I'm a slacker Buddhist…read more You know those Christians that are called CEOs? Show up for "Christmas and Easter Only"? Yeah, I'm the Asian that only shows up for Lunar New Year Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. I've previously taken my parents and my husband to this temple where we sit and pray and do light meditation and chanting activities as well as fun singing activities in Mandarin Chinese. This temple is very different from the many that I frequented in Houston as a child. Everyone here has both English and Mandarin spoken and the services are conducted in both. Further more, one thing that I think is awesome is the Lunch and food provided here is donation based where as the temples in Houston I grew up with were payment only. I'm really excited to be 2 lights down from them, it's a 6 minute drive from the Arboretum area to this place and they have a parking lot as well as side 360 parking when it gets packed. I went last night to the Mid-Autumn Festival where they had many fun family friendly activities, everything vegetarian based food and many vegetarian asian type desserts which my parents taught me all about. So fun to see the non-asian folk also around here as the Buddhist temples I went to were predominately 90% Asian visiting. Here in Austin, I would say it's 60% Asian, with 40% everyone else. They have very cool meditation, yoga, etc events on Saturday and Sunday mornings, donation based as well as a kitchen that serves Vegetarian based meals. Also, what I love is they are not the type to "shame on you if you don't donate money to a religious cause". They truly are a friendly family type vibe and you donate because you truly believe in doing good and you want to. Totally low pressure. Also, they gave me a mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival that was handmade by all their volunteers and in the Lunar New Year, they give you red envelopes in Chocolate coin money, but still money none-the-less. (Houston temples actually give you $1 in a beautiful red envelope!) Celebrating Asian traditions here in Austin are very apparent here and it's beautifully decorated and I will do my best to be back more frequently.

If you've driven up 360 you will inevitably notice a big gold shiny buddha sitting happily in front…read moreof a temple and perhaps wondered what it was all about. Well I sure did and I decided to check it out. I'm not Buddhist but do enjoy meditation and yoga. I looked them up online and saw that they offered meditation classes on Saturdays (in English). Before committing, I wanted to scope this place out. I arrived at around 4:30, thirty minutes before they close. Aside from a few construction workers (apparently they are doing some major renovations), I was the only one there. I snooped into the tea room and felt like I was transported to another time. Beautiful wooden tables, one of which topped with a delicate tea set and a small vase with flowers. I saw that they offered (assumingly) vegetarian Chinese foods and noted to myself that I must try this! I walked deeper into the dining area into another room and found flyers for classes on the Introduction to Buddhism in English, as well as Chinese language classes for adults. I left the tea room and walked across the pavilion into the beautifully ornate main room to find two monks chanting in sync. I couldn't understand what they were saying but I enjoyed how serene and focused they were. At first I thought perhaps I was intruding but then I saw a welcome note on a table, sign in sheet, some information on Buddhism, and some sweets which I happily helped myself to. I will absolutely be returning to check out the meditation session sometime as well as try the food. And I will report back. :)

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.

Very peaceful buddhist temple with hugeeee pagoda. Reminds me so much of Burma. Inside the pagoda…read morewas cool and breezy. It was a quiet place to meditate. Highly recommended for anyone who is visiting Austin. There are plenty of parking spots.

I will try my best to explain how absolutely breath taking this beautiful temple was. We were so…read morelucky to get to explore this beauty while there was absolutely no one there during the week. Not to mention, we heard a prayer being said in the background while we were walking around in complete "AW" of the the architecture and art surrounding the temple. So glad I found this place! You feel so much peace and tranquility here.

Wonderful place. I enjoy their sittings and the calm atmosphere of the zendo. Highly recommend this…read moreplace to those wishing to further their spirituality pratice.

I've been coming to the Austin Zen Center for 6 months now and I love it. They teach genuine Zen…read moreBuddhism and are very warm, interesting people. If you're looking for a place of calm and refuge in the city, I recommend.

I stopped by the temple to see if they had any printed info or if someone could help me to learn…read moremore. I thought someone there might be able to direct me to some online services etc. A gentleman in a blue robe walked up when I got out of the car and just shewed me away refusing to answer any of my questions. He acted like he didn't speak English so I called the number listed when I got home. I was hung up on TWICE for just asking someone to help me learn more. I'm really disappointed at how I was treated. Buddha would not be pleased with their behavior either I imagine.

A peaceful gem of knowledge and meditation guidance! Rev. Choi does an excellent job leading…read moremeditations with a comprehensive instructional handout and a gentle and kind presence. I felt very much at home as I entered and even more so during the practice. So thankful to find this tranquil refuge so close by! Highly recommended to anyone interested in cultivating a meditation practice.

From the owner: Meditation, Meditation Center, Buddhism, Mindfulness, Won…read moreBuddhism , Spiritual Books Library

Palri Pema Od Ling is a beautiful, traditional Tibetan Buddhist temple. With a gorgeous, giant…read morestatue of Guru Rinpoche, one of less than 40 in the world, it is an inspiring and peaceful place. Weekly practices are lead in English and Tibetan by a Tibetan monk. Visiting lamas come throughout the year to offer teachings in English or with translators. This place is the jewel of Austin, a treasure that we are so lucky to have! Check our their website http://palri.org/

Great place if you want to learn more about Buddhism and Meditation. They meet every Wednesday and…read moreFriday at 7 45pm. People are very kind and before every meditation, you will have a short intro talk about Buddhism. It's kids friendly.

Pretty cool place…read more This meditation group is pretty cool. I went in 5 mins. late and nobody cared. Everybody was super friendly and laid back. I got some tea and then listen to this girl talk about karma for 10 minutes. Apparently they do diff rent talks on diff rent basic Buddhist stuff. After the talk, we were free to ask question. (The talk was really clear, so I didn't have any questions) After that we did a guided meditation which was really nice. We talked some more after it all and the whole thing last about 45 mins. The meditation room was really nice. They had cool Buddhist stuff in it and a nice library. Definitely going back again.