Hsi Lai: The Buddha's Birthday (5/24-31)

Please join Coming West (Hsi Lai) Temple in celebration of the birth of our teacher, Shakyamuni (Gautama) Buddha, which is one of the most important events on the Buddhist calendar. During this celebration, we partake in the traditional bathing of the baby Buddha (Prince Siddhartha), and pray not only for auspiciousness in our lives, but to also emulate him and his teachings. Date Sunday, May 24, 2026-Sunday, May 31, 2026, 9:00 am-5:00 pm at Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, California

• Hsi Lai Temple
• 3456 Glenmark Drive (near Colima)
• Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
• info@ibps.org, (626) 961-9697

Communal Cultivation at Hsi Lai Temple

Hsi Lai Buddhist Retreat, June 7-June 21, 2026 (ages 16-35)

Buddhist Question and Answers at Hsi Lai Temple

Hsi Lai Temple's Sangha Day Celebration, July 17, 2026

Hsi Lai Temple English Dharma Service

Buddhist cult? Bliss & Wisdom, PEI, Canada

(Spoke Media) Are Taiwanese Tibetan Buddhist monks taking over Prince Edward Island?

What is this, a cult, a club, a sect?

Bliss and Wisdom (Chinese 福智, Pinyin Fúzhì) is a Taiwanese Buddhist [that practices Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism] organization operating in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.

Founded in 1991 by Master Jih-Chang, the organization arrived in the Canadian province in 2008 and has come under scrutiny for its significant acquisitions of land.

• Buddhism in Taiwan
• Buddhism in Canada

A citizens group estimates that Bliss and Wisdom has acquired over 17,000 acres of land in crowded Prince Edward Island, contravening the province's land protection legislation.

• Bliss & Wisdom, largest Tibetan Buddhist group in Taiwan faces crisis (Tibet Post International)

The provincial government of Prince Edward Island launched an investigation into Bliss and Wisdom's landholdings in February 2025.

The organization has extensive business holdings in the areas of jewelry, electronics, organic farming, translation, and exporting. They operate a natural foods retailer based in Taiwan called Leezen, which opened its first overseas store in Charlottetown in 2016. More: Bliss and Wisdom: Buddhist organization

• Spoke Media, Jan. 19, 2026; CC Liu, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Genius Buddhist prodigies, past lives?

The strange, brilliant life of a billionaire scientist living between two worlds

(Lei's Looking Glass) From child prodigy to billionaire scientist, Dr. John D. Young lived a life most people can only imagine—college at 13, dual doctorate degrees (PhDs) by 21, Nobel recognition before 30. But behind his extraordinary success was an even stranger story: visions of light, encounters with divine beings, out-of-body experiences, and a search for the truth behind consciousness. In this episode, we explore the brilliant and mysterious life of a man who walked between science and spirit, between wealth and awakening, between this world and another. Was he simply a prodigy—or something more? Discover the story of a genius who may have been chosen for a higher purpose.

Lei's Real Talk: @leisrealtalk. Donation: donorbox.org/support-lei-s-re... Support Lei’s work via her online shop: shop.leisrealtalk.com. Sign up for emails: leisrealtalk.com. Ideas/suggestions:  Leisrealtalk@gmail.com #leislookingglass #tonyyang #billionairescientist #childprodigy

(Lei's Looking Glass) The child prince who remembered a past life - and the Karmapa controversy

• Dr. Ian Stevenson, MD, American academic and scientific rebirth/reincarnation researcher, founder and director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, professor and a founder of the Society for Scientific Exploration
• Lei's Looking Glass, Nov. 20, 2025, Nov. 5, 2025; CC Liu, Crystal Q., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Embracing peaceful Buddhist spirit in LA

VIDEO: Embracing the peaceful spirit of Buddhism in the massive temple in Hacienda Heights, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angelese | Let's Go Places

Taiwanese Founder Ven. Hsing Yun in Taiwan

In the City of Hacienda Heights, not far from the concrete jungle of the Downtown Los Angeles skyline, there is a colorful and tranquil oasis of Buddhism, one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America. It is called "Going West" or Hsi Lai Temple or Fo Guang Shan. KCAL reporter Ms. Alex Biston reports from the hillside temple grounds. (KCAL and CBS Los Angeles via MSN)

• Alex Biston, KCAL (CBS) via msn.com, 8/23/24; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mahayana Repentance Service (8/20-27)

Hsi Lai Temple (Hacienda Heights); Ananda, CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Ksitigarba saves hell beings

You know that big Buddhist temple on the side of the hills that separate Orange County from Los Angeles County? It's Hsi Lai on the LA side, facing the San Gabriel Mountains, overlooking LA's second valley. What do they do there?

It's a Taiwanese Mahayana complex built on the model of genuine Chinese temples following a more devotional, slightly Zen, style of Chinese Buddhist tradition, ancestor worship, good luck rituals, nuns training, repentance, chanting, and weeklong sleepovers of more intense meditation practice.

It's the second largest in the Western hemisphere

There are classes, which at first will not seem very friendly to Westerners, catering to a largely Asian population from both counties. But a persistence pays off, and there's a Buddhist college (University of the West) they run in nearby Rosemead. So they do provide English-speaking programs from time to time.

In any case, there's always a small and interesting museum, a giant vegan/vegetarian cafeteria to visit, a tea house, and a gift shop. Visit any weekend. Coming soon:

Filial piety Emperor Liang Repentance Dharma Service

Buddhist repentance? This special program runs for one week, from August 20–27, 2023. It will be held in the Main Hall at 3456 Glenmark Drive, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (MAP).

• Light-Offering Dharma Service: Wednesday, Aug. 30, 10:00 am– 12:00 pm, Main Hall
• EVENTS CALENDAR (Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple)

FaXiang: A Buddhist Practitioner's Encyclopedia

FaXiang: A Buddhist Practitioner's Encyclopedia: The Buddha's Teachings have a unique and sometimes challenging language all their own. It was constructed from the many cultures and generations of practitioners they have touched. To help readers navigate this vast lexicon, Venerable Tzu Chuang, a senior Fo Guang Shan monastic and the first abbot of Hsi Lai Temple, compiled FaXiang, an encyclopedia of Buddhist terms. It is both extensive and accessible. Now available in English, "FaXiang" is replete with detailed entries.

• Faxiang: A Buddhist Practitioner's...  (thriftbooks.com)

Hardcover, English ISBN: 1932293558 ISBN13: 9781932293555 Release Date: July 2012. Publisher: Buddha's Light Publishing. Length: 405 pages. Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Lunar New Year Festival (Jan. 26)

Meetup.com/losangelesfreeconcerts; CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

有钱就是任性! Commemorate the Year of the Pig at the LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL (Chinese New Year).

The festival features the Taiwan Night Market with delicious cultural food, amusement rides, and live music. One of the largest in California, it draws an attendance of 250,000. Known in modern China as the "Spring Festival," is the most important holiday of all. 恭喜發財

• Exotic food at Taiwan Night Market 廁所在哪裡
• Lion and dragon dances
• Chinese martial arts
• Carnival games
• Chinese calligraphy 除了中文之外、你還會講其他的語言嗎
• Carnival Fun Zone
• Giant rooster lantern exhibition
• And the best live music in the 626! 你要不要跟我跳舞

The Pig is the twelfth of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. Pig was late because he overslept. When he arrived, he was the last one and could only take twelfth place. In Chinese culture, pigs are the symbol of wealth. Their chubby faces and big ears are signs of fortune as well. Free admission. 21 and over.

• Lunar New Year Festival

  Garvey Ave. & S. Russel Ave., Monterey Park, CA

• Metro (bit.ly/1jfqk5l) or parking options:
• Street parking
• El Repetto Elementary School, 650 Grandridge Ave., Monterey Park. Free shuttle.
• Mark Keppel High School, 501 E. Hellman Ave., Alhambra. Free shuttle.

The Way to Buddhahood (NY study group)

BAUS.org/en; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Textbook: The Way to Buddhahood (Ven. Yin Shun)

Mahayana Buddhism prides itself on being the biggest and "best" kind of Buddhism because it advocates universal saviors and self-sacrifice over and above the historical Buddha's teachings followed by the Theravada school.

This is not a north/south distinction because all of the "Hinayana" schools went extinct displaced by Mahayana-Hinduism. Theravada is a resurgent school that aims to practice what the historical Buddha taught rather than the "countless buddhas" like the "gods" of the Brahmins.

Admittedly, not many Mahayana Buddhists actually take up the effort to become buddhas ("supremely enlightened teachers of liberation") in the future, but all of them [blindly] take the vow to do so.

Here's a chance to live up to it. This study group, using the textbook The Way to Buddhahood by Ven. Yin Shun (available for $18.00 in the library) is a good first step.

This is a self-study group. Notes and questions are kept on a digital document and answered by the instructor Ven. Ekayana. FREE. More

• When? First and third Sundays
• 1:00-1:30 pm, meditation (children's room)
• 1:30-3:00 pm, book discussion (conference room)
• REGISTRATION 
• Woo Ju Memorial Library Activities 
• 2020, Route 301, Carmel, NY 10512
• (845) 225-1819 or 845-228-4283
• Contact BAUS, Buddhist Association of the U.S.
• Walk-ins welcome. More info: library@baus.org
  

Eight Precepts Retreat: Hsi Lai Temple, L.A.

HsiLai.org, Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai ("Going West") Temple, Rowland Heights, San Gabriel Valley, LA (hsilai.org/en); CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Eight Precepts Retreat 2017

Want to experience peace and tranquility? Want to experience monastic life for a day and a night? During the Eight Precepts Retreat, uphold the eight precepts for one day and one night, Dec. 16 (Saturday 8:00 am) to Dec. 17 (Sunday 9:00 am). Throughout the retreat, learn about the Buddha's teaching, training the mind through chanting and meditating.

RETREAT

• Tuition: $20.00 due at check in on 12/16
• Prerequisites: Lay male and female Buddhist practitioners of right faith, sound in both mind and body, who wish to observe the Dharma of precepts.
• This session is limited to those 18-60 years of age.
• Reminders: Participants should be punctual and are expected to fully participate in the entire retreat. Please courteously notify us beforehand if you cannot come.

 
Be respectful of all arrangements made by the Temple and willingly do your best to follow the routine of the congregation without seeking special treatment.

All functions are signaled by board and bell. Cell phone/electronics use, alarm clocks, and flashlights are NOT allowed. Cell phones and so on will be held for safekeeping by the temple until retreat's completion.

While in retreat, please do not wear any jewelry, bring any valuables, nor bring any food with you.

This is a silent retreat. All meals will be Chinese-style vegetarian food.

Classes will generally be conducted in Chinese with English translation, with some classes fully conducted in English.

Check-in: Promptly at 8:00 am, Saturday, 12/16/17 at Assembly Room

Parking/venue: Drive to “15930 Glencove Dr.” and go up the hill to the left (9 o’clock position). Do not park in the Temple complex.

What to bring:

1. black haiqing robe and brown precept robe (for those who have received precepts)
2. sleeping bag or blanket (a bed, pillow, and shower gel will be provided)
3. dull/light-colored tops and dark pants to layer under uniform
4. white socks and undergarments to change (laundry facilities not available)
5. arhat shoes or flat-soled shoes (no slippers/backless sandals)
6. toiletries
7. bath towel
8. water bottle or lidded cup/mug (thermos-like that can hold hot liquids; disposable cups not provided)
9. daily medication/allergy medicine
10. current photo ID/driver’s license (kept by Temple while borrowing a translator for English translations of courses in Chinese).

Registration: Please fill out online registration form. Contact Temple: (626) 961-9697 ext. 118/131 or e-mail: program@ibps.org. Deadline: 12/12/17

"Perfection of Wisdom" (Lancaster lectures)

CC Liu, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Hsi Lai Temple (hsilai.org)

UC Berkeley and UWest Buddhist University's Prof. Lancaster will give lecture series.

Perfection of Wisdom (PRAJÑĀ PĀRAMITĀ)

Prof. Lewis Lancaster

This course will consider major aspects of Buddhism through the lens of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. 

Twelve lecture periods of three hours each will encompass subjects of the nature of the Buddhist canonic texts and how they define and describe:

• The Buddha
• Bodhisattvas
• Mara
• Meditation
• Rebirth
• Merit
• the Cosmos
• Enlightenment
• Nirvana
• Compassion

The classes will be held for four periods, that is, Friday nights and Saturdays, each ending with an open discussion forum. For those who attend full courses will be presented a certificate of completion by Hsi Lai Temple.

• Hsi Lai Temple, San Gabriel Valley
• 3456 Glenmark Dr., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Via YouTube
Prof. Lancaster lectures at Hsi Lai (Official temple site)


Instructor: Dr. Lewis R. Lancaster, Professor Emeritus, University of the West and UC Berkeley

Dr. Lewis R. Lancaster is professor emeritus of Religious Studies at University of the West and professor emeritus in the Department of East Asian Languages at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served as the Chair of Buddhist Studies at UC Berkeley and Editor of the Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series.

Dr. Lancaster has published over 55 articles and reviews and has edited or authored numerous books including Prajñāpāramitā and Related Systems, the Korean Buddhist Canon, Buddhist Scriptures, Early Ch'an in China and Tibet, and Assimilation of Buddhism in Korea.

PART ONE

Lecture One, January 22, 2016, 6:00-9:00

“Roots of the Wisdom Literature of Mahayana Buddhism”

Lecture Two January 23, 2016, 9:00-12:00

“The Bodhisattva Ideal: Social and Spiritual Action”

Lecture Three January 23, 2016, 1:30-4:30

“Buddha: Bodily Manifestations”

Open Discussion Forum, January 23, 2016, 4:30

Lecture Four January 29, 2016, 6:00-9:00

“Mara: Negative Energy”

Lecture Five January 30, 2016, 9:00-12:00

“Endlessness: Spiritual Possibilities of Infinity”

Lecture Six January 30, 2016, 1:30-4:30

“Rebirth: Causal Transmigration”

Open Discussion Forum 4:30

PART TWO

Lecture Seven April 1, 2016, 6:00-9:00

“Nirvana: When, Why”

Lecture Eight April 2, 2016, 9:00-12:00

“Meditation: Embodiment of Endlessness”

Lecture Nine April 2, 2016, 1:30-4:30

“Perfections: Dangers and Rewards”

Open Discussion Forum 4:30

Lecture 10 May 6, 2016, 6:00-9:00

“Enlightenment: A Map: A Surrounding

Lecture 11 May 7, 2016, 9:00-12:00

“Merit: Transfer or Transform”

Lecture 12 May 7, 2016, 1:30-4:30

“Compassion: Indifference Shifted”

Open Discussion Forum 4:30

• Venue: Hsi Lai Temple (on site)
• or study at home remotely through youtube.com broadcast.
• Fee: $80. (Please make check payable to I.B.P.S.)
• Address: 3456 Glenmark Dr., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
• Attn. Venerable Man Kuang
• Registration: Apply Now
• Phone: (626) 961 -9697 extension 116

		2016 Master's Letter to Dharma Protector and Friends Dear Dharma protectors and friends...				The Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony 1/15, 2/5     7:30pm
		2016 Hsi Lai Temple New Year Schedule Special Dharma services to be held beginning 1/24 - 2/28..				The Beauty of the World through Good Deeds” Drawing Contest It is promoted by Venerable Master Hsing Yun
		BLHLS Saturday Chinese School Program Based on student's Chinese level...Apply Now				Buddha's Light Youth Symphony Orchestra It is a unique musical group that Apply Now
		2015 Fall session Core Teachings The Buddha's teachings are contained Date: 3/6/2016 - 4/24/2016				Gao Huilan's Paper-cutting Arts Exhibition Her meticulously executed movements ...1/12 - 2/22
		2016 Spring session Meditation Classes For both beginner & intermediate Date: 3/6/2016 - 4/24/2016				The Beauty of Buddha’s Light Venerable Huei Yan Photography Exhibition 2/6 - 2/21, 10am - 5pm everyday
		Dharma School for Kids The school will provide stories ... 3/6 - 5/29     Apply Now				F.G.S. International Translation Center dedicated to translating and distributing quality translations of classical Buddhist
		Hsi Lai Buddhist Cultivation Program This program is open for those who…Apply Now				BLHLS Saturday Adult Chinese Program Mandarin Chinese is Now offered Apply Now
		Hear Me Out Fo Guang Shan International Translation A Spiritual Gift for Humanistic Buddhists ...				BLHLS After School Program BLHLS is offering After School Program Apply Now

 

Event for World Peace 2015 (Hsi Lai Temple)

CC Liu, Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, Pat Macpherson, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly

Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple, Hacienda Heights, suburban Los Angeles (flickriver.com)

Coming West, Buddha's Light Mountain (Hsi Lai, Fog Guang Shan) Temple (l.facebook)

Honoring the Buddha worldwide (Hsi Lai)

Wisdom Quarterly is taking a field trip to the Heights, Hacienda Heights that is. On Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 9:30 am "Coming West" Temple ("Buddha's Light Mountain" or Fo Guang Shan) is hosting a "Prayer for World Peace" to welcome 2015.

Is the American military-industrial complex listening?

Full Moon, Hsi Lai (WQ)

Governments and corporations are the only makers of industrial-scale war. But it is us they draw from to pull the trigger and shoulder the weight of enormously negative karma that results in tremendous suffering for ourselves and others -- mutilation, PTSD, rape, disfigurement, death, loss, imprisonment, torture, enslavement, oppression, full-spectrum dominance...
 
We say no to war, YES to peace, no to violence, YES to love, no to foolishness, YES to kindness!

Fo Guang Shan pyramid, Buddha Memorial Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Zosoiv71/flickr)

.

Nuns serving tea and starting conversation (WQ)

Coming West Temple says, "Our wish for the coming year [is] that there be no jealousy, only affection,; that there be no hatred, only harmony; that there be no greed [hoarding, clinging, grasping], only generosity; that there be no selfishness, only fulfillment."

Full moon and mooncakes, Hsi Lai (WQ)

Hsi Lai Temple is a marvel on an affluent hillside separating Los Angeles and Orange County (traveling over the hills or heights leads to Anaheim) overlooking the San Gabriel Valley and the distant Angeles Forest mountains and the tallest peak in Los Angeles, snow capped Mt. Baldy.

Theravada monk Bhikkhu Bodhi

It is the largest Buddhist temple in the western hemisphere, running neck and neck with upstate New York's Chaung Yen Monastery (BAUS.org), home of the American scholar-monk and translator Bhikkhu Bodhi. These are Taiwanese Mahayana temples with open arms to Theravada tradition monastics, scholars, and students, particularly nuns of all traditions, such as Sri Lankan and American Theravada and Tibetan Vajrayana bhikshunis.

• FREE, open to all (meet in main shrine)
• 9:30 am, Saturday, January 10, 2015
• Hsi Lai Temple
• 3456 Glenmark Drive
• Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Interfaith Prayer for World Peace, CYM (BAUS)
Buddhist Association of the United States, Carmel, NY

(BAUS) Part 1 of 12 New Year's Interfaith Prayer for World Peace, New York, Jan. 1, 2015

New Year's Interfaith Prayer for World Peace, Chaung Yen Monastery, NY (BAUS.org)