Beautiful temple I just came from Long Beach California To Seattle now I am in Tacoma at the temple…read moreit is a very beautiful place

I became a member of the Temple a few years back & left three years later. To be clear, there are a…read morefew Temple members who were warm, sincere & always very welcoming. I had a few negative experiences at the Temple that ultimately made me leave the Temple. The Temple is mainly comprised of older members & generations of families have attended the Temple. That's not a bad thing per se, but issue the members are very old school & stuck in their ways. The committee members did not seem receptive to any type of feedback. I will say Sensei Ogui & his wife Miyumi were absolutely wonderful. They moved back to Japan a few years ago. I even went back & visited the Temple and was basically asked why was I there. My hope is the Temple will stay alive and younger, more forward thinking members will keep the Temple moving in a new, positive direction.

Nice atmosphere and friendly people. Great learning experience. Pinnacle of Japanese-American…read morecommunity for generations.

I went to the 2025 Summer Bon Odori Buddhist Festival here. I have not danced here in several years…read moreor before Cvid. I moved to S. Seattle area, so it's closer to drive out now. They use the same dances and music as the Seattle Bon Odori at the Betsuin Buddhist Church. A volunteer let me change into my kimono in the No Access Area where the restrooms by the Hodo alter area was. It's a large handicap restroom that I used before. So it was helpful. At the Seattle Buddhist Church there was no public restrooms to change. They close them up and have sanicans ionly. I changed at a hotel after I went to a fest. At Seattle Center before going to Seattle's Obon. I bought and found some Kimono underwear gear that I could not find in Little Tokyo in LA. I also found small tabis that fot me at size 4.5. So that was only $3 each and found two luckily. I thought I needed more larger size Tabi. Today my left foot was swollen with a sprained ankle. So some of my other tabis did not fit. I wore a brace and only dance "Tanko Bushi," the Coal Miner's Dance. They do this standard dance all over other Obons all over the US and in Tokyo. I was lucky they had left over Teriyaki Chicken bowl and Tsukemono half price. Retail for chicken was $12 , Unagi was $15. It was not as cheap when they sold them 10 yrs ago. Somen was $4. They did not have regular soda. Just flavored water and water. There was a Beer Garden too but no entertainment there since it off to the side of the church and not in a quieter area. There were a few African Amer. In the audience and other non Japanese Nikkei there too. They drew people from other parts of Tacoma, And other areas besides from the Seattle Obon. After 8pm they had a short Obon Memorial Service for deceased members and for anyone who bought a candle for $10. There were floating lanterns and other nice paper lanterns in their small Jp Gardens. Even in Idaho, there is a Bon Odori, Chicago, LA, SF, Sacramento, Vegas, Vancouver BC,. Hilo, Honolulu, Portland, OR. You can probably find where ever there is a Japanese Community like in Brasil and Peru. The Bon Odorii in the Phillippines is more of a stage show sponsored by Jp Corp. , Jp Gov. and they get many locals selling food. I saw it on You Tube.

Came here a few times for Japanese related events such as the Bon Odori and the latest being the…read moreBazaar and craft festival. Each time we are here we are delighted by the helpful staff and the range of both handmade and well curated goodies. If you also are a fan of Japanese sweets, during these events they offer treats like daifuku and manju that is so fresh and chewy! A lot of street parking in the area but be weary, a lot of them are on hilly areas by the UW Tacoma campus! Also, if you can bring cash - some of the items sold at these events are cash only!

I've been wanting to go to this Buddhist Temple for a while. I really admired the architecture from…read morethe road frequently as I would go by it. I wanted to go in just to pay a visit but wanted to arrive at an appropriate time to check it out. My wait finally ended as this temple was having a yard sale. I took the opportunity immediately not only to go to the sale but to admire the area as well. I briefly took some pictures of some beautiful statuary and the buildings. The garage sale was very impressive! All kinds of different clothing and other household items to browse through. Such a great selection! I don't know if this garage sale is held every year here at this temple but if you ever do see one be sure and drop by!

I lived in Seattle in the 1990's and had been a practicing Buddhist for about ten years. I usually…read moreattended Lao temple in Seattle. I had a friend who was a Theravada monk and had been teaching over in Tacoma. In 1996 he said I ought to come over to Seu Mi Sa to take that five precepts with some of his students. I thought this was going to be a small private affair. I failed to realize it was the late April day when Buddhists celebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and Entrance to Nirvana by Buddha. There were hundreds of people there including the mayor of Tacoma and Mike Lowrey, the Governor of Washington. The temple has an interesting history. It is a Korean Zen temple. It was built by a donation from a wealthy Korean businesswoman. The Temple Building was originally in Korea. It is quite old and was dismantled and shipped to the US and reassembled. It is entirely made of wood and has no metal nails or bolts holding it together. The interior and exterior are very ornate and there are hundreds of small donated Buddha images inside. There is a meditation hall in the hill under the temple. The grounds around temple include the monks quarters and a large meeting hall for meals and other activities. After the ceremony I received a certificate in Korean and Chinese and I was given a Korean name. This was followed by a vegetarian meal in the assembly hall.

Wonderful Meditation Center and gardens. Group Meditations take place on Thursday evenings at 7pm…read more Today I participated in a meditation retreat starting at 9am. Seated meditation, chants, walking meditation inside and outside. Silent Vegetarian Lunch. I am writing this during a break following lunch. The retreat will end at 5pm. Regular Sunday Service is at 11am. This temple observes the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. Vietnamese language but if you are seeking enlightenment or understanding of Buddhism the lead venerable monk is very welcoming and helpful. There may be slight language barriers. But they will treat you like family. If nothing else, stop by and walk the grounds, light some incense, enjoy the beautiful sculptures, and breathe.

Excellent place to explore Buddhism however the service is in Vietnamese. There are members that…read morespeak English and there are language classes. It's a place you wouldn't want to pass up if you're looking to explore cultures and religion.

The SGI is an amazing Buddhist organization, focused on making positive change. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo…read moreis the main part of the practice. The members are so friendly and encouraging and very supportive. I highly recommend it! www.sgi-usa.org

Beautiful Temple of Thien phai Truc Lam in Seattle. So proud of Thien Vien Truc Lam Minh Chanh…read more Please read more about this particular Meditation Center at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trúc_Lâm Thiền phái Trúc Lâm (zh. 竹林禪派) là một tông phái của Thiền tông Việt Nam, hình thành từ thời nhà Trần, do Vua Trần Nhân Tông sáng lập. Trúc Lâm vốn là hiệu của Trần Nhân Tông từ khi xuất gia ở động Vũ Lâm (Ninh Bình), đồng thời cũng là hiệu của Thiền sư Đạo Viên, tiền bối của Trần Nhân Tông, Tổ thứ hai của dòng Thiền này. Thiền phái Trúc Lâm có ba Thiền sư kiệt xuất là Nhân Tông (Trúc Lâm Đầu Đà), Pháp Loa, và Huyền Quang (gọi chung là Trúc Lâm Tam tổ). Thiền phái này được xem là tiếp nối, nhưng cũng đồng thời là sự hợp nhất của ba dòng Thiền Việt Nam có từ trước đó là phái Thảo Đường, Vô Ngôn Thông và Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi, cùng với sự pha trộn ảnh hưởng của tông Lâm Tế. Với việc lập ra phái Trúc Lâm, Vua Trần Nhân Tông đã thống nhất các Thiền phái tồn tại trước đó và toàn bộ giáo hội Phật Giáo đời Trần về một mối.

A very beautiful, peaceful, and calm place! Great place to…read morepractice meditation. Must visit to experience the peacefulness and calmness of this gems.

It was a very small and private family event. The service was amazing. The effort that my parents…read moreput together on a very short notice was beautiful. Thank you to everyone for all of your helps and supports.

This was my first time visiting Chùa Phước Huệ . When I…read moredrove up to this Temple I was greeted by rows of flowering cherry trees. They will bloom in Early March up to Early April this is the best time to come visit if you want to see them in bloom. This reminds me of iconic UW cherry blossoms! Parking was plenty. As my kids and I tour this Temple we felt very relax and my kids even found a kids playground! I think this Temple is very kid friendly even the monks here are kid and family friendly. The pathways bring me to beautiful statues and inspiring poems , which helps me have some positive thoughts about this life, slow down for a moment and search inside myself...i think every visitors will find something meaningful here to bring home for their love ones and themselves . Don't forget to greet and meet the nice monks here to have a positive conversation. The main hall I see a beautiful giant Buddha statue with wooden background. They also have a Vietnamese weekend class for kids .I had the chance to eat their vegetarian Bún bò Huế and Banh Bao, both tasted excellent! I highly recommend this Temple for any one in Tacoma area.