As the 20th century came to a close, 40 percent of all Buddhists in America resided in Southern California. The Los Angeles metropolitan area has become unique in the Buddhist world as the only place where representative organizations of every major school of Buddhism can be found in a single urban center [145]. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Northern California and Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles, Southern California, are two of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere. More
(Feb. 18, 2026) Los Angeles is known for being the home of Hollywood and having some of the world's best beaches, but it also has a much darker side: a notorious hub for human sex trafficking Pimp Epstein and Madame Maxwell would envy. More: abc7.com/post/sex-plain-sight...
LYRICS: "I don't feel a single thing/ Have the pills done too much?/ Haven't caught up with my friends in weeks/ And now we're outta touch/ I've been drivin' in L.A./ And the world, it feels too big/ Like a floating ball that's bound to break/ Snap my psyche like a twig// And I just wanna see/ If you feel the same as me
[CHORUS]
This is God's own racist country, the Deep South
Do you ever get a little bit tired of life?/ Like you're not really happy, but you don't wanna die/ Like you're hangin' by a thread, but you gotta survive/ 'Cause you gotta survive/ Like your body's in the room, but you're not really there/ Like you have empathy inside, but you don't really care/ Like you're fresh outta love, but it's been in the air/ Am I past repair?
A little bit tired of trying to care when I don't/ A little bit tired of quick repairs to cope/ A little bit tired of sinkin', there's water in my boat/ I'm barely breathin', tryna stay afloat/ So I got these quick repairs to cope/ Guess I'm just broken and broke
[VERSE 2] The prescription's on its way/ With a name I can't pronounce/ And the dose I gotta take/ Boy, I wish that I could count/ 'Cause I just wanna see/ If this could make me happy// [CHORUS]
A little bit tired of trying to care when I don't/ A little bit tired of quick repairs to cope/ A little bit tired of sinkin', there's water in my boat/ I'm barely breathin', tryna stay afloat/ So I got these quick repairs to cope
[OUTRO] Do you ever get a little bit tired of life?/ Like you're not really happy, but you don't wanna die/ Like a numb little bug that's gotta survive/ That's gotta survive.
Whoa, Asians be crazy? (Rosemead)
What happened to former reigning Asian Hollywood (Kill Bill) Beauty Queen Lucy Liu?
Community members are invited to gather at Barnes Park in Monterey Park, California on Saturday, January 17 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm for Resiliency Day, a day of community renewal, remembrance and hope.
Resiliency Day commemorates that January incident (2023 Monterey Park shooting) while promoting strength and healing through community connection.
At this FREE event, attendees of all ages can enjoy music and live performances and connect with other community members through activities, including:
Programs like the meditative poetry writing and music therapy offer opportunities for contemplation and creativity.
For those seeking information and support, the Resiliency Fair allows attendees to talk one-on-one with community organizations working in mental health, physical health, and social services.
The day also offers a range of engaging activities for children including crafts, bubbles, and sensory play.
Over 30 community organizations will be in attendance to provide activities and information.
(Plum Village) Thich Nhat Hanh or "Thai" answers questions during a retreat in Plum Village (May 2014).
Question: "If Buddhism supports love for Mother Nature, why doesn't it also support romantic love between two people and demonstrations of affection between two people?
(Plum Village App) Love, Desire, and Intimacy (short teaching video)
Thich Nhat Hanh – A Journey into the Heart of Buddhism | SLICE WHO
(SLICE Who?) Oct. 27, 2025: In this rare and intimate interview, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thai) shares his vision of Buddhism as a living practice of freedom.
Speaking softly yet profoundly, he explains how meditation, awareness, and compassion can transform suffering into peace.
Documentary: Interview Thich Nhat Hanh. Production: Productions Campagne Premiere. ABOUT: Curious about everything, an expert in nothing?
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Budding Lotus in the West: Buddhism from an Immigrant's Feminist Perspective
Author Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần has 5.0 out of 5 stars with 15 ratings. "[This is a] fiery debut... [Tran's] perceptive textual criticism and willingness to call out bias are refreshing. [This book] is a valuable contribution to the literature on Buddhism." —Publishers Weekly
"A refreshingly frank, critical, yet ultimately loving analysis of Buddhism, challenging interpretations shaped by patriarchal views.
"This well-researched page-turner references early Buddhist texts to explore today's hot-button issues, such as abortion, gun rights, LGBTQIA+ identity, and gender equality. [Tran] weaves deeply personal experiences throughout with notable vulnerability and humor, making this book equally compelling as a memoir." — Lion's Roar
Born into a family legacy of Buddhist spirituality in Việt Nam, Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần immigrated to the US at age 10.
Budding Lotus in the West follows her journey and unveils the complexities of Buddhist teachings woven into American fabric. With raw authenticity, Trần combines personal narratives, scholarly insights, and critical analysis to share her experiences with Buddhism and provide a fundamental understanding of key Buddhist concepts and traditions.
Examining the interplay between ancient wisdom and contemporary challenges, she invites spiritual seekers and curious minds to relate these principles to their own lived realities.
For example, what would the Buddha say about abortion, gun, and LGBT rights, prejudice, discrimination, and gender equality?
How can Buddhist practitioners more skillfully navigate romance in their sangha (spiritual community)? Whether one is a longtime Buddhist practitioner or just beginning to explore the practice, Budding Lotus in the West offers wisdom, inspiration, and a path toward an evolving, authentic, and inclusive spirituality in the modern world. More
Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần (kneetran.com) immigrated with her family from Vietnam to the US at age 10 through the Humanitarian Operation Program [Express].
Now residing in Seattle, she cofounded the Cherry Blossom Sangha, a mindfulness community dedicated to fostering inner serenity, mutual understanding, and universal compassion.
Her diverse exploration of Buddhism, from Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions to secular applications, has been enriched by Buddhist pilgrimages to India and Nepal and a residential internship at a Zen monastery.
Her book, Budding Lotus in the West, reflects these experiences, focusing on gender equality and social change. She is also a devoted patron of Tu Viện Giác Hải, a monastery in Khánh Hòa founded by her great-uncle, Venerable Thích Viên Giác.
She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Seattle University and enjoys exploring culinary delights from around the globe, always with a side of sriracha or chili pepper hot sauce. She is represented by literary agent Leticia Gomez (Savvy Literary Agency).
An amazing Buddhist spectacle unfolded at the World Peace Gathering in a fancy hotel across from Disneyland in downtown Anaheim on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025. From 4:00 to 9:00 pm floors of the Anaheim Convention Center were transformed into a kind of Mahayana Buddhist Pure Land, with 300 monastics from all traditions and countries in the Southland and 1,700 or so lay participants.
We filed into a color filled hall in the diagonal, our bodies forming a mandala (sacred geometrical pattern in the Mahayana/Vedic Hindu sense) for a kind of Catholic-style repentance ceremony, inviting peace and countless light beings (devas, brahmas, bodhisattvas, mahasattvas, and buddhas).
No photography or video footage was allowed by participants, though there were official cameras on the perimeter and some people couldn't help but pull out their cellphones for a quick snap or two. However, here is old footage of this event from 2013 and 2018 before it evolved into the spectacle we experienced for Earth Day 2025.
World Peace Gathering 2013: Mandala Ceremony (2 of 4)
(CompaSS) Jan. 6, 2014: This Mandala Ceremony was held on Dec. 22nd, 2013, at the Long Beach Convention Center during Compassionate Service Society's 5th Annual World Peace Gathering. Approximately 1,500 people attended this mandala.
What happened in 2025?
Wisdom Quarterly 2025
It started off as a normal convention of Buddhists at a convention center in OC. But it became profound with Vedic/Brahminical magic -- mantras and mudras, intentions and emotions. It made an impression.
First, everything was color coded. There are Sanskrit letter, bija mantras or "seed sounds" we were uttering once in formation. When 1,700 get in a room with 300 monastics, whatever happens is bound to be special.
There is the Soka Gakkai Buddhist cult, and they have that chant for material manifestation that may encourage greed in the name of "spirituality." One could understand how nice it might be to chant a repetitive set of meaningful sounds one doesn't know the meaning of. Somethings are only meant to be vibrational utterances, not sensible concepts. But there were translations, too. It was not mindless.
One would have wished to be videotaping the goings on so the outside world could see it. Once, at the Lu Mountain Chan Monastery in Rosemead, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, California, there was the ordinary sermon by Chan Master, as he had us call him. Then a short meditation. Then a great vegan meal of homemade Vietnamese delicacies by elderly expert cooks in the temple kitchen. Then socializing and talking, people hanging around and eventually dispersing.
Wanting to get some real meditation in, something silent and unguided, free of visualizations and interruptions, I went into the empty meditation hall and took a seat. To my surprise, people came back in dressed in robes, the same people from the morning sit. But there was no special occasion announced.
They began to chant and do hand movements (mudras) with a secret book they had, turning the pages. It went on and on. I remained still and silent, going unnoticed. That was their mistake, which they tried to play off when I began to ask questions afterward. I had seen the secret ceremony, the ritual Hindu-influenced Mahayana practices that really aided their Chan ("Zen") and samadhi, surrounded by countless alleged sariras (sacred relic beads and crematory remains). This was like that, and it may go on in every Vietnamese Zen temple in the county. The OC is full of them, particularly in the small city of Westminster.
I picked up a color diagram explaining the five elemental colors (white at the perimeter, yellow, blue, red, green, and white at the center). There is a siddham or character that looks like a four (4) in Japanese/Chinese script interpreting Sanskrit. A Vietnamese speaker is needed to decipher the explanation: Quan he giua pham tru ca the va tap the khi tu tap phap Lien Hoa Thu Nhan va Mandala Lien Hoa, which may not make sense without the diacritical marks.
The magic spells (mantras)
A color booklet with pictures of lotuses titled So tay Lien Hoa Bo Tat ("Lotus Bodhisattva Handbook"), Ban Cap Nhat 2025, on the cover also came to hand.
The Compassionate Service Society hosts the World Peace Gathering and Peace Mandala on [Hitler's birthday and International Weed Day 4:20] April 20th, 2025, with the goal of bringing comfort and empathy to those suffering. How?
The practice of inner peace unfolds kindness and compassion (metta and karuna) in every heart that participates. California Buddhist monks and nuns are joining in the:
Participation brings about grace and faith (blessings and confidence) to the community and solace to the untold suffering the world is currently witnessing. Help us bring blessings to ALL.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the term Ishvara is used as part of the compound Avalokiteśvara ("lord who hears the cries of the world"), the name of a bodhisattva revered for his compassion (who transformed into Goddess Kwan Yin). When referring to the divine feminine, particularly in Shaktism, Ishvari is often used. More
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