Archive for January, 2018

The ostentation (flock) of peafowl that have moved into Reba and Uma’s home in Sonora, California has grown. Last year the wild residents saw ten additions and most of those babies have survived. The males now have their incredible tail feathers and were even practicing their courtship dances, displaying the full array of dazzling colors and some fancy footwork and moves.

We took the scenic route back to the temple so that Sonyia could see where the fires ...

Grace He entered the monastic way of life and took her first vows toward becoming a Bhiksuni (Bhikshuni) or Buddhist nun at Hua Zang Si on Friday. The temple’s abbot gave her the name Zhengzhi Shi. She will live and train at the Hua Zang temple in San Francisco until she can take her full vows as a Bhikkhuni.

A group of monastics and laypersons from China, Taiwan, Thailand, and the U.S. visited, Thien Vien Chan Nguyen, a Vietnamese monastery and temple near Victorville, California. The Abbot, Thich Dang Phap, welcomed them and invited them to stay for a very authentic Vietnamese lunch in the monastic dining room. The grounds of the temple contained many groupings of statutes that told various stories of the life of the Buddha and honored many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Monastic and lay visitors toured the prototype superadobe structures at Cal Earth in Hesperia, California. These earthern buildings are being considered for private isolated meditation “caves” to be built at the Ancient Buddha Temple site for use as three year-three month retreats. The building above was built as a meditation structure with openings in the various directions so as to allow sunlight to enter to mark the time of day. One structure was designed to reflect sound and amplify chanting and ...

Visitors from China, Taiwan, and Thailand had an opportunity to see the site of the future Ancient Buddha Temple this Sunday. The grass was still crunchy from the previous night’s freeze, and the air was crisp and clear as they were greeted by the friendly resident dogs.