I hope I'm not asking for too much but it is much smaller than I expected based on the grand…read moreexterior. There are only 2 statues inside. You are allowed to light one incense for the first statue at the entrance, but no photo and incense allowed after that. It is quiet inside but it was hard to feel zen at the center of Chinatown and across from the Manhattan Bridge. What I really like is the big bowl of paper predictions. There is a note saying if you donate $1 you can take one. Make a wish and choose your paper!

Although i am officially not a Buddhist i am a frequent visitor of this temple for years. One of my…read morefavorite places to find peace & quiet in this often times busy and sometimes crazy city! The temple is at the foot of Manhattan bridge, not so appealing on the outside but the inside is colorful,beautiful & worth checking out. It houses the biggest Buddha statue in all of Nyc. It's serene & peaceful inside. i didn't encounter a lot of people on my visits. usually only locals praying & few curious tourists. There are signs posted prohibiting pictures on certain areas but on the main altar pictures are ok i think -as long as done discretely. Theres also a gift shop on the entrance. You can light an incense for a fee. The care takers of this spot leave you alone to explore on your own. Theres no fee to enter, but i see some donation boxes around. Buddhist or not one can find something to appreciate in this not so hidden Chinatown gem.

I visited before in 2016 and felt to shy too enter. I came again and wow. I really had such a…read morewelcome feeling. Everyone seemed like friends . Sat in on a service. I was given a book to use during the service & afterwards folks showed me how to do one of the rituals with incense by the main alter. The Buddhist priest Mr。Ikeda had some chapters chosen for the new year mass greeting 。 Afterwards there was a tea upstairs. We all could meet up and chat and ask any questions. There was also like a fellowship potluck. (Yummy.) Everyone seems like friends. Kindhearted people. It seems more people should be here. It seems perfect in the Big Apple. The church has a nice history in this city. There is service in Japanese and in English. Maybe if you feel stressed and want to find a way to deal with it in a healthy method you might consider coming here. Make time for yourself to learn something new. They'll give you a little food for thought. A thought to carry you through the week. I enjoyed that little thought of positivity. I also enjoyed that since this is the Year of The Dog, they sold beautiful handmade items. Just like they do in Japan. They are decorative and I'd say they charmingly welcome good luck your way. (1)There was Sumi-e ink art created by the head monk here. Rather elegant and beautiful. (2)There were also wooden Ema available for sale($5). "Ema" are wooden wishing plaques. People write their wishes or prayers on a wooden plaque then hang you it up. Wish for anything! Of course, it has cute artwork on it. You can keep your wooden ema with wishes or without your wish on it if you want. I've done both. (()In the Edo period in Japan writing your wish on an Ema was a way you could communicate your wish to god.) The building itself: I must say it was also interesting that it was one the building of William Randolph hearst's mistress. Actress Marion Davies! What a beautiful building. A delight to see the rooms. (^^)/ Check there url. Visit when they are open. Do you need a little good luck charm from the Buddhist Church? Yes!! Make a new friend. Learn a different way of looking at things. A way to enjoy your life.learn to manage your stress.

One of the advantages of living in a multicultural place of New York is the opportunities to attend…read moredifferent exciting, cultural events. Working in an office setting five days a week can make life mundane and well, boring, so on the weekends, I try to explore fun activities around town to educate and enliven myself a bit. This past weekend, I visited the New York Buddhist Church's White Elephant Sale . This church has been serving the New York community since 1938 and regularly hosts special events and programs throughout the calendar year. The White Elephant Sale is a fundraiser held in the basement of the church. Setup like a flea market, there were random items, mostly oriental properties, for bidding and selling, but I actually had my sight on the homemade Japanese snacks and foods. I could not leave this place empty-handed, so I purchased some grandma made vegetarian and inari sushi ($4). Sure, the presentation is a bit spartan and simple, but the genuine bites transported me to a traditional Japanese home decorated in tatami mats. Love these stimulating excursions.

I came here as preparation for a college class presentation and had one of the most interesting…read moreexperiences in my life. Upon arrival, I met with the head monk who led me to the meditation or Jijang-Bosal (Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva) Room. He instructed me to grab a floor pillow. From there, we spent 45 minutes in the dimly lit room having a conversation about the core principles of Zen Buddhism​m before he led me in a sitting​ meditation session. I'm not a Buddhist, but he treated me with such compassion and acceptance. We were even able to converse a little bit about coss-theological topics. Overall, the temple has such a pleasant​ atmosphere. I'm sincerely impressed and thankful that they would offer me such a unique experience. If you're​ a Buddhist looking for a Zen meditation​ temple or just curious, I'd recommend giving Chogyesa a visit.

Authentic Korean Buddhism adapted to New York!…read more Offer a combination of Korean Buddhist practice for Korean Speaking participants on Sundays. Tuesday and Thursday evening 6:30 to 8:00 pm meditation practice in English. Come early for beginning instructions. 3rd Saturday every month, all day retreat includes Yoga/Tai Chi instruction and walking meditation in Central Park. Monks are welcoming and bi-lingual (Korean/English).

A very nice quiet place....in my eyes At a time in need for…read moreprayer and feeling helpless I really could let my hair down and take in the precious moments given to me.

This is an updated review. I previously posted this review for Heavenly Grace Buddhist Temple but I…read morewas told by another yelper that this temple is at 200 Centre Street while the one I was reviewing is actually on 214 Centre Street. I have been coming to this temple for over 10 years and it has not changed at all throughout the years. The decor has not changed at all and the kitchen downstairs that serves a free vegetarian lunch most days has remained exactly the same. It seems to be a pretty authentic temple, except for the random disco ball above the Buddha, which I have never been able to figure out why it is there. The free vegetarian lunch here is very good, if you don't mind eating it in a rather dungeon looking basement. On Chinese New Year, this place is PACKED. The lines goes around the block and it seems like at least a thousand people pass through this temple on one day. The line goes pretty quickly and even though it was looped around the entire block, we waited only an hour. Halfway through the line, they give out a snack and hot tea, which was amazing. Inside, there is pretty much an assembly line and there is no time for prayer. They give you a red envelope and fruits as you pass through the line to go downstairs to get a lunch box.

Traditional Chinese Buddhist temple that serves vegetarian food downstairs. They have a cat and…read moreyard where they conduct funeral chants and burn dead paper money.

A hidden gem among the numerous brownstone buildings in downtown New York. Yeshe Nyingpo is a…read moresister center to an upstate NY retreat center named Orgyen Chö Dzong. Although these Tibetan Buddhist centers practice the Vajrayana Tradition in general and the Dudjom Tersar tradition in particular, they welcome anyone and everyone interested in learning about meditation or are merely curious people passing by. Group practices such as Tsoks are always free and are normally done on the 10th and 25th days according to the Tibetan calendar. A warm and welcoming group of individuals from a bunch of different nationalities come by to practice and to pay their respects. Currently, Namgay Dawa Rinpoche leads the group practices and tirelessly offers advice and help wherever there is a need. I am happy to have found a place where I fit in and am able to freely practice and learn as much as I'd like!

A small Tibetan Buddhist sanctuary focused on Dudjom Tersar Nyingma meditation tradition inside a…read moretraditional brownstone townhouse in Chelsea. Check the website or call for meditation and prayer events.

Two days before leaving for NYC, the idea to visit the temple that my dad use to go to popped it my…read moremind as anytime we were unsure about a big decision when we lived back East, we would ask God for guidance. Since it had been 20+ years since we left, my dad just vaguely remember it being on Canal and either Lafayette or Center so I started looking online. I came across a few on Center that I thought might be it but when I gave him the description, he said that wasn't it. But thanks to trusty Yelp, I came across Lesie's pictures and it seemed to match his description of the big Guan Yin inside so thank you Yelp and Lesie for helping me find the temple that held such sentimental as well as religious significance for me. As Lesie mentioned, it is hard to find this temple if you aren't looking for it as it's on the 2nd floor and there's only a small sign on the door. It is quite large in comparison to the one I go to in SF though. I went in, lit some incense (1 per person but I completely missed that sign and did 3), made a donation, talked to the people who worked there for a little while and just sat there for about 20 minutes in peace. Even though I was expecting it to be completely changed and maybe became Mandarin speaking, upon walking it, saw that the workers and even the patrons were the old school toi san speaking Chinese making me feel right at home and wondering if any of them knows my dad. It was nice to come up here 20+ years later after my family had and see that it hasn't become just a tourist attraction like many other temples. Their hours are 8:30-6 (not sure it's the same hours daily or if those are only the weekday hours).

I am not religious, so my visits to temples are usually Lunar New Year visits…read more Compared to the one Centre Street, there are no crazy lines to get into the temple (supposedly their lucky charms actually work). It's hard to find this temple if you're not looking for it, but once you get inside, it's nice and warm with free tea. You can get incense and pray if you want, and there's plenty of seating for those getting their first Buddhist meal of the year. Usually it's rice, lo mein noodles, vermicelli, tofu, gluten, and mushrooms. Management changed recently and it looks like most of the new priests/priestesses are from Taiwan.

Awesome temple. 1)…read moreIt is beautiful. They are very welcoming and nice. 2) The Buddhist statues and Chinese calligraphy is fantastic. 3) Must visit if you are around the area, and have some time.

Grace Gratitude is a hidden place of zen located away from the overly toristy areas of China town…read more The wood awnings and gold lettering at the entrance were immediately captivating. Then seeing the laden gold statues of Buddha at the front of the temple it was easy to fade into the Zen aura of Eastern Asia. The temple offers various literature for free and are open to you sitting in the meditation area during nonservice hours to study. I would recommend stopping in, Buddhist or not, it is a tranquil space full of high energy

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