Van-Hanh Pagoda-Nc Buddhist Assoc

Before I start, let me preface this by saying I have spent a lot of time at temples all across Asia and have also been to handful of temples in the US. In many of the cases, I did not speak the host-site’s language, but for me it was just as rewarding as Buddhism is just as internal and personal as it is external and engaged. Aside from some basic greetings, this temple is run in 100% Vietnamese. I should also say that I generally visit this site for meditative reasons and have not actively sought to join the local Vietnamese Buddhist community represented here.
Now, let’s talk about this temple. First of all, it’s still under construction and from what I can tell, will be completed once a larger, free-​standing temple is constructed in the neighboring lot. That being said, there is a ranch-​style house connected to a large meditation room where services are held. The services, conducted in Vietnamese, are held at 9am and 11am on Sunday mornings, however, people seem to be there most of the time.
When you pull up, there is usually some form of music playing –sometimes it’s wind-​chimes and other times it’s chanting. I generally make my way to the back of the temple where there is a large garden filled with statues of Buddha. There you will find statues honoring/​representing significant events in Buddha’s life (renunciation, enlightenment, first teaching and entry into Nirvana. There are also pagodas, a small mausoleum and a statue of a Bodhisattva.
If you keep making your way to the back, you will come across an excellent pagoda sitting in front of a swamp. It’s perfect for Buddhists and naturalists who see immense beauty in the barren yet lively swamps. I usually do my prostrations there and meditate for an hour or so. No one ever bothers me or is pushy. I will continue to visit this temple and perhaps update once I know more about the community.
I gave this four stars because I have yet to engage many of the people and feel it would be wrong to give it five without first doing that.