Hsi Lai Temple

Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple is a mountain monastery in the northern Puente Hills, Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County, California. The name Hsi Lai means "coming west".
Hsi Lai Temple is a branch of Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist organization from Taiwan. It is the order's first overseas branch temple and serves as the North American regional headquarters for Fo Guang Shan. Hsi Lai Temple was the site of the founding of Buddha's Light International Association, established in 1991. The temple, like its mother temple in Taiwan, practices Humanistic Buddhism.

History

In 1976, Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the order, represented a Buddhist group from Taiwan to participate in America's bicentennial celebration. Master Hsing Yun was asked by American friends to build a monastery in the United States. Therefore, Fo Guang Shan asked the Venerable Tzu Chuang and Yi Heng to plan and organize the construction of the temple in the Greater Los Angeles area. It was officially chartered in the state of California under the name of International Buddhist Progress Society. Until the temple was complete, Ven. Tzu Chuang bought an old church building, which was to be Hsi Lai's temporary headquarters. The original temple, located in the city of Maywood, was called the Bai Ta Temple.
The planning and construction of the temple in the 1980s was met with suspicion and resistance from local communities, many of whom knew little about Buddhism and had unfounded fears of Buddhist practices. Many residents felt that the project was too big for a neighborhood of single-family homes and that the traditional Chinese architectural style would not fit in. The main reasons for resistance to the building of the temple were the impact of weekly services, heavy traffic, noise, and concern about environmental damage.
Originally, the organization had planned to build the temple in Gardena, California but was blocked from acquiring land. They also tried to acquire the historical Pyrenees Castle in Alhambra, California, but also met opposition from the community. The building of the temple at its current location survived six public hearings and more than 100 community meetings. In 1985, the temple was finally granted a building permit. The groundbreaking ceremony was held the following year, and the temple was completed on November 26, 1988.
Negative feelings about the building of Hsi Lai have since diminished, as the general level of awareness has been raised and as the temple and its residents have proven to be good neighbors. In addition, most of the original complainants of the temple project moved out of Hacienda Heights.
Immediately after its opening, Hsi Lai Temple was the venue of many major events. The 16th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the 7th conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth were held from November 19 to 26, an international Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony for monastics was held for over a month, and a Shuilu Fahui ceremony was held prior to the temple's opening.
In 2008, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the opening of Hsi Lai Temple, another international Triple Platform Full Ordination Ceremony for monastics and a Shuilu Fahui ceremony were held.
In the summer of 2011, Hsi Lai Temple was the starting location for The Amazing Race 19.
On September 4, 2012, Hsi Lai Temple abbot Hsin Bau was elected to the post of head abbot of the Fo Guang Shan order, succeeding Hsin Pei.

University of the West

In 1990, following the completion of Hsi Lai Temple, Master Hsing Yun founded Hsi Lai University, one of sixteen Buddhist colleges and universities operated by Fo Guang Shan. The university relocated to Rosemead, California, in 1996. It is one of the first Buddhist colleges in the United States.
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctorate in Buddhist studies, comparative religious studies, and a Master of Business Administration are available at the university.
In 2004, the university changed its name to the University of the West and appointed Dr. Lewis Lancaster, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and longtime member of Fo Guang Shan, as president. Dr. Roger Schmidt became Lancaster's successor in 2006, and was replaced by Dr. Allen M. Huang a year later.

Sites

The Bodhisattva Hall : The first shrine before entering the temple. It is a large hall that honors five Bodhisattvas: Samantabhadra, Ksitigarbha, Maitreya, Avalokitesvara, and Manjusri. Outside the shrine on each side are the temple guardians, Skanda and Sangharama.
The Arhat Garden : Located on the left of the temple, it depicts 18 of the best known disciples of the Buddha. The 18 disciples are pictured doing different motions and gestures.
The Avalokitesvara Garden : Located on the right of the temple. It depicts the bodhisattva Guanyin, surrounded by her acolytes and the Four Heavenly Kings.
Main Shrine : The heart of the temple's activities. The main figures depicted in the hall are Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, and Bhaisajyaguru Buddha. Thousands of niches, each containing an image of the Buddha can be seen on the walls. Outside, a large bell and drum can be seen on either side. The bell and drum are only used to mark special occasions, like the Lunar New Year or the Buddha's Birthday.
An auditorium and conference hall are located on either side of the central Main Shrine, used for large scale meetings or lectures.
Memorial Pagoda : Located at the highest summit of Hsi Lai Temple, it functions as a private memorial hall to the deceased. It was formerly a mausoleum until the construction of a larger columbarium at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.
Meditation Hall : Located on the back of the main shrine, meditation classes are held here.
Dining Hall : The main dining area for visitors to the temple. A vegetarian lunch buffet is served daily for visitors and sometimes dinner on special days for a small price.
Translation and Publishing Center : The Fo Guang Shan International Translation Center and Buddha's Light Publishing are located on site. Buddha's Light Publishing was established to publish Buddhist books translated by the Fo Guang Shan International Translation Committee as well as other valuable Buddhist works.
Retreats and education

The temple offers a wide variety of retreats and classes in English and Chinese to promote Humanistic Buddhism and has started an extended retreat program for those who want to experience monastic life for a longer period of time. The retreats generally consist of classes, meditation, mindful eating through the traditional practice of formal Buddhist dining, and communal chores.

Recurring retreats

Eight Precepts Retreat : A weekend retreat for participants to get a taste of monastic life.
One, Three, and Seven Day Meditation Retreat : A retreat focusing on meditation for varying lengths of time.
Short-term Monastic Retreat : Offered annually for children and bi-annually for adults. It is roughly one week long and allows for laypeople to temporarily be a monastic, including taking on the vows of a novice monk or nun.
Five and Bodhisattva Precept Retreat : Held bi-annually, this retreat confers the five precepts and Bodhisattva precepts to participants to observe for lifetime after lifetime.
Hsi Lai Buddhist Cultivation Program : An extended retreat ranging from six weeks to three months for participants to have a fuller understanding of monastic life.
Dharma services

Dharma services are held in Mandarin, but the chanting books have English pinyin phonetics and translation. Each service is accompanied a Dharma talk by the presiding venerable. Monks and nuns who reside at the temple speak a variety of languages besides Mandarin, primarily English, Taiwanese, and Cantonese.

Annual ceremonies and services

Thousand Buddhas Dharma Service : A short ceremony paying homage to Buddhas and bodhisattvas; held on Lunar New Year's Day.
Grand Offering to the Triple Gem and Twenty-Four Devas : A ceremony inviting heavenly guardians of Buddhism. Held during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Annual Lamp Offering Inauguration/Completion Service : A service held at the start and end of the lunar year to formally offer an annual lamp to the Buddha.
Bowing Pilgrimage : Held multiple times a year for Guanyin's birthday, enlightenment, and renunciation, as well as the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and Lunar New Year's Day.
Water Repentance Service : A one-day repentance service for filial piety. Held annually in the month of the Qingming Festival.
Buddha Day/Buddha Bathing Dharma Service : Celebration of the Buddha's Birthday held in and outside of Hsi Lai Temple, and is co-hosted by other temples in Southern California.
Sangha Day/Sangha Offering Dharma Service : Held around July 15 each year, following the summer retreat the temple continues the tradition of making offerings to the monastics following the rainy season with an alms round by monastics from all over the Americas.
Emperor Liang's Repentance Service : A week-long repentance service held annually as part of the Ullamabana celebrations, which is also known as the Chong Yuan Festival in Chinese folk religion, observed in July or August.
Yujia Yankou rite : An elaborate Tantric ceremony inviting and feeding sentient spirits. Held in the afternoon after Sangha Day, and at the end of the Emperor Liang Repentance service.
Medicine Buddha Dharma Service : A multiple-day service involving the recitation of the Medicine Buddha Sutra and the offering of lamps. A separate altar is prepared for this event and is used in addition to the Main Hall for the service.
Amitabha 7-day Retreat : Seven days of nianfo and mindful recitation of the Amitabha Sutra, held at the end of December around the time of Amitabha's birthday. It is concluded with a Triple Amitabha Contemplation Dharma Service lasting an entire afternoon.
Dharma Day : A celebration of Sakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment. The temple holds performances and activities in both English and Chinese to spread the joy of learning the Dharma. Special porridge is cooked and offered to visitors in memory of Sujata's offering of milk rice to the Buddha shortly before his enlightenment.