Nice and clean. Feel like home again. They give me suggestions on things. Bring good energy and…read moreluck home. Thank you

Xuan Wu San is NOT a charity. It's a small Buddhist temple. We go here every year after Chinese New…read moreYear to pray for some blessings for the year. There's three different kinds of rituals. One of them requires getting 12 incense sticks to pray at each little shrine in the temple. Each little shrine is numbered so you know which one to go to first. Red envelopes are exchanged for new ones. They also have yellow and green sheets for you to put in the house or in the car for good luck. There is a separate ritual for zodiacs that happen to land on a bad luck year. That's $20 per person. The smell of incense throughout this temple is very relaxing. There's also soothing music that plays throughout. Overall, it's a nice little Buddhist temple. I always feel a little at peace after my visit here. I'll be back again next year.

Visited this place as a casual tourist…read more You can feel the change in the air when you step in. It's very solemn and quiet. I sat in one of the pews and admired the really intricate decorations and figures. The books have English translations, introductions, and a glossary which is cool. You can provide offerings at the front. In the lobby, there are benches. Not sure what else to write about, but it's a pretty cool temple.

Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple Obon is very special for me and my children. It was the first…read moreplace that I ever experienced an Obon festival and we come back yearly. Obon is a beautiful celebration of life and community. Highashi's Obon festival is always on the last weekend of July, which means that it is usually super hot. If you can, try to check out the performances they have, especially TAIKOPROJECT. I was blown away the first time that I saw them perform. They also have hula, other taiko groups and other performances. As far as booths, they have usually one side set up with games for like $1 where you can win various prizes. The other side is food. The food varies from dango, shaved ice, chili rice and teriyaki. They sell both chicken and beef teriyaki but I usually get the beef. It's really delicious. In the downstairs area you will find quite a bit going on: a bake sale, bingo, a farmer's market, and an are where they sell manju and somen. The Bon Odori usually starts at 6:30-7 after the Manto-E service. If you're interested in learning the dances ahead of time they usually start practicing a month ahead downstairs. Trish is a great instructor. She goes through each step and it is not hard to pick up. I encourage everyone to just jump in and try it though as the steps are not difficult and they repeat. Sometimes HappyFunSmile will perform some of the songs live. They are always a lot of fun to watch. Parking is usually at the medical building across the street. Make sure to bring your ticket to the booth when you first walk in so they can validate it and you can get a discount.

The Self-Realization Fellowship is a spiritual organization based on Paramahansa Yogananda's…read moreteachings. Kriya Yoga is the foundation of his teachings, but Yogananda was extremely ecumenical, respecting the many religious traditions of the world. This temple which, while open to all, is decidedly anti-missionizing (unlike its immediate neighbor, the church of Scientology). I find it kind of amusing the two being right next to each other: they couldn't be more different. Anyway, I'm not a member, but I am happy for them to peacefully seek spiritual edification. Their gardens are quite lovely and very peaceful and open to everyone most days. It can be quite calming to take a moment to admire the gardens or sit by the waterfall fountain and just exist. Very serene. A welcome little retreat from Urban LA within Urban LA.

This is my sanctuary, a hidden gem in between hospitals and close to the Scientology center…read more I've been coming for many years (way pre-covid) and it looks different now. They have absolutely transformed it into wheelchair friendly accessible! & they added the elevator. I have never encountered a single negative person at all. Everyone has always been welcoming and their energy is so calm and peaceful, it keeps you wanting to come back.‍

Love this place! Came here to listen to Dharma discourses and prostrate to the Buddha. And see what…read moreI found! All these cute little cats! The Buddhist nun said their mom gave birth to them and then left and never came back. So now they are taking care of the kittens.

Great place , peaceful and friendly. I've visited this temple many times and it really helps me…read morecalm my mind while learning about Buddhism. Highly recommended

Japanese Obon (oh bohn) festivals are summer time local events which originated from Buddhist…read morephilosophy 2,500 years ago in India. One of Shakamuni Buddha's disciples, Maha Maudgalyayana or Mokuren in Japanese, had supernatural powers and could see his mother suffering in the afterworld. He conferred with the Buddha who counseled him to make food offerings to his fellow monks which was on the 7th month of lthe 15th day. This act of kindness released his mother from agony. Mokuren was overjoyed not only by the fact that his mother was no longer suffering, but also remembered her sacrifices & unselfishness toward him while she was still on this earth. This realization made him dance for joy & gratefulness. Hence to this day, during the Obon Festival, ancestors are venerated, and people dance in the dark, warm, humid summer evenings in joy & gratefulness like Mokuren. I have two left feet so I had to opt out of the Obon dancing, but in order to help with the temple fund raising, I bought something that is very near and dear to my heart or should I say stomach. I ordered Yaki To-morokoshi or roasted corn on the cob. Being in California, not only was there the traditional Teriyaki sauce to glaze over the corn, you could butter it up and pour on powdered Parmesan cheese, or sprinkle on Pico de Gallo Chile powder mix, etc. The corn was fresh & sweet and tasted of summer. Also ordered their charcoal grilled beef Teriyaki which was quite good. The Teriyaki sauce had a strong taste of Sho-yu (soy sauce) with a touch of sugar & a soupcon of ginger. I tend to like complex flavours since being in California I am influenced by all sorts of cuisine like Korean & Mexican so at home I would whore my version of teriyaki with garlic, pureed jalapeno peppers & cilantro. But I can see my version would be a little too busy for some people. For dessert, we ordered the Japanese Shaved Ice known as Ko-ri. This variant is called Kintoki which is Azuki beans simmered with sugar for hours until the beans are sweet and soft. The sweetened Azuki beans are then poured over the soft, snowy ice. For added extra creaminess, I ordered condensed milk to be drizzled on top of the shaved ice. The Filipino crushed ice dessert drink called Halo Halo has similar cooked sweet beans that reminds me of azuki beans. By now the Bon Odori (dance) started and the dancers started to circle & dance in a counter-clockwise direction. We watched and hanged around until it became dark. Obon Festivals are relaxed, laid back family/friends events, and are a good excuse to meet people you haven't met for some time. It reminds me a little like Mexico where people do the Paseo around the town square meeting and talking with friends, relatives, lovers, etc. except Obon lasts only 3 days in Japan.

Came here for Obon festival, and it was lit!…read more The crowd was so much fun, there was plenty of food and dancing. The people were really fun, and the Temple's grounds were spacious. Highly recommend!

I happened upon the Vedanta Society one day while driving around as a teenager. And, I have been…read morecoming here ever since. The atmosphere of this temple is interestingly unique as it is flanked by the 101, Hollywood Freeway. So, the moment you get out of your car you can hear the rumbling of the thousands of cars that pass by this temple daily. That being said, you immediately forget about this factor the moment you step onto the grounds, as the peace and the serenity of this small spiritual community immediate overtakes you. I will not go into details about the spiritual services and other activities that they offer, as that is better done by the people in-charge of this facility. Plus, the information is on their website. I will say that they have a GREAT bookshop on the property and, with a few restrictions, you can go into their temple and meditate or reflect whenever you feel the need. The Vedanta Society is truly one of the hidden treasures of Los Angeles. I highly recommend a visit here even if you are not normally drawn to Eastern spirituality.

I highly recommend this temple to anyone interested in deepening their spiritual journey especially…read moreif you're interested in Advaita Vedanta and Yoga. I started coming here because Swami Vivekananda is one of my favorite yogis. He inspires me a lot in my personal spiritual and meditation practice. I have attended a couple of classes and satsangs lead by Swami Sarvadevananda. I have also attended a Sanskrit chanting class and a kirtan session here as well. I enjoy spending my time reading in their bookstore and meditating on their grounds. I always feel calmer and more refreshed after each visit. I'm truly thankful for this beautiful temple! Namaskar

My family has been coming to this Buddhist temple since the late 1980s. We generally come here…read moreduring the Chinese/Vietnamese New Year. A very relaxing and calming place to come pay your respects and possibly seeking the answers to your prayers. Parking: They have their own small and dedicated private lot. Should it gets packed, there's also residential street parking (just watch for signs). This Buddhist temple comprises of two levels. After you making your way up the stairs to the entrance, by the doorways is where you can place your money donations with the staff. Afterwards, you'll enter into the Main Floor (Level), which houses the Male and Female Buddhas as well as the Guardian Deities of the Sky. You'll go around the entire Main Floor paying your respects as well as asking for your possible prayers to come true. You can also donate money to purchase a candle to light up along with your prayers or shake out a wooden stick to find out your Dharma meaning to a certain question that you have been pondering. The Monks here are pretty nice and they'll be happy to help interpret for you. The staff volunteers here are pretty nice too and will do their best to assist you with any questions or inquiries that you might have regarding the temple. After you're done with the Main Level, you'll head downstairs to the Basement. Down there, you will head into the room that houses the Master Monk (who was escorted through the world with the Monkey King, Pig and Friar Sandy [Journey to the West Saga] to seek Enlightenment), who oversees the deceases and pay your respects to him as well as wishing safety and goodness for your deceased loved ones in the Underword as well. In addition, the Restrooms are also located in the Basement. There's only one restroom per sex and both are pretty decent and maintained. The Kitchen and Dining Room is also located down there too. The vegetarian meal prepared here, especially, during Chinese/Vietnamese New Year is delicious! Seasoned perfectly and nutritious, my Mom actually prefers the food here more than the vegetarian buffet at Hsi Lai Temple. Each person is given a plate of food and you can either eat it in the dining room or take it home. After you're done paying your respects, you can leave through the small stairway from the Basement or down the stairs from the main entrance (depending on where you're at). Overall, this Buddhist temple has been great to my family. A wonderful and hidden gem in a quiet neighborhood. Definitely worth checking out!

Excellent community street fair! The dancing, food , music and everything is so much fun! I highly…read morerecommend checking this out next July.

Came here last night for the annual Obon festival what they do is block the side street next to the…read moreTemple for the traditional Obon dances. The parking lot for the Temple has booths set up with traditional foods and games mini carnival style. Of course the food lines were long and some booths actually ran out of food for the night. Saturday it goes from 4 to 10pm and Sun 3 to 9pm. One thing is parking is really bad here cause it's street parking and some areas have limited metered parking also they are using a parking structure about a block away but that fills up fast too and it can get messy in there. Other than parking this festival is a nice time to bring family and friends and enjoy the Japanese traditional Obon dances and foods. Summer time is the time of Obon festivals all over LA and OC you can see the schedules at http://buddhistchurchesofamerica.org/2015-obon-bazaar-schedule/