The monks and lay parishioners are very welcoming. Meditation, dharma talks, chanting, and…read morefellowship are all great. There is an English service available, too. Attend a festival!! Great food and celebration. It's a must!

I went last night to the autumn festival. This time around the food vendors were a little less but…read moreI was told usually Lunar New Year is when there is more food and more activities. I enjoyed my time with my group of friends. Got the pho and the pandan waffles. Both were great! The highlight of the evening was seeing the tea room open we decided to go in. The monk came out and welcomed us to have a seat... he brought tea out and a LOT of snacks! We had a great evening chit chatting and sharing travel experiences. I truly love this temple! I will go back for meditation on a Wednesday or Sunday

This Vietnamese Buddhist temple led by Vietnamese nuns from Vietnam was extremely welcoming. They…read morehave wonderful large festivals open to the community at the end of January and for family day. They have a special space for you if you just want to come in and meditate and learn about Buddhism. The food was vegetarian and delicious. I'm so thankful for my Buddhist brother Chaplain Who taught us about his culture, country, and religion. Thank you for your hospitality! If you want to learn about Buddhism, start with the four Noble truths which are the same for all Buddhists and expand to different beliefs depending on the country and congregation. Mainly, they will help you liberate yourself from suffering.

That dau long những người muon dao tao doi họ làm hơi cho bạn các món ăn quá and do an con 10 phần…read morehộ ban thanh 30 chúc phan lam vay để làm gì rat la toi xin mời người phải suy nghĩ lại để làm Phước mà mang tội them.cam on những phat tu ngoan dao mấy người cũng có tâm nhưng hay thức tính dung để mang tới them do mo phập

What I like about this meditation center is that it offers instruction for all levels of mediators,…read morebeginners to Vajrayana students and you don't have to be a Buddhist to attend the programs. I enjoy how open and welcoming everyone to new people. It's also disciplined but not so rigid like other meditation centers.

What a lovely place to visit! This is a very short detour if you're going between Austin and…read moreDripping Springs/other hill country destinations. The main temple building is gorgeous: golden on the outside, peaceful on the inside, with statues and an altar. There's another prayer room with lovely paintings on the walls, and a whole complex with a library, housing, and trees. I recommend you check out the website; there's a lot of good information about the temple and how to visit. You definitely don't have to be a Buddhist to visit; they're welcoming of everyone. Just be respectful (and remember to remove your shoes when you go indoors) http://sitagu.org/austin/newbies/newbies.html If you go during lunch, you're invited to join for a free meal, which we did: one of the monks saw us leaving and invited us to join the meal, which was starting to wrap up around 12:45 PM. The monks eat separately from lay people; we were at a table with a couple of Burmese people and a couple of Americans (who were staying on a retreat). Be warned, though: the food isn't all vegetarian, as I assumed it would be! So if you're vegetarian or vegan, make sure to clarify what's veg and what isn't. Check out this lovely oasis, especially if you like meditation or want to learn more about Buddhism.

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. :-)

I recently attended an introductory class at Rissho Kosei‑Kai, and the experience left a deep…read moreimpression on me. From the moment I arrived, everyone I met was warm, welcoming, and sincerely compassionate. There was no sense of hierarchy or pretense, just people who genuinely live their practice with humility and kindness. What stood out most was the depth of their knowledge paired with a gentle, grounded way of sharing it. The teachings were offered with clarity and openness, and I felt both inspired and at ease throughout the session. It's rare to find a space where spiritual learning feels both accessible and profound, but that's exactly what I found here. I left feeling encouraged in my own path and grateful for the sense of community they cultivate. I'm planning to continue attending and look forward to growing alongside such thoughtful and sincere group of people.

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.

Awesome! - Ever since I visited Thailand last year, I've missed the sticky rice you could buy at…read morepretty much any market you came across. They make it in bamboo and you have to crack the shell and peel it back to eat it. It's essentially a cheap energy bar for the rice farmers there. - Very tasty! Anyway, I thought I'd have to go back to Thailand to ever get one of these again but I recently came across a little piece of Thailand in Austin. If you ever want to get a feel for what a Thai market feels like and/or just check out a fairly genuine Buddhist temple without having to fly 17+ hours check this place out. Calendar here: http://www.my.calendars.net/watthaiaustin I've only been to one Mahachat Festival so far but I'm definitely planning to check out songkran ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran ) in April along with some other cool events. We are lucky to have this in Austin. It's a long drive and a little hard to find but so worth it!

I came here for the Loi Krantang festival yesterday and can't contain my excitement. Having…read morerecently moved to Austin (from NYC and LA prior), I figured that I'd have to give up finding superb Asian cuisine (except Vietnamese). Arriving at this Thai temple to find two dozen or so food vendors for this fe(a)st was like coming upon cases of ice cold Topo Chico in the middle of a desert. Sure, one vendor served pad thai and some curries, but many of the offerings represented the cuisine of Northeast Thailand (Issan) and Laos. This has to be some of the best Thai food in the Austin area, and it is incredibly authentic to boot. Sticky rice galore. Sour sausage. Yen tau fu with cubes of congealed blood, squid, shrimp and fish balls. Bags of kaffir lime leaves and incendiary Thai chilis for a good price. Skewers of grilled meats, including chicken hearts. Deep-fried and grilled whole fish. Fantastic deep-fried bananas. Mystery surprises wrapped in bamboo leaves. Freshly prepared papaya salad. Fantastic little stacks of coconut and rice pancakes reminiscent of kanom krok (but alas, no actual kanom krok). And dozens more iterations of desserts based on those ingredients, sometimes laced with palm sugar. Then, I ate an entire one of those chilies and lost track of the rest. Pinch me, I must still be dreaming! And anxiously awaiting the feast for the Thai new year in April.