seeking for guidance (求籤). They have service providing interpretation of the signatures too. There are donation boxes by each god. Staff are very friendly. Parking: street only

Nice little temple in the heart of San Francisco! You can pray to Wong Tai Sin, Guan Yin, and Guan…read moreYu. You can do your traditional burn the incense and there are some kneeling pads for you to use. There are little Buddhist items you can purchase, which had been blessed by monks. It is said that it would protect the person who is wearing the item. Also, you can ask for (ping on foo), but that would take some time to get (about a week). You would have to give the name and birthdate of the person you want to bless to the staff and they will pass it on to the monks, so the blessing process can begin. To save some time, just call in with the name and birthdate.

Obon is the time to honor ancestors whose spirits temporarily come back to earth to visit w/…read morebeloved family members. It's kind of like Día de los Muertos for Mexicans to respect their dead on November 1 which may date itself to pre-Columbian cultures before the dreaded Spanish conquest. Japanese Americans have lost much of the rituals & ritual objects relating to Obon from their own home regions in Japan, but the Bon Odori/dancing in a circle to honor the dead is still de rigueur. Along with the dancing festivities comes the food that is Japanese American w/ influences from Hawai'i, East Asia, México. The savory foods at this Buddhist Obon festival is excellent. Their fried chicken in a sweet, slightly acidic Hawai'ian sauce is particularly exemplary. Between Obon dancing I was impressed by culturally authentic performances not usually seen at other fraternal Buddhist Temples in Southern California. One act featured an excellent singer of Ènka/traditional Japanese music similar in sentiment to our country western in emoting the joys and travails of life of the common man. Another act was rather sophisticated in presenting Kyōgen which is a one act comedic interlude placed between tragic acts of Kabuki, Japanese theatre originating from the 16th century, serving as emotional relief from all the pathos. The use of authentic, elaborate Kabuki costumes was a rare touch. The honorable reverend Ron presided over this celebration of respect for ancestors and celebration of life & summer with quiet, benevolent dignity. Great, methodical, well thought out recycling of food waste into compost, plastic, metal cans, paper, etc. to respect & maintain Mother Earth, the only planet we know that can sustain life. Although I live 400 miles to the south, the Buddhist Church of San Francisco's rendition of Obon entices me to return again next year for another go at this welcoming, well organized event.

I was looking into Buddhism and trying to find a Buddhist church. I found this one. Tracey A…read more recommended it to me. I decided to visit on a Sunday. They were honoring a man who led Buddhism. It's a traditional Japanese Buddhist church for a mostly Japanese-American community. It's really nice and quaint. I was probably a minority Chinese at the church. The temple is nice and lightly adorned. Afterwards, I decided to visit the luncheon. I was comped by Mary for a bento box. It was not like the ones you get at the restaurants. It was more traditional. They had Japanese desserts. They had tea. They had mochi. They had a big get-together and I was on my own. The community is a positive community, but this is not for alternative Buddhists---people who want to view Buddhism with alternative culture. It's for families and I probably am not appropriate.

They are finally OPEN back! The latest hour update per the call today is: open 9:30am - 2:00pm…read moreeveryday except Thursday. I miss the grandma temple attendant in the temple :) This temple is the oldest Chinese temple in California and it's very promising on your wishes.(For your strong wishes, like wishing your family health or kids' academic success, talk with the elder temple attendant to guide you on the right praying ceremony)

Worth the flight of stairs all the way up. They close at 2 PM and closed Thursdays. Very lovely to…read morecome and spend some time in a serene space. I really enjoyed that Susan was there as she was able to translate my fortune for me when I used the fortune sticks (donation to do so). Soak it all in.

Checked out the S.F. Dhammaram Temple (Wat San Fran) on Lincoln Way & 28th Ave, SF on Sun 5/31/26…read more I took the N-Judah and got off af 28th Ave and walked 2 blocked to the building. They had a special event Visakha Puja Day and sold Good Kamma Lunchbox Fundraiser. First to enter temple u need to take off your shoes. I wore mixed matched socks, oops. Will do better next time. Someone told me the food being sold was dowbstairs, so I went. Bought $51 in food: pork skewers w/ sticky rice, pork salad w/ sticky rice, pandan jello dessert, mushroom in little bags, and chive rice noodle dish. All very tasty. Went outside to give cooked rice from a cup to the monks, then knelt down to give food to the main monk, bow. He gave a sermon on being selfish but in a smart way: if u want kindness we need to give kindness, patience we need to give to get. After that the blessing. Then there was a potluck, 2 lines. Better stay in the back to get food first, I was in the back and good stuff gone. There was more things to do, but I left after eating. Other special days: June 5, 7, 8-14 July 29, 30 Aug 2 Sept 6 lunchbox fundraiser Oct 4 lunchbox fundraiser Nov 1 lunchbox fundraiser Dec 6 lunchbox fundraiser

Very clean temple. Everyone there was friendly and polite…read more I was lucky to find a parking spot right in the front when I visited on weekday.

This place is still relatively new renovated. Seems like they designed the place themselves and…read morestarted to build since 2007 from the photos they posted in the temple. I didn't provide any inside photos since its not so nice to take pictures in temples. The building has high ceilings for good ventilation and airflow since Theres so much incents burning. They do funeral services and has placement for placques of the deceased. Not overcrowded yet and still have space for now. There are street parking only. Can be difficult to find parking if your group has 3+ cars. They have self-serve water in case you get thirsty & some asian candies on the table for grabs. The ladies that work there are pretty knowledgeable with the traditional stuff so if you don't know just ask. . Hopefully you can speak Chinese or have a friend that does. Else if you just want to check out the Chinese culture I'm sure you can just walk in and tour around.

Great place to prey. There is free food on special days. All volunteers are very nice, so you will…read morelike this temple.

The business actually belongs to the Kong Chow Benevolent Association…read more Growing up in Chinatown, I learned a lot of things in my childhood years from my parents who owned a business in the neighborhood. My father was particularly active in this association as well as the related Bo On Tong. Besides the political groups, family associations, and provincial associations, new immigrants found their comfort zones in joining these and making friends and business contacts in starting their life in a foreign country; it was particularly challenging for those who did not speak a word of English. These men, as it was a very sexist culture in those days, found refuge with people who shared their political views, spoke their dialect of Chinese, or came from the same districts or villages. Kong Chow mainly serves immigrants from the greater Guangzhou (Canton) area and its neighboring districts (Toishan, Chung Shan, Jiang Men, and my dad's Sun Wui). This association has changed over the years with mainly only members living in Chinatown being here on a regular basis. There is a shrine on the upper floor the building, a memorial to members who passed over the years. To get a spot for a memorial, one must make a donation to the association. I learned of this after ordering a plaque for my late father a couple years ago. The association also has its own memorial park in Colma but I am not sure they are still offering plots and the site is pretty well filled now. During the Spring memorial holiday, flocks of family will come to the memorial park for picnics, either family only or along with the family associations. Remains to be seen how this will go this year on April 4th. This association also used to host annual banquets as a fundraising source as well as a community reunion for its members. Needless to say, it's been a while since the last event which used to be held at one of the few remaining banquet hall restaurants in Chinatown (see Far East Cafe and New Asia Restaurant - one is struggling to survive and the other is now a converted supermarket). Let's hope and pray that the pandemic is closer to its end than start and the community can restore its life like before. After all, if we lose our culture, who are we?

Love this place. Always take out of town guests here. They will be taken through a ceremony and…read morehave their fortune read afterward for a $5 donation. I don't speak any Cantonese, and the people who work here are not quite fluent in English and are a little shy at first. But once they warm up they are actually very welcoming and love to joke which is difficult with no common language. Oh, don't even think of taking pictures here. This temple is located above the post office on Stockton, on the top floor, with an elevator!

Some relatives were visiting from out of town and wanted to go to SF. We passed by this temple a…read morefew times and since it was around Lunar New Year/Tết they wanted to stop in and visit. I was surprised to learn that it's the oldest Vietnamese Temple in the U.S. We went inside and placed our shoes on the shoe rack. The relatives lit some incense, prayed, and walked around the main temple/floor area. They got to talking to one of the young ladies at a table and the lady was super nice. She even gave each of us some clementines and red envelopes. She was friendly and wasn't pushy. She said that a mediation/prayer time was going to start and invited us to join. We had to get going and she was cool about it. It's easy to donate to the temple if you'd like as they have boxes with slots on either end. I enjoyed reading the history of Buddhism from the wall art. I thought it was cool to see a temple inside a typical SF/Edwardian(?) type home.

It's weird to rate a temple on Yelp!, but I love this temple and just wanted to express that…read more This is a wonderful temple nestled right next to the Castro District. My grandmother used to come here all the time, so naturally, I've spent a lot of time here. I also have several relatives who frequent this temple, and it's always a treat to come here. The altar is upstairs, and it's very beautiful up there. The downstairs part of the temple where people cook and eat is a bit more worn and torn, but probably because of the sheer numbers of people who come to the temple every weekend. San Francisco buildings are all mostly pretty old and dilapidated. The Buddhist monk who heads this temple is a magnanimous, gentle, warm, and inviting man who is originally from Hue, Vietnam. He always is so welcoming to everyone who enters the temple and is very easy to talk to. The Sunday service is always pleasant, and the carpet is very comfortable to sit on for that hour. There are often memorial services on Sundays that start at 12 pm or so. By the way, the vegetarian food prepared here is always delicious. Even my cousins, who don't usually eat Vietnamese vegetarian food, usually wolf down a plateful with nary a comment about missing any carnivorous products. YUM. TIP: Do not park in the Chicago Title Company parking lot next door, even though the title company is closed on Sundays -- you WILL be TOWED. Boo, Chicago!

I reflected on my experience at the zen center the other day. It was rude of me to say it is not a…read moreplace for people seriously interested in awakening. I think the teachings here have merit (not that I'm the judge). What I *will* say is any sangha in the west has to be prepared for deeply wounded / traumatized / self hating individuals to walk in. I couldn't "let go" until I had access to embodied safety and also self love. The work of Deidre Fay is excellent for this. I needed help building a developmental scaffold to get from where I was to where I wanted to be -- and that was uncharted territory. To the extent that SFZC wants to welcome people with differing levels of access to embodied safety, I would love if each talk had advice tailored to both kinds of people -- those with porous ego structures and those with more "typical" egos as well for whom letting go without any preamble is solid advice.

I didn't take part in the online programs(zoom) with the Zen Center, but I went back tonight for…read moreYoung Urban Zen. Zazen meditation and dharma talk with a small group discussion. Other than St. Ignatius Easter mass, this is the religious activity I did after covid.

This isn't a "tourist trap." It's a living, breathing place of worship. You'll see locals offering…read morefruit and burning joss sticks, providing a profound glimpse into the spiritual life of the community.

This is one of the trustworthy temple that I would recommend for anyone who's interested in…read moreBuddhism! The main temple is called Ten Thousand Buddha Temple in which located in Ukiah. They serve authentic vegetarian food and great classes at a reasonable price for believers to learn traditional Buddhism.