Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, CA

Before you go

Hsi Lai Temple is at 3456 Glenmark Drive in Hacienda Heights. It is open 9 AM to 5 PM every day. Admission is free and so is parking.

Wear something with sleeves. Tank tops, shorts, short skirts and flip-flops are not appropriate inside, and at the Main Shrine you may be offered a shawl for bare shoulders or a wrap for shorts or a short skirt. Photos for personal use are allowed anywhere outdoors, and the temple asks that none be taken inside the halls, the Art Gallery or the Dining Hall.

What it is

Fifteen acres on a hillside, inaugurated on 26 November 1988. The temple describes itself as the first imperial-styled temple built outside of Asia, and it is the North American headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, the order founded in Taiwan by Master Hsing Yun.

Its halls rise up the hillside one above another, from the Bodhisattva Hall to the Memorial Pagoda. Siting a temple above the land around it is part of the tradition.

What to actually do there

Walk the courtyard first. Most people go straight for the Main Shrine and miss that the approach is designed to slow you down before you arrive anywhere.

The Dining Hall serves a vegetarian buffet every day, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on weekdays and until 2 PM on weekends. On Sundays, if you stay for the Dharma talk, you will be given a ticket for lunch at no charge.

Guided tours run by request for larger school and community groups, booked ahead. If you are arriving as one or two people, pick up a self-guided brochure and map at the front instead.

Why this one is on our list

This one is on our list for more than being close by. Chan meditation is part of our story, and the Zen in our name is the Japanese word for Chan.

Diamond Bar is the closer of our two studios, about fifteen minutes away at 1168 S Diamond Bar Blvd. Open daily, 10 AM to 9 PM.