Attention architecture geeks, Buddhist fans, and whoever else happens to be reading this: Here are some of the coolest Chinese Buddhist monasteries and temples being built around America!
Of course, the true practice of Buddhism does not require any fancy shrines or altars – the Buddha himself became Enlightened under a tree in the forest, not in a temple! Many of the historical spiritual masters also awakened in very modest or difficult circumstances. But, practically speaking, for us “regular folks”, having appropriate physical facilities to support a Sangha and community of practitioners can really be beneficial. (There’s a thoughtful answer to the question, Why do you need to spend money to build a temple, here.) Some of the largest Buddhist temples and statues in the United States are not listed here as they have already been completed with major construction, such as Chuang Yen Monastery in New York, Hsi Lai Temple near Los Angeles, or main phase completed, such as the 512-acre American Bodhi Center Texas Buddhist Association near Houston. Below, find our picks for best Buddhist temples under construction!
You can also use the links provided to donate to each project, contributing merit and good karma! Of course, to be safe, only go through the official websites to avoid scams.
Editor’s note: I really dislike using “top 10”, “best”, “most interesting”, and other comparative terms, but hey, that’s what Google likes! In reality, Buddhist practitioners should not have such discriminatory mindsets. If there are any errors or offenses, I apologize in advance and please let me know. I also use the term “temple”, “monastery”, and “meditation center” rather interchangeably, though strictly speaking terms like “community cultural center”, “ashram”, “vihara”, “pagoda”, “stupa”, or “Chan hall” may be more appropriate.
For a directory and listing of all Chinese Buddhist temples in the US, check out: http://www.sfzen.org/all-other-usa-american-chinese-buddhist-temples
Here we go! The list of new Chinese (and a couple Tibetan) Buddhist monasteries in the US!
Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA)
City of Ten Thousand Buddhas – The International Institute of Philosophy and Ethics in Ukiah, California
法界佛教總會正在創建國際哲學與倫理學院（CTTB – IIPE）
and other projects including the City of Dharma Realm in Sacramento
The International Institute of Philosophy and Ethics 妙覺佛教學院 is the expansion project at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to support perhaps the largest Mahayana monastic community in the country. Official planning began way back in 1988, though permitting process through Mendocino County government took several years, and was finally approved in 2011 after many revisions. Actual physical construction started in 2018 and the plan is for completion in 2026.
The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas campus, also home to Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) and Instilling Goodness and Developing Virtue Schools (IGDVS), was purchased in 1974, about 700 acres large. It was originally a California state mental hospital constructed in the 1930s, pre-World War II, including many facilities such as gyms and pools, and could hold tens of thousands of people. However, by the 1970s, the state hospital had closed, in part due to a drought and water use complaints by the agricultural neighbors. Inconceivably, a Buddhist group without much resources eventually wound up buying the property and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas was born. Its residents are very frugal, with most buildings never turning on the heat even in the bitter cold of winter, and oftentimes mattresses and furniture from the WWII era still in use! The main Buddha hall was actually formerly a gymnasium for basketball, and the small swimming pool outside has become a lotus pond.
The buildings are very sturdy structurally, but aging and hence, the need for a new campus. Some existing buildings, such as those used by DRBU, have already been gutted and entirely renovated in an environmentally friendly manner. The design blends Western and Asian architecture, California style with traditional classical Chinese features. The planned campus will accommodate both monastic monks and nuns and laypeople, with Buddha hall, Chan hall (meditation center), Precepts hall, dining hall, dormitories / residences, library, bell towers, handicap accessible courtyards, restrooms, and peaceful gardens, all mindfully planned (and with a large 600 foot fire buffer due to the threat of California wildfires with climate change!)
Other DRBA temples have traditionally also been very environmentally friendly, with almost all branch monasteries being converted existing buildings – recycling buildings reduces waste! For example, Avatamsaka Vihara is the temple near Washington DC and it is in a former Bethesda US Post Office station; Gold Sage Monastery in San Jose was formerly a school for special needs children; Gold Buddha Monastery in Vancouver was a former Salvation Army Chinatown center; Long Beach Monastery was a former Catholic convent on the beach; and most others like Berkeley Buddhist Monastery and Gold Wheel Monastery in LA were formerly churches.
The City of Dharma Realm in Sacramento is another DRBA branch – it was formerly a resort motel, with rooms that open to the central parking area. Plans have been underway for a complete renovation and new center construction on the 14 acre property, resulting in interesting architectural designs:
Finally, Avatamsaka Monastery in Calgary is another DRBA branch – the expansion was inaugurated in 2017 after several years of construction, including as you can see, building the main hall around the Buddha statues! There are YouTube videos on how each of the 10,000 gilded golden Buddha statues was hand-crafted right there in Canada, and each one stuffed with hand-copied sutra transcriptions as well!
Chung Tai Chan Monastery
Founded by the late Grand Master Wei Chueh in Taiwan, Chung Tai Chan Monastery has around a hundred branch temples, though mostly in Taiwan. Those in the United States are fairly unique in having activities both in English and in Chinese – the structured Zen meditation classes draw diverse crowds! Architecturally, the massive headquarters, Chung Tai Chan Monastery in Puli, Taiwan is an extremely unique complex full of rich Buddhist symbolism – details at their website (English here). In the US, the monastic-led branch temples (there will be 9 total – Sunnyvale CA, Lafayette CA, Pomona CA, Houston TX, Shepherd TX, Oklahoma City OK, Atlanta GA, Seattle WA, and coming soon in Boulder CO) all have similar interior design – walking into any of the branches, you will instantly recognize the decor – wooden paneled walls, meditation benches, and even the golden statues – the clean and elegant design functions to calm the mind and instill a sense of serenity and tranquility.
Here, we will highlight the all-new construction of the Chung Tai temple near Denver, as well as the renovation of Buddha Jewel Monastery (formerly a Lutheran church) in Seattle. In addition, the urban in-town Chung Tai Zen Center of Houston is planned for an expansion, as is the rural Chung Tai Retreat Center – Texas Chan Pagoda about an hour from Houston. Buddha Mind Monastery in Oklahoma completed their brand new ground-up construction temple, while Dharma Jewel Monastery in Atlanta just completed a new building expansion in 2017, and Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale in the San Jose Silicon Valley and Buddha Gate Monastery in East Bay / San Francisco Area are also undergoing major renovations — basically all of the American branch temples have recently completed renovation/construction or are in the midst of it!
Chung Tai Zen Center of Boulder
This all new build construction is designed to blend into the Colorado scenery with rustic yet modern wood log designs elegantly creating a meditation hall and dining hall. Construction commenced in 2020 with workers careful to preserve the wetlands nearby. The final result will be quite exciting and a masterpiece in blending Chinese and American Buddhist design.
Buddha Jewel Monastery
https://www.buddhajewel.org/en/renovation/
The original 1950s church is being transformed during 2021 — visit their website for a 3D rendering video walk through and updates!
As you can see, several Chung Tai branches feature the same facade design: below are Middle Land Chan Monastery in Pomona (Southern California), Buddha Mind Monastery in Oklahoma City, and Buddha Gate Monastery in East Bay (San Francisco area).
Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association
Chan Meditation Center New York (DDMBA NY)
https://chancenter.org/en/expansion
Dharma Drum Mountain is one of the foremost Chinese Buddhist organizations in the world, founded in Taiwan by the late Venerable Master Sheng Yen. Venerable Sheng Yen started the Chan meditation and Buddhist group in New York City, which left the Temple of Enlightenment in Bronx to purchase its own small building, the Chan Meditation Center, in Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in 1979. It was far too small for both Buddhist services and retreats and monastic quarters, and a location across the street was inaugurated by 1988. However, this too was very small, originally a five a dime story, narrow four story urban city building surrounded by shops. In 1997, the group purchased a rural retreat center in upstate New York, now called the Dharma Drum Retreat Center, but this was too far from NYC for weekly classes and regular city activities. After Ven. Sheng Yen passed in 2009, the group bought the aging buildings adjacent to the center and complete gut job renovation started in late 2017, and is ongoing as of 2021 still, with expected completion of 2022 – 2023.
Other Dharma Drum sites in the USA have mostly been old churches, including DDMBA Los Angeles, or other nondescript basic facilities, such as DDMBA Seattle, DDMBA Boston, and DDMBA Chicago. The Dharma Drum affiliate in Tallahassee has a relatively new building, and the DDMBA Atlanta branch, while without monastics, is converting a commercial building into a retreat center.
Sravasti Abbey (Tibetan)
https://sravastiabbey.org/giving/build-buddha-hall/
Sravasti Abbey is the premiere American nunnery in the Tibetan tradition, founded by the esteemed Venerable Thubten Chodron. It is a very rare treasure in the sense that it is one of the very few places with a predominantly non-Asian monastic community. It is in rural Washington state, and since the founding, the main “temple” has been a small converted garage building. They have long outgrown this, and have been planning for years on a proper monastery building. Construction is scheduled to break ground in 2021 – scratch that, likely 2022 – and below is the description from their website:
Designed to fit beautifully within the Abbey’s forested landscape, it will be a two-story, 17,000-square-foot temple and library.
The main hall features a 10-foot statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, flanked by smaller statues of Venerable Ananda, the Buddha’s faithful attendant, and Venerable Mahaprajapati Gotami, the first Buddhist nun, who was also the Buddha’s stepmother. Equipped for superb sound and live streaming, the main hall will seat up to 100 people.
Two side halls will each seat 50 people. The Tara Room will be a more intimate meditation space, and the Posadha Room will be dedicated for monastic rituals. Both will also be equipped for broadcast. In addition, a Dedication Room will memorialize the people for whom prayers have been requested.
The Buddha Hall also includes a learning center with library, media room, and classrooms.
Because we are in a rural area, building also includes bringing in the necessary infrastructure: power, water, septic, and road improvement are all included in the constructions plans.
US Zen Institute in Maryland – Meditation Retreat Center
The main temple in this nonsectarian Buddhist association in the suburbs of Washington DC / Gaithersburg was originally a church built in 1903 – the temple burned down and was completely rebuilt in 2001. Despite 10,300 square feet and adjacent abbot’s residence, there remained no facilities for residential meditation retreats. So, a more rural 11 acre property not far away was purchased, and a completely new ground-up construction began in 2019. With a little Covid pandemic delay, completion is hopefully in 2022.
International Buddhist Friendship Association – Chicago Chinatown Temple
https://www.ibfachicagotemple.org/
Wedged in between a new dim sum place and an old Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum / Nationalist meeting spot for the Kuomingtang (KMT) party of the Republic of China, this temple and Buddhist gift shop in Chicago’s South Chinatown / Wentworth district was in an aging building and completely demolished in 2020, with original plans for a four story replacement. When completed in 2022, each floor will be under 3,000 square feet. Another temple building, a former Greek church, a few miles away is currently being used instead. The group is affiliated with the larger Mid-America Buddhist Association (MABA) in Missouri (less than an hour from St Louis), which has more active residential retreats given its much more spacious facilities.
Namgyal Monastery – Dalai Lama Library and Museum (Tibetan)
https://www.namgyal.org/support-namgyal-monastery/
Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies was established in 1992 as the North American seat of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s monastery in Dharamsala, India. Between 1992 and 2014 the monastery was housed in an old Victorian era house in downtown Ithaca, NY. Today, Namgyal-Ithaca is part of a larger complex, Du Khor Choe Ling (Land of Kalachakra Study and Practice), situated on 28 acres of forest land three miles south of the City of Ithaca.
In 2018, this location in upstate New York was chosen to be the official site of the future Dalai Lama Library and Museum – a vision to preserve the teachings and works of His Holiness and become a learning center for people around the world. The estimated construction cost (you can see a cartoon rendering walk through video on their site) is around US $13 million dollars, which is a large sum for Buddhists, and so right now the project is largely still in the fundraising phase.
Many other largely Asian-American centers are not listed here, such as Tzu Chi Foundation in San Dimas, the Mieto Pure Land Retreat Center Amitabha Buddhist Society in Pennsylvania, Mahayana Temple in New York, University of the West near LA, Tzu Chi private schools in Southern California and Texas, etc… there are many interesting buildings forming the physical foundations of a diverse Buddhist diaspora community as Buddhism roots itself in America!
The Rabbit's Horn 