Hsi Lai Temple

Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple (Chinese: 佛光山西來寺; pinyin: Fóguāngshān Xīlái Sì) 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.
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 (who, upon the inception of the temple, became the founding and first abbess of Hsi Lai Temple) 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 (White Pagoda) 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 Land and Water Dharma Service 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 Land and Water Dharma Service 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.
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.
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.
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.
Hsi Lai Temple offers community service to a variety of people in need of hours. Jobs range from cleaning and sweeping around the temple to serving lunch in the dining room.
A campaign finance controversy centered on Hsi Lai Temple erupted during the 1996 United States presidential election. Then-incumbent Vice President Al Gore attended a luncheon at the temple, becoming the highest known government official to visit the temple. The United States Department of Justice alleged that Maria Hsia solicited $55,000 in donations for the Democratic National Committee the following day, which were later reimbursed with money donated by the temple. Non-profit groups such as Hsi Lai Temple are not allowed to make political contributions. Hsia was eventually convicted by a jury in March 2000 of making five false statements to the Federal Elections Commission and sentenced to 90 days home detention, a fine, and community service. The Democratic National Committee returned the money donated by the temple's monks and nuns. Twelve nuns and employees of the temple, including then-abbess Venerable Yi Kung who would later resign from the abbotship because of the scandal, refused to answer questions by pleading the Fifth Amendment when they were subpoenaed to testify before Congress in 1997.
Following Hsia's conviction, Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson said, "it's time to get beyond the small fry and take on the major players (in the scandal) like Al Gore." No other players in the controversy were ever convicted.