I love this temple Every time me and my husband went to…read morethis temple always make me feel happy and want to praying. Some temple we attend it make me feel scared and not happy, but this one we always go. I recommends this temple because they are always welcome everyone not like some temple at Stockton and sacramento.

I am so glad that the temple is open post Covid. I needed a place to quiet the mind and practice my…read moremeditation and Wat Buddhanusorn is a perfect place for anyone seeking peace. The temple is open for anyone who wants to practice meditation inside or outside of the temple. There is a nice pathway that circles the temple and not a lot of people come here during the morning or afternoons. It's free and open to the public, social distancing is practiced and everyone wears a mask (even the monks). I have been back to my Tuesday evening meditation group here for almost a yr, thanks to Covid (jk), via Zoom. We still meet through zoom bc it is so easy for anyone who lives far away, or can't make it with the commute. I really enjoy talking to Ajahn Maha Prasert, the Abbott at the temple and he is so kind and easy to talk to. The Abbott really cares about the well being of people and I am so blessed to be a part of this community. I really feel so welcome every time I come here. I'm non-Thai and it doesn't matter because everyone here is so kind and will help you if you are new. It's a really lovely community between the sangha and lay people. I really feel like I'm in Thailand at times, lol! If you're missing Thailand and the beautiful Thai community this is the place to be! I'm so glad it's available to anyone for free.

Review is for the Japanese Bazaar, one of the annual fundraising events held at the Southern…read moreAlameda County Buddhist Church (SACBC). The event is similar to what you'd expect from a Asian Night Market / Street Fair, but with several nice features. * Free entry / no ticket needed * Security guards onsite and in the parking lot * Relatively large parking lot * A huge outdoor area with food stands, carnival games, and informational booths. * The indoor church / gymnasium has even more art exhibits and a large seating area for cafeteria-style dining. * Cool silent auction. Lots of Japanese artwork and even an authentic basketball signed by the 2019 Dubs! (Bid was up to $450 last I checked). * Decent food - we enjoyed the spicy spam musubi and our first time enjoying manju, flakey Japanese red-bean stuffed pastries. Overall a fun event and definitely worth checking out. The proceeds from the Bazaar all go to a good cause!

I last reviewed the annual Bazaar five years ago. This long-winded review is about the process of…read moregetting Bazaar Food. Today, we arrived "early" to beat the crowds. Apparently, arriving just before 11:00am (the official opening time) is no longer "early". While we were able to snag a parking space in the lot, later arrivals had to resort to "creative" parking. We went toward the gym where the food tickets are sold. The gym wasn't open yet and there was a security guard thanking everyone for their patience. Although it was warm, people were very patient except for one youngster who was just having a rough day and wanted to share his displeasure by crying loudly. Just before the doors opened to the gym, a woman came out and gave clear instructions to those who could hear her that to order food, one had to fill out an Order Sheet. Those would be found inside the door. Then we had to be sure to get into the correct lines. There were lines for cash and lines for credit/debit cards. She must have repeated herself about six or seven times before the doors opened. There was minor chaos as guests rushed through the doors to get an Order Sheet. They were all in one location not too far inside the door. Many people, once they had their Order Sheets, proceeded to stand in place to fill out their forms, which in turn caused people to squeeze in to get their Order Sheets. There was somewhat of a line that led to two or three tables with numerous pay stations. There was no signage that distinguished Cash from Credit. They were obviously having problems with processing cards so then a couple of order takers called out for Cash customers. Once you got past the process of ordering and paying, you were given color tickets. Those who had been here before knew what to do. Those who had not been here before were left on their own to ask for help. Once they managed to find their way into the next room, it was a little bit easier. The first station was sodas and water. That person also gave you a tray to collect your food. Experienced guests knew to grab two trays to be able to carry all of their order safely. Not every food item was ready at every station and all of the stations were set up in a line. Each station had a color ticket taped to the front of the station. All you had to do was match your tickets to that ticket and collect your food, one ticket = one food item. Cold water and hot tea as well as utensils and napkins were back in the gym. Guests were to bus their own tables when done eating. There were volunteers helping guests throw out their trash into the correct containers. My suggestions to help create a smoother operation: 1. Have the Order Forms outside the doors instead of inside. Those who arrive early can get right into the pay lines with their forms. 2. Try to get the guests into one queue, regardless of payment method. 3. Separate the Cash order takers from the Credit order takers by spacing their tables a few feet apart. 4. Have one volunteer at the front of the line holding back guests to encourage them not to bunch up. As an order taker is available, the order taker can simply call out Cash or Credit and the Line person can let one person go to that station to pay. 5. If the person at the drink/tray station notices that a guest has numerous food tickets AND a helper, give them the second tray as necessary. They could encourage guests to place their tickets by color on a tray. This visual cue will help both the guests and servers. 6. If possible, also hang a color food ticket from the ceiling in front of the appropriate station. When, there is room, guests can leap-frog ahead to a station where their next item is. This could help clear the service area out quicker. We ordered quite a few items. Our favorites were the Curry Rice and the Udon. It would have been nice if they could have offered a Curry Udon. We also had Cabbage Salad, Chicken Teriyaki, Salmon Bento dinner, Sushi Plate, Gyoza and Sodas. No, we didn't finish everything. We like leftovers too! Pictures of the food items are still in my camera and I'll try to post them later this week. We found some really cool cookbooks for $1 and $2 each. The cashier there was a hoot and suggested that rather than take our $2 in change, we should just donate it to the church. And of course, she said it with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. She was non-plussed when I agreed. The Bazaar wasn't as large as it used to be in past years. We didn't notice any live entertainment and it seemed like there were less activities for the kids. The Silent Auction didn't have anything that drew our interest. We talked about how much we missed the guy who used to make the Chow Mein in a huge wok outside the building. Still, so long as they hold the Bazaar, we will try to drop by and support it as well as other bazaars around the Bay Area. The volunteers work hard to put these events together and generally do a terrific job.

Went to this nearby Vietnamese Buddhist temple, Chua Pho Tu, today to celebrate, pray and start off…read morethe Lunar New Year with good intentions and blessings. It was lovely to visit and see the festive decorations and everyone dressed in beautiful, traditional Vietnamese clothing. Besides the main prayer and meditation rooms, they have a dining hall, library and stage for cultural performances towards the back (in addition to the living quarters for the nuns and monks who live and visit here). They also sell vegetarian food and snacks in their dining hall. I bought a package of sweet and sour preserved plums ($10), made by the buddhist nuns to help support the temple. There are also donation boxes if you'd like to contribute to the temple. The grounds are clean, peaceful and well-kept. There is also a sizable parking lot. They are located on Meekland Ave, right next to Colonial Acres Elementary School.

Chua Pho Tu is a very peaceful temple to go for praying, to find peace and good thoughts! Thay…read moreThich Tu Luc and all the nuns are so nice and friendly! Every time I walk in the temple, I can feel peace of mind. Thank you Thay Thich Tu Luc for all your prayers! YOU make the difference! You are the BEST Thay ever!!

Randomly spotted this temple from the second floor window of the Ikea dining hall across the…read morestreet. Also just so happened to be Tet that day. Decided to stop by. Everyone is very welcoming and friendly. There is a food stand on the bottom level under the main worship hall that serves vegetarian take out. The imitation chicken (made with tofu, tofu sheets, woodear, lemongrass, other spices) is very good. All and all a very peaceful, festive, and worthwhile experience.

Every year, our family looks forward to visiting Chua Giac Minh during the Tet festival! The people…read morethere are so warm and welcoming, and you can't help but feel at home. Plus, the vegetarian food is absolutely delicious and really affordable. If you're looking for a meaningful experience, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out this temple!

I have been going to this temple since I was a little girl of five. I love it here. The people here…read moreare very friendly and it's very family oriented.

This is an excellent Buddhist Temple . Unfortunately…read more people who do Not know Buddhism have been targeting the Temple for not being vegan . Siddhartha was Not vegan & nothing in Buddhism mandates vegan . Sincere vegans would be more respectful in promoting their agenda but these ignorant posters are actually the Opposite of Buddha . I believe yelp should delete the posts from the offensive cults .

Amazing Buddhist temple in Milpitas! Beautiful, well maintained, spotless, super clean, flower…read morearrangements are top notch and the sense of peace in there is incredible. My colleague and I went to pay a visit after our lunch nearby and they were super friendly to us, open doors, no questions asked. I loved the attitude and spend a good time observing the art and learning about what activities do in the temple. We could not visit upstairs as they are dormitories.

For Further Information or Assistance. E-Mail：…read moreinfo@HuaYenUSA.org http://www.huayenusa.org/ https://www.facebook.com/Avatamsaka.Buddhist.Lotus.Society/ Tel：(408)942-0874 Add：50 South Main Street, Milpitas, CA 95035 USA

Just attended their annual spaghetti feed fundraiser. Always a blast and some really cool prize…read more Bingo is $5/card all night (from 6p - 8p). Really cool to see everyone help clean up after. The gym was tidied up from tables and chairs in about 15 minutes! Super cool! Always attend Obon in the summer, it is a really fun festival too!

I came here along with my daughter for her high school religion assignment. The people we met were…read morevery friendly and welcoming. We met the resident minister who was gracious in taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. He gave us the background of the temple, what the various gestures meant as well as pointing out the major founders, etc. for Shin Buddhism. We had the opportunity to do Oshoko near the end of our visit! I would be interested in attending service to get a better feel for the religion.

I've always loved going here over the past decades, but I hadn't been in awhile. For me, it was the…read morefirst time I'd had their yakisoba noodles. They are definitely one of the more recent additions. I LOVED them - very flavorful, even though they were only veg. Gobbled down half of one while there and returned later to pick up 2 more to go. I will be getting these again for sure. Nice to have the chi chi dango as well. I'd say this item is also a more recent offering. On the other hand, I was disappointed in the amount of beef on the teri beef skewers for the price. Not sure if this was intentional or not, but they wrapped them up very carefully (perhaps to hide the paltry offering?). Also in the past, I believe you got a discount if you purchased a set quantity (maybe 3?), but that was no longer an option. Or maybe that's only at a different Obon in the area.

This year was our first time going to the Obon Festival in Mountain View. I had been to the temple…read morefor a different event but was excited when I heard they had an obon festival! Before you go, you have to keep in mind the type of event you are attending. This is held at a Buddhist temple and all of the food, activities, and items for sale are organized by volunteers. So, you can't go expecting amazing gourmet food. However,I think they do a wonderful job planning the annual event. Parking-They had parking attendants directing cars where to park. They have an impressively large parking area (yes it's dirt and not paved). Parking is free. You can also look for parking on nearby streets but it's a little tricky. Food- They have outdoor booths where you can order food individually, or you can line up inside (to avoid the hot sun) and order everything together and pay at the register. There was udon, chicken salad, chicken teriyaki, gyoza, hot dogs, spam musubi, manju, sushi, tempura, chi chi dangos, corn, iced tea, shaved ice, etc. Prices are pretty reasonable but remember to bring cash. They have plenty of indoor seating inside the auditorium. Activities- Carnival children's games like ring toss, fishing for a plastic duck, ping pong toss, etc. Games were very inexpensive (think 50 cents per turn). BINGO and raffle with cash prizes. They also had taiko drumming while we were there.

Oh the simple pleasures of a neighborhood Obon festival…read more.. Attended the Obon fest here this Saturday which will continue with the Obon dance Sunday. Palo Alto must probably hold one of the last of the Obon Fest in the South Bay, because it seems like the summer was filled with them--San Jose, Mtn View etc. This venue was definitely a lot more family oriented and seems very local compared to some of the others in the South Bay. I still liked wandering around with friends playing 'throw the ping pong into the glasses full of colored water and win the gold fish game", or "soft ball tic-tac-toe" or "hi-lo". I like it, when things in my spare time have nothing to do with my high-tech marketing job. Simple games requiring no batteries, LCD panels nor this damned key board is great once in a while. Food like chicken/beef bbq, musubi, karre riesu, sushi...sapporo...from the different venues were great. The dessert venue? Get there early; all that was left by 5pm were the strawberry shortcakes (oh how Japanese). Strawberry shortcakes wa nihon ryiori desu ka? Obon no ryiori wa oishikatta desu. The temple itself opened its doors and showcased Ikebana (the way of the flowers), flower arrangements. Ikebana totemo suki deshita.