I don't think most people outside of the neighborhood know this place exists. But real talk, the…read moreHan Ma Um Zen Center is one of the coolest things in NYC and of course, it happens to be smack dab in Flushing, Queens. One doesn't have to be buddhist to appreciate the gorgeous architecture and it's a destination that could certainly use more recognition. Founded in over 30 years ago, the temple is belongs to the largest buddhist order in South Korean, the Jogye order. There are only a few branches in the United States and it's only fitting to have something like this near the 2nd largest Korean community in the United States (#1). They're open each day from 10AM to 9PM. If entry is not available (#2), then consider walking around the grounds for a beautiful photo on a sunny day. It is about a 25 minute walk from the Main Street subway and residential street parking is available. ______________ (#1) Second only to Los Angeles. (#2) COVID is still happening.

Beautiful building. It is one of those sites that you don't realize you're in a neighborhood as…read moreopposed out in a rural area. A gem of a place hidden to locals. Check it out

I saw a feature on this temple in the New York Times. I was taken by the beautiful photos. This…read moreis the main Thai Buddhist temple in NYC. The temple is less than five miles from LaGuardia, tucked away in the typical multicultural Queens neighborhood. Plenty of parking. Everyone at the temple was so nice and inviting! I felt awkward at first, but as I was perusing the garden, someone said, "hello! Have you been here before?" I told him, no, I was just curious and wanted to see what the temple was like. He cheerfully said, "go up to the third floor! Just make sure to take off your shoes." The monks I met inside were also very kind. The third floor was BEAUTIFUL. So many colors, artworks, and Buddhas. I had the whole meditation/worship area to myself. I am not religious, but this room was peaceful and serene. It was comfortable and I was so glad to be there. This temple welcomes everyone and has community events and lunches.

I felt very peaceful while meditating in the temple. Everyone was very friendly. I will…read morecontinuously go back.

My trip to Maharaja Temple, on March 24, 2023. Grand street…read morestop on D train was where I got off. It was 5 minutes walk from the station to the temple. I was ecstatic and very curious, wanting to explore this temple. Pic 1 Once I got out of the station, I saw this wonderful mural of a rabbit. This is the year of the rabbit and an amazing artist exhibited his artwork beautifully. It was a bright, colorful picturesque, and to me, symbolized a yearning for the forthcoming spring, waited so long by many people. Pic 2 I'd reached the front enterance of the temple, saying to myself "what a magnificent temple." There were many foreigners coming in and out of it. A little history about Maharaja Temple. It was founded in 1962 and is the oldest Chinese temple on the eastern coast of the United States. It was initially founded to fulfilled the needs of Chinese Buddhist in the greater New York area. Now, it is open to the public. Pic 3 As I entered the temple, I saw red color everywhere. I lit the incense and went over to pray to the beautiful Buddha. Pic 4. As I entered further into the temple, I was astounded to see this enormous statue of the Golden Grand Buddha. He was adorned with, what looked like, fire behind his head, and fresh flowers infront of him. I stood there, in awe, and felt so tiny compared to him. And again, there was red everywhere. To my amazement, I stopped and asked a Chinese women passing by, what does the red color means? She said that it means good luck for the people. I wasn't satisfied with her answer, so I looked this up online. It said that red has been Chinese's color of power, celebration, fertility, prosperity, and repelling evil. That covered everything. From now on, red is my favorite color. Pic 5. The exhibitions of the History of Buddhism was displayed with pictures of Buddha with captions on the bottom of each picture. There were 32 pictures alltogether, that lined each side of the walls. Buddhism is believing in faith, so much needed for humanity. Pic 6. I was satisfied viewing everything and decided to head out. Before I reached the train station, I stopped at a local market on Grand street and bought a big Bass Bonanza. He was very fresh. I looked into his cleared, lucid eyes, and he starred back at me, suspiciously, not sure of his future. I finally went home. Chow!!

I felt very welcome inside. There is no fee to enter. I found it interesting…read more New York City's largest Buddhist temple is located at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. It contains New York City's largest Buddha a 16-foot-tall gold statue which is sat on a lotus. Visitors can also find prints depicting the life of the Buddha on display, and spaces for families to pay tribute to deceased relatives.

I am a seasoned meditator, who can't go to sangha night in my home sangha because I work. Our…read moresangha is small and as yet has not reached it's full potential. So there's little programed on the weekends either. I've been looking around for another sangha that I can join in with to meditate with others. I'm also a little curious. I'm pretty committed to the Triratana Buddhist Community, but I'm also curious about other sanghas. So on Yelp there are 10 places listed in Queens. I chose to visit two today. I went to Lin Yan Shan Buddhist Temple of New York first. I talked with a monk coming out a door. He was talking to me until some Chinese people walked by and felt he had to open the door for them, and walked away abruptly from our conversation. He'd said that was a Pure Land outfit. I like to chant and all, but this place felt too ethnic for me, and while it seemed like a lovely place, I didn't see anyone who wasn't Chinese. And while the monk was pleasant and nice, he was surprised I knew that he chanted to Amitabha, which I felt was a bit condescending. Yes, westerners can know something about Buddhism, it's not just something of the east. So it's on to the next one. I ended up at the Ch'an Meditation Center in a very interesting neighborhood in Elmhurst. I was scared to walk in, but was warmly greeted by a Hispanic woman, who introduced me to an African American gentleman. I talked a little while with two women monks, with monk outfits and shaven heads, and the three dots on their heads where I speculate candles burnt down in a ritual, but that's just speculation. Then I talked to Dr. Rikki Asher, who seemed very down to earth and encouraging. I think I'm going to go back sometime--I will update if I do. I googled Rikki Asher and she's a professor at Queens college, and does silk art. Reading reviews on Rate My Professor, seems like it's a site for disgruntled students to vent negativity, though there were many that were positive. It's weird I know these things about her now, because I was writing this review, and wanted to know more about her. Her silk screens are pretty cool. My experience of her was that she was warm and open. They have a very active schedule with movie night, beginners night, Dharma classes, one day meditation retreats and Tai Ji Quan (gentle and relaxing Chinese therapeutic exercise). They are connected to a retreat center upstate in Pine Bush. They had free books, I took one on the Bodhisattva vow. Two thirds of the books are in Chinese and the place does have a distinctive Chinese flavor. They have a quarterly magazine. So I walked out of there with a lot of information and their website, and a desire to go back in. A diverse and welcoming place which I hope to go back to.

My parents are two devoted Buddhists at Chan Meditation Center. You would often see them there on…read moreSundays and Mondays. My husband and I only started going to Chan Mediation Center two years. I enjoy going there on Sundays too, but I guess Monday Buddha Name Chanting is one of my favorites. At the end of chanting, you sit and meditate after a busy working Monday. It feels very tranquil...

One of the Best Buddhist temple, near my neighborhood.! I…read morerecommend anyone to give this place a visit . Here some images from CNY 25'

Beautiful True Buddha Temple to visit and pray to Buddhas, Boddhisattvas, Vajra Protectors.read more

This is my temple…read more The monk of this temple, Zhi Ming Sifu, is a kind hearted and patient man. There are celebrations of buddhist/chinese holidays beyond the usual meditation and chanting. If you pass by, you should feel welcomed to stop in and visit. It is a peaceful place.

Wow, I cannot believe there isn't a review on this place yet and I'm the first! Let me explain why…read moreI am amazed... This is one of the largest Buddhist temples in the area. With a building of over five floors, this temple also acts as a community service center. The boys and girls scouts meet here. There is a tea room area where senior citizens hang out. There is a Chinese school for small children upstairs. They hold multiple festivals throughout the year. This temple also has an active Young Adult Division: everyone under 35 who wants to volunteer their time in bettering the community and the environment in and around the Flushing area. This is like a hot spot of Asian activity in the area. They will welcome you even if you're not Buddhist. Of course, the monks and nuns here are also active in Buddhist worship, prayers, ceremonies and celebrations. They are a division of Fu Guan San: a major organization of Buddhists from Taiwan.

great place to chill. has AC. come here to pray without being bothered. there are several floors in…read morethis building to pray. make sure u also leave a donation- place doesn't stay open for free

It's really nice to enjoy a morning meditation with Kadam Morton…read more He is very knowledgeable and can really help you Cultivate a Buddha mind. Stick with it , it definitely works. They're also special workshops on the weekends . This is really one of the most special places in the city. It's great to catch an hour Meditation and then do all the other things that you wanna do on the island!

My experience at Kadampa Meditation Center was more than I'd hoped for. While I went for a…read moremeditation program, it was more than that. The extraordinary monk who presided was brilliant and kind. I will go there often.

Some people really like this temple, and that's fine. I didn't. Why wear Japanese clothing?…read more We're not in Japan, and most of aren't even Japanese. It seems like they're deliberately making this place feel alien so people have to really buy into their way of engaging with Buddhism. It seems a bit too performative, like I'm worrying more about the rituals and being accepted into the club rather than engaging with my mind and relating to other people in an authentic way. That kind of pull is not good. These are just my two cents. I don't want to sound like I'm trashing it. It might be exactly what you're looking for.

Short version: odd experience, some of which was within the temple's control and some was not. If…read morethis experience turned you off, do not allow it to define your experience of Zen or Buddhism, because this was a particular manifestation that made me rather uncomfortable and did not seem representative of the practice at large. Noticeable lack of diversity in the actual students, though the public crowd was more mixed. I guess the intentions are good though. Liturgy and sutra chanting is done in English, which is an understandable choice - I guess you want folks to understand what they are chanting. But if you have ever been to a temple where chanting is done in one of the languages where the tradition of Buddhism first developed and flourished (i.e. i.e. Japanese/Chinese/Sanskrit), you'll notice that the syllabic and tonal structure of those languages creates a particularly beautiful aesthetic for chanting which is largely lost in English. The translations were also rather awkward and I found myself more focused on the lack of congruence in the whole situation than the actual content of the sutras, which is unfortunate. A very helpful gentleman was walking up and down the aisle and making sure everyone was on the correct page, which was very considerate. A lady next to me, who'd clearly been before as she had all the liturgies memorized, seemed to take particular pride and zeal in butchering the pronunciation of names when we were reading through the ancestor line. I get that foreign languages are difficult and that human speech patterns are largely set after childhood, and that there's no malice in mispronouncing something, but you'd think a little humility would be called for if you know you're about to pronounce something that you're likely to screw up. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Beginning instruction for zazen meditation was good. They provide you with pillows and cushions and introduce you to various poses. I thought the tone was appropriate and approachable for beginners. However, I perceived the meditation leaders to be overly judgmental during the actual meditation session (which, given the foundational belief that all is simply a construction within your mind and judgement is one of the building blocks of suffering, is rather ironic). The instruction is to sit still, but inevitably people want to cough, or shift around, or scratch their nose. When this happened I would catch the leaders looking around or leaning slightly in one direction or another to see who the "culprit" was, and at some point one of them called out, in a particularly harsh tone, for people to sit still. The general seriousness and gravity with which parts of the ritual are carried out (such as the bringing in of the reading podium) seem to have missed the point that all is temporary. You'd think a funeral was happening here. Lastly - and this is what really ruined the experience for me - my boyfriend had left his glasses on his cushion, and at some point during the walking meditation, they were broken. Again, there is a sad irony in the fact that something was carelessly broken during an exercise that was meant to be about mindfulness in walking - literally, feeling the movement of your foot, the placement on the ground, the shifting of balance, the movement of your joints, etc. I find it hard to believe that the breaking of a pair of glasses could have been missed in such a quiet, deliberate, concentrated exercise, and if someone was aware that it happened, I was profoundly disappointed by the fact that they simply left them there without claiming responsibility. But - all is temporary, judgement causes pain, attachment is the root of all suffering. So I'll let go of the glasses, I'll let go of the awkward English sutra chanting, I'll let go of the fact that people looked waaaaaaay too serious, and I'll let go of this experience. :)