Buddhism in the Inland Empire

This capstone serves to map and gather the oral histories of formerly undocumented Buddhist communities pertaining to their lived experiences in the Inland Empire. The ethnographic fieldwork conducted of 11 sites over the period of 12 months explored the intersection of diaspora, economy, and religious affiliation. This research begins to explore this junction by undertaking a qualitative and quantitative study that will map Buddhist life in the Inland Empire today. It will include interviews, providing oral histories, and will be accessible through a GIS map, helping Religious Studies and Anthropologist scholars to locate these sites and have background information on these locations. The Inland Empire represents many heavily populated, post-agricultural and manufacturing areas in America today, which since the 1970s and especially since 2008 has suffered from many economic and social crises related to suburban poverty, as well as waves of demographic changes. Taking the Inland Empire as a petri dish for broader trends at the intersection of religion, economy, and the social in the American public sphere today, this capstone project hopes to determine how Buddhism forms at these intersections, what new stories about life in the Inland Empire Buddhist sites and communities help illuminate, and what forms of digital interfacing best brings anthropological analyses to the publics it examines.

Below I mapped each temple and center I found through Google that reside in the Inland Empire. I also provided brief introductions for those that participated and links to their relative websites.

Below I have provided summarized answers to each of the questions asked during the interviews.

The participant interviewed from this center was the Resident Teacher Amy Peng who had been practicing Kadampa Buddhism for over 15 years.  She started teaching Kadampa Buddhism in 2009 and has taught in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Monica.  After completing the Intensive Resident Teacher Training Course in 2018, she was appointed to serve as the Resident Teacher at Dharmachakra Kadampa Buddhist Center in Palm Springs.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

Amy started off by explaining the center was first established in 2011 and that the main teacher of their tradition is Geshe Kelsang. They're part of 1,300 centers and California has about seven Kadampa centers. Over the years, especially with COVID, there is a decline in the attendance due to the fact that conditions have changed for many students and some have moved away. Many of them were at retirement age when they found the Dharma 10 years ago. In terms of Sunday service, Sunday class is the biggest class that they have which is probably from the fact that in America, there’s a strong influence of Christianity so people are used to coming to Sunday classes. That's a possibility as to why their Sunday class does very well.  She's done a lot of publicity work in Los Angeles and distributed flyers and has seen some Buddhist groups who say they're Buddhist, but they appear similar to a Christian church, like blending the two. For their Kadampa Center, they have a big Buddha statue so it's obvious they’re a Buddhist Center along with images of different Buddhas and Geshe Kelsang is an ordained monk. Amy also described their center as not being as culturized as a Thai or Chinese temple. They try to minimize cultural influences and cultural symbolisms, to have a modern appearance, no incense, and present Buddhism that is applicable to modern people. However, the central meaning is still maintained. Their center tries to present teachings in a palatable way and not at a scholarly level.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Amy is a Resident Teacher who helps design spiritual programs for the students and teaches classes at the center. For small centers that don't have managers, the Resident Teacher will have to do a lot of the day-to-day operations because the center needs to stay clean, finances need to be managed, cards need to be designed, and websites maintained. They also work around everyone's schedule, so if the managers have other obligations then whoever's available at the center will help with those responsibilities, including the Resident Teacher. If the center is fully staffed, their responsibilities and tasks are less. If they're not fully staffed then they have to come over and help each other to make sure the space is still operational and available to people. Her overall experience has been positive and found a majority of people in both the center and in the local community to be friendly. 

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

 For Amy, she said her identity as a Buddhist is not noticeable like ordained Sangha, so people cannot tell she is a Resident Teacher at a Buddhist center. She appears very normal and dresses in ordinary clothing. She also hasn’t had too many challenges even though she’s only lived in the Palm Springs area for the past two years. She's found people to be very friendly in her area and for those who come to the center, she can tell the Dharma helps them in their everyday lives. People who go to the center is welcoming, warm, and sincere in wanting to learn Dharma and improve their meditation practice

In terms of her personal experience with the teachings and meditation, it helps her and her students control and get to know their own mind. She explained that we have bad mental habits that put us in a negative mindset and we can learn to identify and cultivate positive states of mind as well as develop the skill of recognizing negative states of mind and cultivating positive states of mind.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Amy Peng said being a Buddhist means someone who goes for refuge to Buddha, Dharma (Buddha's teaching), and Sangha (the Buddhist community that consists of nuns, monks, lay members, and novices). She sees a Buddhist’s job as practicing loving kindness, compassion, and refraining from harming others. With that comes training their mind and making actions pure so they are not harmful to the self, to everybody around them, and to the rest of the world.  

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Amy Peng said that meditation is an integral part of their tradition. During meditative sessions, students are encouraged to also practice meditation during their break so they can better integrate it into other activities. She gave a specific example of how one could integrate meditation: while someone cooks for their family, they could be meditating on love and wishing for them to be happy at the same time.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

For their center, they don't really have different ways of teaching members and non-members. There is a Foundation Program that is meant to go more in-depth into teachings and students are encouraged to prepare ahead of time. They're encouraged to go through the readings and even memorize parts of the condensed meaning of the book so there's more preparation involved for both the student and the teacher. Given this description, one could say those who like to dig much deeper into their Buddhist practice will attend the Foundation Class, and possibly most of the students in the class have been studying Buddhism for a while. The center has also held General Program classes which weren't as in-depth but still provides teachings to it's students along with meditation. Although they don't teach meditation to members and non-members differently, they do offer classes that go more in-depth into the teachings to those who are willing to go deeper.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

Amy explained she had taught branch classes at a local community library and students at Dharmachakra KBC have invited kids to visit the center in the past. She also mentioned she’s very interested in providing meditation classes to college students at places such as the College of the Desert, University of Riverside, or even the University of California, Riverside. Many people who visit the Dharma Kadampa Buddhist Center have told Amy that they wished they found their Buddhist teachings earlier, which is why Amy’s very interested in helping college students as they begin their adult lives. Amy also said she was thinking of doing outreach with the Sunnyland Center and Garden and the V.A.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Amy Peng mentioned earlier that members are encouraged to practice meditation in their daily life so that their spiritual life does not become separate from their lived experience. As previously mentioned, she gave the example of cooking for one’s family, but at the same time that person could also be meditating on love and wishing them to be happy. She mentions, “...it’s not simply an action,...cooking...actually becomes a meditation because you’re meditating on love.” Amy gave a second example of when someone is volunteering at a soup kitchen and said, “...you could be stirring that pot of soup and you can just be wishing for all these homeless people to be happy, for them to be protected,...and for them to have shelters.” As far as knowing whether or not their students meditate every day, she was not sure but thought that those most likely to practice daily were those participating in their Foundation Program classes. 

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

For a few of the temples and centers, they will provide immigration support for religious workers or monastics who migrate to the United States, specifically helping them to obtain a working visa. The Dharmachakra Kadampa Buddhist Center in Palms Springs has not personally helped teachers or practitioners obtain a visa. However, their main U.S. World Peace Temple called the Kadampa Meditation Center New York has knowledge of how to obtain work visas for working visitors and will help provide them with accommodations, food, and possibly a stipend. She has only heard of the center helping people apply for working visas, but they don’t provide refugee support.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

She couldn't give much information regarding how the 2008 recession affected the community because she has only there for the past two years. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic some students of the Dharmachakra Kadampa Buddhist Center didn’t always have good wifi access due to their location or not all of their members were tech-savvy, especially since many of them were of retirement age.

Amy said before the pandemic, their international festivals were held in person which would require their students to travel. Since many of their students were of retirement age, traveling was much harder for them than others. After their festivals switched to online, they were able to attend all of them without a problem. 

Venerable Chang-Ju, who is part of the monastic community, volunteered to be interviewed for this study.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

The community of the Dharma Drum Mountain Los Angeles Center (DDMLAC) first started in 1992 as a study group who met regularly in members' homes and then transitioned in 1996 to a branch office in Rosemead to better provide Chan meditation classes as well as Dharma talks.  They then developed from the branch office into a chapter in December of 2006 and moved to a different location on Telstar Avenue in El Monte.  With an increasing number of members, they started to outgrow that location and finally found their current location on Peck Road in El Monte in 2011.  It wasn’t until May 27, 2012 that the center opened to the public and had monastic residents to lead members.

Venerable Chang-Ju Shi mentioned that over the years, their membership has grown in number and in ethnic diversity. In the beginning of the center, many of the early members learned the Dharma (Buddha's teaching) either in Taiwan or at their center in New York. When people moved to Los Angeles they started a book study to learn from their teachers, and when the number of members increased they started to set up a center and purchased the property so monastics could come in. She said the group was originally started by a group of people who migrated from Taiwan, but over the years people of different backgrounds have joined their center.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Venerable Chang-Ju is part of the monastic leadership in DDMLAC and helps to instruct meditation sessions. She explained that her experience has been mostly positive and has a good relationship with both the members and other monastics in her community. Venerable Chang-Ju and other monastics are always happy to see their members progress in their own practice and hold study groups where members can share their experiences in their application of meditation concepts and methods in daily life. She said the study groups are often very encouraging.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

She explained that in El Monte, a majority of the residents in the area are not Buddhist, however their members come from all around the region. She's found her experience as a Buddhist in her city to be nice. Venerable Chang-Ju also mentioned that she herself has not experienced any kind of special social challenges as a Buddhist, even though her surrounding community is mostly non-Buddhist. 

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

To Venerable Chang-Ju, being a Buddhist meant learning from the Buddha the wisdom he gained through his own practice and passed down to us in his teachings so that we can have a better and happier life.  It also means not depending on the external or other people to make us happy and having the right mindset.  However, improving our mindsets is not only for our own sake, but also to help others.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Venerable Chang-Ju from DDMLAC mentioned that meditation is very important to her community. Meditation practice will help increase the awareness of one’s own thoughts, speech, actions, and one's relationship to others as well as the environment.  With awareness comes the ability to better help ourselves as well as help others. Venerable Chang-Ju said the teachers at the center help members learn how to apply methods from sitting meditation in other aspects of life away from the cushion.  In order to help students learn how to apply these methods, learning concepts is crucial for deeper understanding.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

Meditation isn't taught differently between members and non-members. They are both taught methods of meditation as well as concepts. They are also both taught how to apply what they learned in meditation to their everyday life.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

Venerable Chang-Ju explained that they have provided teaching to UCLA in the past. They also have some of their teachers going to hospitals to provide meditation guidance to a group of patients. However, over the past two to three years they have not had many offers to provide meditation instruction elsewhere. DDMLAC have also organized children camps once a year during their summer break as well as family camps where parents can learn meditation with their children.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Venerable Chang-Ju had mentioned previously that everyone is taught how to integrate what they learned in meditation into their daily lives, which shows that the center wants meditation to affect people’s lives greatly.  She said that it does take a lot of practice but what is more effective is knowing the concepts and being “...able to change the mindset when they encounter circumstances...in their daily life.” Due to the pandemic, they added more classes that helped their members to better understand the concepts with added book study groups.  Within these study groups they also share their own personal experiences to help each other learn how to better apply meditation in different areas of their lives, as well as how to learn when they fail.  Venerable Chang-Ju said, “...our members also will share cases where [they] fail to apply...and I think all [of] this is very important as an experience for others to learn because we learn from failures as well.”  She has seen changes in many of the members over the past several months when they share the experiences and sees that they are better able to change their mindsets and figure out how to get themselves out of afflictions.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

Venerable Chang-Ju explained that those types of services are not their specialty and also don't have the resources to provide those kinds of services. For their center, their main focus is on education. While giving material assistance is important during times of crisis or disaster, it's never their main goal because in terms of materials, there's always a limit.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

Venerable Chang-Ju was in Taiwan during 2008 and doesn't know much about how members were affected during that time. They also didn't have monastic presence until 2010. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, teaching meditation online is a lot harder because they aren’t able to feel the conditions of the students and have a much harder time checking their posture. However, she said the center would hold activities at the center at night, and traffic in Los Angeles is a problem for a majority of the people. When everything switched online, people didn’t have to worry about making it to the physical center on time in order to participate in their activities. There were also some older members who had a hard time driving at night, so switching to online made it safer for them. There have also been more people joining online because people didn’t have to travel to the temple to participate and their numbers have nearly tripled. She also remembered, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, that many members were afraid to go visit the temple in fear of catching the virus, so the internet helped them to stay more connected with their center and partake in activities without fearing for their health and safety. Switching to online has also allowed members who had moved away from the area to still be a part of the community. There were also events held in Taiwan that Venerable Chang-Ju was able to view over livestream, such as Chinese New Year and the Passing of the Lamp of Wisdom. She told me she normally misses out on these events since she started living in the United States, but being able to view them over livestream makes her feel like she’s not so far away. Despite the lower efficiency of meditation classes, they’ve been able to diversify the classes they offer even while being online. They added short group practices, lectures, and yoga classes. DDMLAC is also connected to two other centers in San Francisco and Vancouver, and since going online they have all collaborated more and offered classes to each others’ centers, increasing the number of available classes offered to their members. In the end, they have nine monastics working together to better diversify their courses and lessons.

Shou-Jen Kuo, who is a Deputy Secretary for the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) Los Angeles Chapter and Assistant Professor at the University of the West, agreed to participate in this study.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

For Hsi Lai Temple, it may seem that many of the Chinese American people who attend the temple within the Hacienda Heights region were originally Buddhist before the construction of the temple, but this is not true.  Shou-Jen Kuo explained that many of the Chinese who moved into the surrounding area did not take on a Buddhist identity until after the temple was built.  Many times, the Chinese American community in the area are introduced to Buddhism through funeral services Hsi Lai Temple provides when a family member passes away.  According to Chinese tradition, there must be a ritual performed for the dead so they hire a monk who is usually thought to have the power to help the dead reach a type of Pure Land.  This usually means family members sit there and do not assist with the ritual while the monk faces the coffin and gives the teaching to the loved one who passed.  However, Hsi Lai Temple monks will always face the living during funeral rituals and instruct the family members to participate.  When there are members who say they don’t know the Sutras, the monk will simply instruct them to concentrate their minds on their loved one.  This is an occasion where many Chinese American family members are introduced to Buddhism.  Shou-Jen also explained when it comes to outreaching to American converts who are not Chinese, the temple lacks more in this area because they have more Chinese-speaking programs than English-speaking ones. 

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Shou-Jen Kuo, who has been the Deputy Secretary in the BLIA Los Angeles Chapter as well as an Assistant Professor at the University of the West since 2018, has lived in southern California since 1999 but has also traveled to several places for his job with BLIA World Headquarters.  He said he has had a good experience in the Los Angeles area and has found many people on the east coast and west coast to be friendly toward Buddhists.  Other venerables he has been in contact with who reside in the Inland Empire have said their experience in the area has been pleasant.  Shou-Jen also served as the Executive Secretary for the BLIA World Headquarters located in Hsi Lai Temple from 2001 to 2008.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

Shou-Jen Kuo said his experience in the west and east coast have been fairly good because they are more liberal. He said he didn’t feel out of place being a Buddhist, especially in the Los Angeles area. Venerables that he’s friends with who do reside in the Inland Empire all say that living there has not been a problem. However, in some areas in the Midwest, like Texas, or the deep south, he’s found the people are not always friendly with those who are Buddhist. He did reiterate that on average, he has found many Americans who are friendly and respect Buddhist tradition, even if they don’t fully understand it.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

According to Shou-Jen Kuo, being a Buddhist means having a specific worldview that helps orient people to better understand what is going on in their surrounding environment.  He explained that many people define Buddhism as a lifestyle, and he accepts this description because of all the practices people need to follow in order to become a Buddhist. To Shou-Jen, Buddha’s teaching has special meaning and helped him to re-understand the world.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Shou-Jen Kuo mentioned that mediation is part of Buddhist teaching and daily life, but that it’s not the whole of the practice.  He explained that meditation is more like preparation for following the Eightfold Path, and specifically right concentration.  Shou-Jen gave the example of one master in Chinese Chan tradition saying, “Sitting Meditation solely cannot attain Enlightenment. If keeping still can be enlightened,...the rock already gained Enlightenment.”  Although Hsi Lai Temple does have special meditation programs that are also multi-day sessions, meditation is not the whole of these programs.  They also include studying scripture, and there are also ritual programs as well.  His response was somewhat similar to Venerable Sunyata who said that meditation is also a part of the community, but they do other things as well, such as worshipping, repentance, and learning the Sutras.  Meditation for them is also part of the practice, but it doesn’t constitute the whole.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

Shou-Jen explained that many people who are non-Buddhist originally come to the temple because they are interested primarily in meditation. When they come to the temple, Hsi Lai Temple tries to expand their horizon and expand the function and benefits of meditation. They are still taught meditation in the context of Buddhism, so they are not taught that differently from Buddhists attending the classes.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

For Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple, Shou-Jen Kuo said in the past he brought up the idea of offering a class to those who are mainly interested in meditation as a way of bringing people into the temple because he is involved in the outreach for the temple.  However, he said someone from the monastic community told him Fo Guang Shan is not willing to advertise meditation as the only solution and as a marketing strategy.  He explained the temple wants to teach people meditation in a Buddhist context instead of a secular context.  When I asked if Hsi Lai Temple ever taught meditation-type classes at colleges or public schools, Shou-Jen said a major part of the outreach program for Hsi Lai Temple was to invite students to come visit the temple itself, and meditation is always a part of the program.  The temple has provided various activities and is always open to the temple community and others who want to better understand Buddhism.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Shou-Jen gave the example of a Chinese American family who had a family member pass away and that based on Chinese tradition, they go to Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple for funeral services.  It’s during these services that several people first learn how to meditate. When monks are giving family members instructions, they are aware that this is an occasion when many of them learn Buddhism as well as meditation.  When they learn more about meditation, they are told that meditative practices can be applied to every aspect of their daily lives.  They use meditation to help calm themselves down so they may have wisdom to solve the problem they’re facing.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

For Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple, they never offer financial support to members because they don’t want to foster that kind of relationship between the temple and devotees.  For them, when there’s a secular relationship, like a mortgage or loan program between the temple and devotees, there's a greater chance there could be trouble or dissension between the two if something goes wrong.  As for immigration, sometimes the Hsi Lai Temple will provide a lecture on immigration law to give important information to members, invite an immigration officer to come to the temple and give legal advice to the devotee or those interested, or they can give referrals to those who want to speak with an immigration lawyer.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

During the 2008 recession, Shou-Jen didn't see much change within the temple. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple closing its doors was substantial because when Master Hsing Yun started the temple, people gathering for activities was an important feature of it’s function as a community center. Having the ability to gather in groups taken away was a challenge for Hsi Lai Temple to foster that same kind of communal bond for its members, although it wasn’t entirely impossible thanks to technology. They did have to move everything online, including their classes, rituals, and celebrations, to Zoom and Youtube. Shou-Jen also mentioned that parking was an issue for many people trying to come to the temple.  They only have around 200 parking spaces, but many activities have had more than 600 people.  When everything switched to online, people didn’t have to worry about finding a parking space or getting there on time.  This is also helpful for those who have to take care of family members, because typically events like rituals can last all day.  After switching to online, it made it easier to participate in the ritual and be able to attend to family members soon after.

The two people who volunteered to participate in this research are Lisa, who is a secretary, and Sunyata, who is part of the monastic community.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

Venerable Sunyata explained that they keep to a tight schedule in the monastery from early in the morning till evening, which includes rituals, chanting, and Dharma talks. She said around 10 people live at the temple, and they take turns doing their jobs especially when some leave to do services for lay people or visit others. She also said the number of members have grown over time.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Venerable Sunyata is part of the monastic community at Huong Sen Buddhist Temple. Venerable Sunyata mentioned that her experience in the community has been favorable and she herself has gone to people’s homes to give talks about Buddha’s teaching and help them overcome negative situations.  She has also provided meditation classes to both children and adults and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she gave classes once a week over Zoom.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

For Venerable Sunyata, she said there have been many challenges in terms of growing their membership and spreading their influence in the community.  She explained that their members come from a different city due to the location of Huong Sen Buddhist Temple.  Another challenge she mentioned was the lifestyle not only in her city, but also in those surrounding her.  Venerable Sunyata explained that people are so busy with their work and family that they don’t have a lot of time to do their spiritual practice every day.  Therefore, their involvement in the temple is not as strong as in her home country.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

For Venerable Sunyata, she admires the Buddha and the Buddha’s teaching.  To her, Buddhism has promised her that if she maintains her practice and devotion to the teaching, she will attain liberation and be free of the suffering of life.  Due to practicing Buddhism, she finds more peace within herself and is also happier when helping others.  Being a Buddhist made her feel that she can help others and gave her purpose in life.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Venerable Sunyata explained that meditation is very important in their community. At the temple they have meditation every day in the morning and at night along with chanting. She said they do teach lay people how to meditate and that she did teach children meditation over Zoom even when she couldn't meet with them in person. She explained meditation is practiced mostly within the monk or nun community, but they do teach lay people meditation as well.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

She said that everyone is welcome to come learn meditation and it isn't solely for members. There have been people who have stopped by the temple and asked about Buddha's teaching and meditation. It didn't sound like there were different meditation instructions for Buddhists and non-Buddhists.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past?

It was mentioned by Lisa that she used to go out and give talks at different places before the pandemic started. Venerable Sunyata also mentioned that they are still able to provide teachings over Zoom, especially to children in their community. She's also asked people to stop by the temple before, and sometimes they'll come because they know the mettas. During the pandemic, people will call them and the monastics will try to console them as best as they can.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Meditation is part of the community, but that isn't the whole of their practice. They also do worshipping and repentance as well as learning the Sutra, so these parts are also important within their community. Meditation is only part and not the whole of their Buddhist practice. She also explained that the temple acts as a cultural center where they teach the next generation of their community the language, culture, and traditions of their home country. They also have celebrations that are important in the lives of their community as well, such as the Lunar New Year. So not only does it serve a religious purpose, but a cultural one, too.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

According to Venerable Sunyata, the Huong Sen Buddhist Temple will sometimes help religious workers come to their temple from outside the United States and help them attain a green card in order to help serve their community, especially if they are monks or nuns.  As mentioned before, it also acts as a cultural center and helps teach their younger members Vietnamese as well as their traditions.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID-19 pandemic affected this community?

During the 2008 recession, the temple was still maintained by volunteers and donations of the members. There were financial challenges, but it didn't affect the temple too much. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were not able to come to the temple and were only able to meet online over Zoom and had livestreams. Luckily for those who want to speak with monastics, they are still able to speak with them over the internet. They have mainly tried got offer them psychological support during the pandemic since it was a very stressful time for many people. For Lisa and Sunyata, it was difficult because Sunyata couldn’t go out and give talks at other places like she normally would and they couldn’t visit services at other temples. When the COVID-19 pandemic ends, Sunyata can continue giving lectures in California and other states.  

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

According to Lisa, it has developed more into the American way and they are going to open up classes for American children to learn Buddhism and meditation. They've also been doing more things over the internet, especially with the pandemic, and she said technology has definitely helped advance Buddhism in general. Since they haven't been able to meet in person, she said Sunyata has been doing sermons over Facebook live. It's also helped them reach a wider audience since travel is not an issue.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Lisa Colvil is a secretary for Venerable Sunyata at the Huong Sen Buddhist Temple and one of her responsibilities is helping the Venerable manage emails and messages. For her involvement, she explained that her mom is a Buddhist monk at Huong Sen Buddhist Temple, so she has other connections to the temple besides her own role as secretary.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges?

Lisa from Huong Sen Buddhist Temple said she herself has not experienced many challenges in her city because she understands English very well and is able to communicate to others about her religion, culture, and way of life.  In terms of her experience in the city, she said they haven’t done much in the community yet but they plan on doing things for the city sometime in the future.  Lisa really wants to outreach more to the Americanized community even though their community is mainly Vietnamese.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Lisa said being a Buddhist meant living a simple life. It also means to be compassionate and to be more open to other cultures as well as just being happy with who we are and for who they are. 

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

For meditation in her community, she doesn't see a lot of people doing meditation because many don't have the time to sit and meditate at the temple. However, they also don't really discuss meditation amongst themselves, so it's hard for her to know how much meditation is part of their community.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community?

According to Lisa, they have talked about providing classes to those not part of their community but have not implemented classes yet. They would still have to work out the steps involved in creating classes, especially for American English-speaking people and would need to find a meditation guide.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past?

Lisa from Huong Sen Buddhist Temple mentioned her temple doesn’t do meditation classes in other areas.  She did mention, however, that Venerable Sunyata would go out and do sermons at other places, talking about the Dharma and Buddhism.  Even if they don’t provide mediation classes, Venerable Sunyata venturing outward and giving talks can be a form of outreach. 

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community?

 For Lisa, she considers whatever helps to calm her down as meditation and not just what’s traditionally considered meditation.  She suggests to people who feel stressed or anxious to try taking a walk or hike somewhere in nature, or to do a different activity such as painting or writing.  For her, people don’t have to follow a strict formula in order to properly meditate.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)?

According to Lisa, their temple is too small to help everyone with immigration and are only in the position to help either Buddhist monks or nuns at the moment. Lisa also mentioned they don’t provide any financial services, but they do offer wedding and funeral services.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

According to Lisa, the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult because Sunyata couldn’t go out and give talks at other places like she normally would and they couldn’t visit services at other temples.  

Thanissaro Bhikkhu, who is the Abbot at the monastery, was the participant interviewed for this site.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

Thanissaro Bhikkhu explained that since they switched to Zoom, it has become easier for everyone to sit and chat instead of having discussions about Buddha’s teachings.  This led him to assign readings, which is something he hasn’t had to do with the Thai community before.  He said they have become much more educated because when many of them migrated from Thailand to the United States, they didn’t have much background in Dharma and very little background in Buddhism.  Thanissaro Bhikkhu said many of them had already become Westernized before migrating to the United States, but when they get here they realize they’re missing a part of their culture.  Like the majority of Chinese American members at Hsi Lai Temple, I thought the Thai members at Metta Forest Monastery had a much stronger background in Buddhism and more knowledge of Dharma than their white counterparts.  However, it turns out many of them convert to Buddhism after settling in the United States.   

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Thanissaro Bhikkhu is the Abbot at the Metta Forest Monastery who, during the COVID-19 pandemic, also taught classes through Zoom.  He has also given Dharma talks as well as Q&A sessions at other locations.  He has found his experience in the community to be good and finds the monastery to be a good place to practice meditation.  Thanissaro Bhikkhu explained that he emphasizes to people who come to the monastery that it's a meditation center, so there is not a lot of sitting around or talking.  They also have Dharma talk every night.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

For Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the challenge he experienced in his city was a matter of cultural immersion.  He explained that he lived in the United States until the age of 22 when he moved to Thailand.  He had to learn Thai, their culture, and learn Dharma all at the same time when he became ordained.  When he came back to the United States in his 40’s, he experienced culture shock again because he spent most of his adult life in Thailand.  The main challenge he faced moving back was taking on the role of Abbot where he had the responsibility of teaching other people as well as getting in touch with architects and contractors to have the buildings for the Metta Forest Monastery constructed.  As far as his interaction with the city, it has primarily been related to the permit process.  Even though this isn’t related to his experience in his city as a Buddhist, the Metta Forest Monastery has experienced discrimination related to their Buddhist identity when providing free books to prisoners across the country. Thanissaro Bhikkhu said they have run into some discrimination with prison chaplains who didn't want their prisoners to deal with anything except their version of Christianity. 

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Thanissaro Bhikkhu defines being a Buddhist as dedicating one’s life to finding Nirvana.  He found that on his own quest, he had to develop generosity.  Being a Buddhist also means developing generosity and other social virtues.  He agreed that being a Buddhist is more than mentally acknowledging things like generosity, compassion, patience, and building goodwill as truth, but that one must practice these virtues.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Thanissaro Bhikkhu explained that meditation is a huge part of their community and that they had two group sessions every day that last an hour each. Outside of the group sessions, they have monks and lay visitors and residents who are expected to devote a large part of the day to meditate.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community?

 He explained that he gives Dharma talks for every session in the evening which is recorded for the website. He has also translated some books that were written by masters. There are also personal interviews with people who are at the monastery uploaded onto their website. During their Zoom sessions, there are also people who are able to ask questions regarding meditation.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

For Metta Forest Monastery, Thanissaro Bhikkhu said instead outreaching by providing a meditation class, they participate in more of a prison outreach by providing books to prisoners.  It wasn’t their initial intention to perform this type of outreach, but there were people in prisons asking Metta Forest Monastery to provide books pertaining to Buddhism.  Through the network of the prison community, prisoners became aware that there were free books on Buddhism available.  When I asked him if he could tell me which prison has asked for free books, he said there have been prisons all over the country requesting books from them, not just in Southern California. 

In terms of providing meditation classes as a form of outreach, they typically don't go to places unless they are asked to provide meditation instruction. He gave the example of a group in Orange County that he has met with since 1993 where he would teach them once a month. They have also provided meditative instruction at some universities. He has also provided instruction outside of the United States, including France and Brazil, as well as in other states, such as Massachusetts and Oregon.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community?

Thanissaro Bhikkhu from Metta Forest Monastery explained that some people are more serious about their meditative practice than others.  He’s found that if you want people to better understand Dharma, then having people meditate first is very important because it’s largely about training the mind.  It’s important for people to not solely focus on meditating, but that they also learn the Dharma because it’s part of the practice.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)?

For Metta Forest Monastery, Thanissaro Bikkhu said their monastery isn’t there for that purpose, so they don’t provide immigration or financial support.  However, if someone in the community dies or one of their relatives passes away, the monastery will do a general chanting for them.   

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

Thanissaro Bhikkhu said many people wanted to give cooked food to the monastics, but they had to do so carefully and drop off food at the Metta Forest Monastery.  This was a common problem for a majority of the monastics at these various sites since they are usually supported by their communities financially and food-wise.  People also wanted to visit the monastics at the Metta Forest Monastery, but were only able to do so outside.

The Metta Forest Monastery had been constructing their monastery since 1990, and during 2008 they had to deal with lots of infrastructure before anything else could be built. This included work being done to water pipes, paving the road, etc. It took them a while to save money in order to complete it, and the rest is still being built today. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic Thanissaro Bhikkhu said their income unexpectedly increased and money had come from unexpected places. This is an advantage to everything going online for their monastery, which was being able to receive money from different areas instead of having to solely rely on their immediate surrounding communities.

Linda (pseudonym) and Shannon (pseudonym), who are active members, agreed to participate in this study.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

She said from her experience, the community has grown bigger over time because they encourage their students to reach out to their friends and family to join them at free meditation classes. They've found that just passing out flyers and advertisements don't work as well as having people being personally invited to join their temple. She also said the diversity of their membership is always evolving and consists of people from various ethnic backgrounds. In their Level 1 meditation class, she has seen people who are Native American as well as black. She has also seen parents bring their teenagers to meditation classes as well.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Shannon is an active member of the community at Middle Land Chan Monastery. For confidentiality purposes, I will not mention their involvement or role in their community.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

For Shannon, she said they have experienced challenges, but in Buddhism they know it’s sometimes because conditions have not ripened yet. She gave the example of setting up a booth at the 2020 Asian American Expo and over the course of two days, they passed out several thousand flyers as well as some free publications. However, in the end only two people came to the monastery for classes after the Expo. Shannon explained that in the greater Los Angeles area, there are many monasteries and temples which means people have other selections and choices, some of which may connect more with their cultural or ethnic identity. For Middle Land Chan Monastery they mostly identify as a Chinese Buddhist temple and therefore have a lot more Chinese Buddhists than other ethnicities, such as Thai or Japanese. 

On the Middle Land Chan Monastery website, they have a statement posted about discrimination they experienced while trying to build a monastery in the City of Walnut before they ended up building their monastery in Pomona, burdening their free exercise of religion. They tried to establish their monastery in Walnut for 10 years, but even after doing everything the city requested, the Center’s request to build their monastery was denied. This forced the monastery to relocate to Pomona, and they decided to file a lawsuit against the City of Walnut, not to seek revenge but to help protect religious justice and religious freedom for everyone else. It was meant to serve as a reminder to the City of Walnut to treat all religions equally and fairly. The two parties ended up reaching a harmonious agreement in the end in May of 2012.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you?

For Shannon, being a Buddhist helped her find her inner self and to become a more compassionate and empathetic person. Being a Buddhist, she also wants to give others a sense of serenity and compassion to those around her.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Shannon said she would say meditation is a huge part of their community, and since they are a Zen temple their emphasis has always been on meditation. Meditation is a large part of their practice because in Buddhism they believe the mind is the source of everything. Whatever problems we see in the modern world is because our minds are filled with greed, anger, and ignorance. She used an analogy comparing greed, anger, and ignorance to soil inside our water-mind. The soil makes the water muddled and dirty, and through meditation it helps to make the water more clear so you can see into your own mind much clearer. Settling your mind makes it much easier to solve your own problems and allows you to reflect more inwardly. That's why they believe 5 to 10 minutes of meditation a day helps a lot and can help you look at things from a clearer angle.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

Shannon from Middle Land Chan Monastery said they will hold classes in different ways for their members and the general public.  In terms of meditation technique, it didn’t sound like they taught members differently than non-members.  However, Shannon mentioned that when teaching those who are not Buddhist, they won’t include Buddhist jargon or anything they define as religious.  For the public, they mainly focus on technique and not so much the teachings behind meditation or Buddhism.  For their monthly ceremonies, it is more oriented toward Buddhist members and there is less meditation involved as well as much more chanting and listening to Dharma talks.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

She explained that over the past 10 years they have provided free meditation classes for not only Chinese-speaking students but also those who speak English. It sounds like their main way of outreaching is providing classes directly at the temple, but not necessarily teaching classes outside of it.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

For members at Middle Land Chan Monastery, everyone is encouraged to meditate every day at home and most of them will meditate several days a week.  For those who have been at the monastery for a while, they will do their own kind of Sutra studies which includes chanting on their own time for 10 to 20 minutes depending on everyone’s schedule.  For Shannon personally, she tries to stick with 20 minutes of meditation a day, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.  She said she was sure some people meditate more or less that amount, but everyone is encouraged to set aside a minimum of 20 minutes a day.  If they aren’t able to do 20 minutes, then they’re encouraged to meditate for 10 minutes when they get up and 10 minutes before they go to sleep.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

She explained they mostly offer the meditation classes and services, but if time allows and people ask for services related to meditation then they will provide that to the community. However, in terms of providing services related to finances and immigration they don't do that at their monastery.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

The temple was started in 2010 after 2008. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Middle Land Chan Monastery didn’t provide online classes in the beginning because they believed there would be a lack of quality in learning experience. However, they still sent out encouraging emails to their students to keep up their daily practice as well as sharing words of wisdom from Buddhist teachings. However, over time they did add meditation classes online and Shannon said students benefited greatly from having online classes since many people were scared to go into public spaces at the time.

Q1: How has this community changed over time?

In terms of membership, Linda has seen an increase in membership over time. For English-speaking members the rate of turnover is slightly higher than Chinese-speaking members. For many English-speaking people that visit the temple, they usually first come through referrals or from the internet with preconceived notions or different expectations. After spending some time at their services and signing up for classes, they have a different idea of what it's really like and what the temple is trying to accomplish versus their original expectations. It's different for those who are Chinese because they know more of what to expect when they come to Middle Land Chan Monastery. She will usually see more new faces in terms of Americans than Chinese who she will see more consistently. Linda also sees the monastery as less of a cultural center because even though there is some socializing, most of the people who go there are more motivated to learn and cultivate their Buddhist practice than trying to socialize with other people. However, over the past few years there has been an increasing trend in socializing within the temple and they started including more "fun" stuff, like cooking classes.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Linda is an active member of the community at Middle Land Chan Monastery. For confidentiality purposes, I will not mention their involvement or role in their community.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

Linda said she doesn’t reside within the Inland Empire, but as far as the community within the Middle Land Chan Monastery, she’s noticed people from all different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds come to the monastery. She thinks it reflects the environment of the Inland Empire with its culturally and economically diverse community. 

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you?

Linda said that being a Buddhist means being given a more systematic way to look at different things in life.  It also means gaining a deeper understanding of the world around us and helping us to interpret or translate what people are facing in their lives.  Linda agreed that being a Buddhist gives a sort of blueprint for how to navigate life and its challenges.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

For Linda from Middle Land Chan Monastery, she said students are encouraged to set aside 10 to 20 minutes a day to meditate, so it’s possible that many of their members do meditate daily.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

According to Linda, there are different techniques for meditation that are taught in classes separate from the monthly service.  There are also a total of three different levels of classes.  Some of the techniques are considered more basic, but she said none are considered superior or inferior.  Some people who have been practicing meditation for years still use more basic techniques.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

She explained that for the monthly services, everyone is invited from the general public to attend. It's about three hours in length, and although it isn't taught like a normal meditation class, everyone is still encouraged to meditate during the service.

Linda did say they have been invited over the years to provide classes to groups in the community. One example is where they were invited to teach classes on certain subjects, such as compassion, and meditation at a summer camp where many children came from Asia to the states. They have also joined the Upland Interfaith Council in the events they have but representing Buddhism and Buddha's teaching. So when there is a need in the community around them and they are asked to provide instruction then they will work with them.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community?

She explained that for herself, she usually attended two classes during the week as well as other activities at the temple. If she and other people have time to meditate at home then they will, and they are encouraged to meditate every day at home no matter what, whether or not they go to class. Most of those who have been at the temple for a while will have their own kind of Sutra studies and chanting at home on their own time. Everyone's encouraged to meditate 20 minutes a day, and the temple also teaches walking mediation. Many will also practice meditating while eating in the dining hall at the temple. They also have classes for kids where they play games and have fun stories, but they are taught meditation for 5 minutes. Many parents will bring children who are overactive to learn meditation to help calm them down, and sometimes parents will use that time to learn meditation, too.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

They do not offer financial or immigration support, however they do provide classes to their surrounding community if they are requested to provide instruction and it works with their schedule.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

In terms of the 2008 recession, she wasn't able to provide that kind of information because she joined post-2008. For the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it was hard for her to answer this question at the time because people weren't keeping as in-contact with each other. However, she thinks that as things open up, they will have a better idea of how the pandemic has impacted everyone in their community. Individually, they may. bring their issues to the monastery but not to individual members due to privacy. They will rarely share problems that others are facing out of respect for them.

Venerable Ripon, who is a monk at the Vihara, agreed to represent his temple for this study.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

Venerable Ripon explained that they are an indigenous tribe whose native places are Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar. Within Bangladesh, they have always faced religious persecution and discrimination, so when they had the chance they migrated to the United States through the Diversity Visa Lottery in the late 90s and 2000s. When they came here, they faced linguistic challenges because not all Chakma people can speak English but they had to learn in order to take care of their families. They have struggled but they are hard workers and many of them live close to each other in the Inland Empire. They now try to bring up their children with cultural and religious identity so they don't forget their roots and origins, but they also combine with the local culture. For the most part, they don't have converts. and most of them were born into Buddhism.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Venerable Ripon Chakma Bhikkhu is part of the monastic community at the Sakya Metta Buddhist Vihara.  He explained that his role as a monk is very huge in the Buddhist community and especially in the temple.  Venerable Ripon described his role as a social and spiritual leader, both to adults and children.  He and his abbot Venerable Upagupta Chakma help to teach the younger generation Buddhist ethics as well as meditation, respecting their elders, and how to reflect on their own lives through the teachings of the Buddha.  They also serve to provide spiritual strength for their communities in difficult situations.  When I asked him if he considered his experience in the community to be overall positive or overall happy, he said that we are human beings and that no one is definitely happy or unhappy and there are moments that go up and down. And looking back in the past, he also acknowledged that they have improved their social and spiritual values in terms of education, lifestyle, spirituality, and communal harmony.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

Venerable Ripon said he has only lived in San Bernardino for about 2 years, but for the Chakma community there hasn't been any major challenges for them.  He said in the United States they have rights and freedom as long as you are peaceful and don’t harm others.  However, the Chakma community is possibly the smallest Buddhist community in the United States because they are small in number.  Therefore, even though they bought their property in San Bernardino because of the price, it can be a challenge to maintain it financially because their community is small.  He explained that it takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice to find them support and he is thankful for his community.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

For Venerable Ripon Chakma Bhikkhu, being a Buddhist starts with having confidence in Buddhism itself and taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. To be a Buddhist means having much higher admiration, respect, and faith in the Triple Gems (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) and transforming yourself into a better person and taming your senses from evil thoughts and actions.  Being a Buddhist also means having a better understanding of this life and to become a better and happier person by practicing the Four Noble Truths for higher spiritual achievement.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

 He affirmed that many people perceive meditation as only sitting in one spot and closing one’s eyes.  The truth is, most people have to work, eat, make money, etc. so they don’t always have the time to sit in meditation.  Even when people sit for meditation, their minds still wonder because they are worried or anxious about the next day.  With this in mind, Venerable Ripon along with the other monastics instruct people that if they don’t have time for sitting meditation, then they should be mindful and aware of what they are doing, thinking, and saying.  Concentrating solely on the activity at hand can be a type of meditation on it’s own.  

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

Venerable Ripon said they don't have different ways of teaching meditation for those inside and outside the community. However, they do have different techniques they can teach people, and most of the time they teach Metta meditation. Metta is a Pali word that means "loving kindness meditations." We have to cultivate loving kindness for ourselves first and then extend it toward our friends and enemies. If we don't know how to love ourselves, then we won't know how to love others. Another meditation they teach is Anapana which is focusing on your breath, for those who are more skilled at this meditation can transition into Vipassana, or "insight meditation."

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past?

 From time to time there will be some people in the community who ask the monastics to provide a meditation program at their own homes. They will invite monks to conduct a spiritual type of retreat for an hour or two and they will take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and will also do chantings and blessings. They will do a Dharma talk, have discussions about Buddha's teachings, and have sitting meditation for 5 or 10 minutes. For Venerable Ripon personally, he has provided Dharma classes for people outside of his immediate temple community over Zoom during the pandemic, including students from the Sri Lankan community and those from Indonesia. There have also been people who joined from New York and Michigan. So he does provide meditation and Dharma classes to those outside of the community, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

For members at the Sakya Metta Buddhist Vihara, Venerable Ripon explained that if people want to experience results in their meditation, they have to practice.  However, he and the other monastics realize that people have very busy lives so sometimes it’s hard for them to practice everyday.  When they’re experiencing anxiety or negative thoughts, they are taught that they can overcome those thoughts with positivity.  Monastics also help train members to practice generosity because when we do good things for other people, then we ourselves feel good, too.  Even though not everyone has the free time to meditate, everyone can still practice being generous at any moment in the day. 

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

According to Venerable Ripon, the Sakya Metta Buddhist Vihara will do charity work in areas outside of the United States, specifically the native places or places they originally immigrated from, including  India and Bangladesh.  Sometimes they will also join other temples in their charity work because individually, they aren’t capable of providing major services to their community yet.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

It was during the time of 2008 that they bought the property for their Vihara. At the time they felt the need to have a temple because they wanted a center or place to gather and also because they had linguistic barriers at other temples they visited who had mostly Chinese, Cambodian, or Thai members. There were also members who wanted a place that could help teach their children Buddhist moral ethics. Several, if not all, of the members chipped in to help purchase the property and there were a few years before they had monastic residents. Their present abbot arrived in 2011.

The Sakya Metta Buddhist Vihara has experienced some financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic due to some members of their community losing their jobs. Venerable Ripon explained that the monastics heavily rely on the support and generosity of their community members to provide financial support as well as cooked meals. When there were members who lost their job, it made it much harder to pay bills and support the temple like they normally would. When an event affects a majority of the Buddhist population, it’s usually extremely difficult for the monastic community who heavily rely on the rest of the community for support. During the pandemic, they also didn't have anyone provide meals for them so they had to cook for themselves.

According to Venerable Ripon, the COVID-19 pandemic became a good time for people to dig deeper in their practice and to strengthen their generosity, kindness, and support for others. Community members have leaned more into the teaching that everything is impermanent. Being connected to people online has also made it possible for the Sakya Metta Buddhist Vihara to help people in other areas of the world, such as Bangladesh and India, who are going through an even more difficult time than many in the United States due to lack of resources. Switching to online has also helped Venerable Ripon teach students from different parts of the world as well through Zoom.

Two leaders from this center agreed to participate, Karen and Tom, who are both members of the Regional Leadership Team for the SGI-USA Riverside Buddhist Center.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

Karen explained that when she moved into the Riverside area in 1984, they didn't have a community center yet. After she moved into the area, her home became an informal community center where many members gathered for their meetings. Many people were gathering in each other's homes at the time. She said at that time, meeting in people's homes made it difficult to grow at the time due to lack of space. She said at the time was very focused just on the members of the organization and since then she has developed a much more expansive view of the organization and its role in healing, protecting, and enriching the community and broader society. Over time they moved locations and ended up at their current location which is the largest community center they've had with several members.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Karen, who is a part of the regional leadership team at SGI-USA, mentioned her experience within the Inland Empire has been good.  She has been involved in her community by joining discussion meetings for her district in SGI-USA and would participate in home visitation.  Home visitation is where she would visit members, chant with them, and share Buddhism with their neighbors.  Originally, she said when she was first married and lived in Riverside, she was a vice chapter leader and also had to take on a role for the Men’s District Leader when the Men’s District had some financial difficulties and somewhat disappeared.  Those responsibilities included coordinating activities for the district as well as planning meetings. 

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

For Karen from the SGI-USA Riverside Buddhist Center, she hasn’t experienced any kind of unique challenges pertaining to being Buddhist.  She also mentioned she hasn’t faced discrimination related to her Buddhist identity.  The only challenge she’s experienced personally is that according to Buddhist teaching, when you have problems you have to look at yourself and ask what you can do to change the situation and solve the problem.  Instead of putting blame on other people for your problems, you have to take responsibility for your actions and focus on what you can change.  That’s the main challenge she’s faced related to her Buddhist practice and identity.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Karen said that being a Buddhist for her means chanting every morning and every evening.  Being a Buddhist also means she has a new chance to make a fresh start each morning and to contribute something to the world.  Part of being a Buddhist also includes the daily self challenge she experiences, because she loves that she can continue to challenge herself every single day in her practice.  She also explains that being a Buddhist has also made her feel vital and more youthful. 

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

For Karen, she has daily chanting of the Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. She said she wouldn’t really call it a meditation, because for her meditation is something one does to go inside yourself, and she sees practicing Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō as reaching outward. When Karen was asked if a lot of the other members chanted every evening and every morning, she said the active members do practice chanting everyday at least twice a day. Knowing that Karen was fluent in English and could be classified racially as white, I asked her if chanting in Japanese hindered her experience of connecting with or understanding the chant, but she said it didn’t because there are books she has read that explains the meaning of the chant. She also said chanting in Japanese is very useful when attending big events where different SGI groups from around the world join together, because everyone knows the exact same chant.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

For those who are not part of the community, they are often introduced to Buddhism and chanting by word of mouth through their friends and family. There aren't different techniques for teaching the chanting, but people who aren't familiar with chanting or SGI are given the opportunity to learn about the practice, ask questions, and learn how to chant through their regular introductory meetings.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past?

 For the SGI-USA Riverside Buddhist Center, they invite people outside of their community to their regular introductory meetings where members of the public are invited to attend, learn about the practice, and ask as many questions as they want. They do teach non-Buddhists how to chant if they want to learn. 

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

For Karen, chanting is part of the path to enlightenment and helps to manifest one’s life force and goodness. It also makes one connected to the goodness and life force of the universe. When Karen chants, she finds that it gives her a lot more energy. Many of the active members chant at least twice a day, though there is no limit on how often people can chant. She said the amount of times people chant in one day also depends on their circumstances. However, if members chant regularly they will notice a better result. Similar to most things in life, practice is the key.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

For their center, they don't offer financial or immigrant support, however, they do offer emotional and moral support for those who are struggling and will certainly chant with people. Also, by teaching members how to practice Buddhism, it gives them the tools and strategies for how to transform their own lives. They also hold regular study meetings, chant meetings, and dialogue meetings and strongly encourage members to go into their community and make a difference and focus on what we can to do make the world better.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

For their center, they are a part of a vast network of SGI centers across the world and their network is very solid. It's everyone within the organization the contributes to support the organization financially, so their center was not affected too badly by the 2008 recession. They are able to help each other throughout the organization to keep their centers going.

Karen said the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly affected their community because their membership is diverse and has disproportionately affected their black and brown members. One of her close friends even lost their business and has struggled profoundly, but has transformed himself and his situation despite feeling discouraged. Even though all of them have been impacted, the organization's perspective is that they will overcome their difficulties.

For Karen, the pandemic became a time when she could dive deeper into her own practice and has helped strengthen everyone's view that no matter what happens to them, they will overcome challenges they face. There will be times in life when bad things will happen, but you can still have a positive mindset and come out on the other side a winner.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

Tom explained that the center has a very long history. It started with the Japanese women in the middle 1960s who had meetings in their homes. It was in 1960 that SGI-USA formed districts and chapters and in 1964 that they formed a headquarters in Southern California. In Riverside there were some members who were members of the military, and it was the women who were the ones who established the organization in the area. It was also through them that they introduced the practice to many Americans, especially in the late 1960s when there were many hippies who became members. For Tom himself, he came to Riverside in 1971 when he was 11 and was already a Buddhist. He said over time they've gotten bigger and bigger as a group and are now in their fourth community center. A majority of their members are converts while a few of them were born into the practice.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement?

Tom is a vice leader of the men’s regional group for SGI-USA and has been a leader within the organization since he was a young man. Up until January 1st of 2021 he was the Men's Region Leader but now there's a new person taking that position that he will help to support.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

 For Tom, he said there aren’t any major challenges he or other members have faced pertaining to them being Buddhist.  He mentioned that their main goal is to create a positive environment and spread world peace.  They also want to contribute towards world peace as individuals and hope that it transcends to others around them.  Tom also recognized that we are human beings and that it may be hard sometimes to work toward this goal, but as an organization and as individuals it is their daily objective and prayer that they affect their community in a positive way.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Tom said that being a Buddhist means being the best person that he can in his pursuit of enlightenment or pursuit of being truly happy.  For him, being a Buddhist means finding absolute happiness where negative events don’t deter him as much and gaining the tools to overcome his daily obstacles.  It also means not only working on and helping himself, but also helping others to do the same.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

For Karen and Tom from the SGI-USA Riverside Buddhist Center, they don’t practice what is traditionally thought of as meditation. They practice their daily chanting of the Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. Tom explained that when chanting, they chant in a meditative-like state, showing that meditation can be done in different ways and not just in the ways people traditionally think of when hearing the word “meditation.” For him, Tom said he feels the goal is that as long as you chant, you will get to that place of enlightenment as long as you continue and never stop your daily practice. He explained that he has seen instances where people were able to move in a direction where their mind is more clear through the practice of chanting.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

Tom explained that when they introduce someone to their Buddhist practice, they talk one-on-one with them. Before the pandemic, they would talk to people who were interested in their community center, but during the 2020 pandemic they had people join their Zoom meetings. When they are first introduced, they are given introductory material that simplifies and explains chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō and some of the history behind it. It also helps teach people how to pronounce the chant properly. In terms of teaching people how to chant, there isn't a difference between teaching members and non-members.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

According to Tom, they have a Buddhism 101 course that people outside of the community can take to learn more about Buddhism itself.  They don't necessarily go out into the community to teach chanting, but invite people to join their course and meetings.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Before the pandemic, they have gone out and introduced people to their practice and in a sense campaigned their Buddhist practice to people on sidewalks. However, in terms of chanting, it's typically done between members who have the desire. They are encouraged to help other people in their community to live happier lives through their own actions.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

Some of the members from the SGI-USA Riverside Buddhist Center have helped support those who were affected by a fire in the San Bernardino area by donating blankets and clothing as well as donating masks as an organization internationally, according to Tom Marquez.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

Members not being as tech-savvy or being older without technological skills was also a problem for some members within the SGI-USA Riverside Buddhist Center and was a deterrent for some, according to Tom. However, with the ongoing pandemic, more and more members and guests participated in their online Zoom meetings and noticed that many older members became more comfortable and acclimated with what was once very difficult for them. Not being able to meet in person with everyone in their homes was very challenging because a mainstay of their organization was gathering in groups in people’s homes for district meetings. However, being able to see old faces at Zoom meetings has been positive for Tom because even though he wasn’t able to see everyone during meetings like he normally would, conducting meetings over the internet gave others the opportunity to join who were normally restricted due to distance and travel.

A disciple for Venerable Thich Quang Phu, Kathy Thai, was the participant interviewed for this site.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

According to Kathy, the temple has always been in one location since 2005. It was originally a run down house but with help from the community, they were able to make it operational for their community. A majority of their membership consists of those already born into the Buddhist practice and the amount of members has grown significantly. In the beginning they had 10 to 20 members, but now they have at least 500. Before the pandemic, people gathered every Sunday where anyone could come and listen to the service and pray. People were also able to have fun and talk with one another. They also had prayer every night from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. except for Sunday prior to the pandemic. Their temple specifically does not do livestream services but a temple that their are associated with does do livestreams through YouTube.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Kathy Thai is a disciple of one of the monks at Van Thu Temple and explained how she first became involved with the temple after the passing of her nephew.  After listening to the monk praying and talking at the funeral, she said something clicked and she started opening up more to Buddhism than before.  She emphasized that she was always Buddhist, but she didn’t practice Buddhism like she does today.  Kathy explained that her involvement in the temple is much deeper than before and became a disciple of Venerable Thich Quang Phu in August of 2019.  Some of the responsibilities that come with being a disciple includes helping to plan, set up, and clean up after major events, such as the Lunar New Year, as well as help prepare for funeral services.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

Kathy Thai from the Van Thu Temple said they haven’t experienced any big challenges involving their Buddhist identity.  She said nobody really emphasizes much on the belief of the other person in their community, so they haven’t faced challenges or discrimination in that way.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

For Kathy Thai, she’s had two different experiences of being Buddhist.  The first was before her nephew passed away and prior to August 2019.  She explained that her heart was not in it and would only sometimes go to the temple.  She felt indifferent to her Buddhist practice and would go if her mother asked her.  Her second experience was after August 2019 when something clicked while listening to the Venerable speak and pray at her nephew’s funeral and she started getting more involved with the temple.  After deepening her Buddhist practice further, she agreed that it has helped to find more inner peace within herself.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Kathy Thai from Van Thu Temple also said that anyone can practice concentration not only through meditation, but also while doing normal activities.  Kathy similarly gave the example of concentrating while in the kitchen.  She explained that for herself, she meditates often and anytime she starts to feel upset about something, she switches to a meditation mode to help calm herself down.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community?

For Van Thu Temple, Kathy explained that they don’t have official classes for teaching meditation. Instead, people come and meditate during the service they hold every Sunday. If there is an individual who has a question or needs help with meditation, then they will be assisted individually. 

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

As far as Van Thu Temple, they don't offer classes at other places outside of their temple. They typically provide the occasion to meditate during their Sunday services.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Kathy Thai from Van Thu Temple said she cannot speak for a lot of people because sometimes people meditate and you cannot even tell that they’re meditating.  For example, someone could be standing in front of you, and they are talking to you but they are meditating at the same time.  For many people at the temple, they are generally very friendly and come off as very relaxed, so it’s easy for her to assume that many do meditate at least once a day.  Even during the pandemic when everyone called each other to check on everyone, they always seemed pretty cheerful and happy.  To Kathy, in order for people to have that much happiness and peacefulness, they would have to be meditating regularly.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

In terms of services, the Van Thu Temple has helped the homeless, especially around Thanksgiving, with members donating sweatshirts, clothes, and food. There are also a few members who go with the Venerable to third world countries to help with issues involving food, money, or medicine and typically make these trips annually. Van Thu Temple has also sent money to those in Vietnam who are affected by annual flooding by donating money. There is no fixed amount the members are expected to donate. They also provide Vietnamese classes for the younger generation, help people with meditation individually, and help give people advice when they are struggling.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

During 2008, that was the time when people were helping to pitch in money and labor to help with the property. For the most part, the Venerable had to do most of the manual labor himself since many members had to work or had personal lives. Many people tried to help over the weekend, but during the week he mainly worked by himself.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have not been able to gather for Sunday services, but the temple they are associated with do Youtube livestreams of Dharma talks so they are still able to hear the teachings of the Buddha. In order to continue to support the community, the Venerable still took phone calls from members asking for his help and advice. Overall, the major advantage to switching to online during the COVID-19 pandemic was being able to provide support to members to help them stay more calm, healthier, and to have more hope. 

Venerable Achan Sakchai Hongratana is the participant who was interviewed from this center and is part of the monastic community.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

He said the community has changed over time and that people have come from many different places to live here from their community. In terms of their membership, he explained that it mostly consists of Thai and other Asians but not as many Americans.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Venerable Sakchai Hongratana is part of the monastic community at the Suddhavasa Buddhist Meditation Center.  His experience has been good within his community and when they needed help building the temple in the last 16 years, their neighbors have helped support them in many ways. 

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges? 

Venerable Sakchai Hongratana at the Suddhavasa Buddhist Meditation Center said they did face some challenges when they first moved into the area.  When they first started the temple, there were some people in the area who did not like them because they did not understand what Buddhist monks were or their purpose.  The Venerable said many neighbors saw the monks and thought they were the same people who asked for money at airports, but this changed when the neighbors had a better understanding of their identity and role as Buddhist monks.  After they had a better understanding of who they were and what they did, neighbors treated them more favorably.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Venerable Sakchai Hongratana said that being a Buddhist means having a generous mind and to help people with no wish in return.  It also means that generosity and virtue must work together to build his discipline as well as training his mind to be strong in dealing with defilements such as hatred and delusion.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

At Suddhavasa Buddhist Meditation Center, they offer a meditation class every Saturday to the public and will have some non-members join their sessions. During their meditation classes, they are taught how to meditate while sitting and walking.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

In terms of teaching meditation, there isn't a difference between teaching members and non-members. They first teach them how to understand meditation as well as technique, how to breathe in and out, and how to train the mind. They typically give the example of a jar full of water. At first it's hard to see through the water because of bubbles and other debris, but when the jar is left to sit still for a while you will be able to see through the water clearly. This is similar to what people are trying to do when doing meditation. They are trying to settle their mind so they can think more clearly.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

Venerable Sakchai Hongratana said they have gone out to universities to provide meditation instruction, but they have also had university students also visit their center to learn meditation as well.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

Venerable Sakchai Hongratana said there are many levels at which people practice meditation at the Suddhavasa Buddhist Meditation Center.  Some people may practice once a week while others practice many times a day.  There are also members who are considered temporarily ordained and they will join the monastics and meditate three times a day.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

The Suddhavasa Buddhist Meditation Center has a General Consulate come to the center to help with the Visa and give service to the community. Venerable Sakchai Hongratana didn’t mention their temple specifically helping with financial issues for their members, but he did say that members brought in cooked food to give to neighbors in need, especially towards the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

During the 2008 recession, he remembered seeing a line of people trying to take money out of their bank accounts. He said even though it did affect many people, it hasn't affected nearly as many people nor to the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have tried to carry out their normal services but they had to switch most things to online. They had to meditate and chant online more because people were too scared to go to the center. They taught meditation through Facebook which also let people from Thailand join their sessions because they didn't have the distance barrier.

Venerable Jirayut Tonlek, part of the monastic community at the temple, was the participant interviewed for this site.

Q1: How has this community changed over time? 

When their community first started, it consisted mostly of Thai immigrants who carried their Buddhist belief with them to the United States. However, they quickly became diversified and soon had members who were also Burmese, Vietnamese, and had other origins from Southeast Asia. They have also had American members as well. The temple was founded in 1996, so they have existed for 25 years now and each year they gain new members. Whenever they had American converters, a majority of them have been younger because they are the new generation with new aspirations and are trying to figure out what they believe in and what way of life they want to live.

Q2: What is your experience in this community and what is your involvement? 

Venerable Jirayut Tonlek from the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep USA Buddhist Temple is part of the monastic community and has been there for about six years.  He explained that his experience at the temple has been pretty good and that they have a lot of their services during the weekend.  They have Saturday meditations and service on Sunday, which to him, is similar to how Christian churches perform.  He explained his role as providing information to various individuals and visitors because he speaks English well, hence why he was the one interviewed for the temple.  Another one of his responsibilities is to guide members through meditation in both Thai and English and he is also the secretary of the local market at the temple itself.  As secretary, he typically runs around the temple and sees what people need.

Q3: How has your experience been in this city as a Buddhist? Has being a Buddhist in the Inland Empire presented any challenges?

 For Venerable Jirayut, he hasn’t had many challenges living in his city because he understands English very well.  He also said they live in a very diverse community in Chino Hills, saying there are also Hindus, Christians, Mormons, and others who also occupy the same area as them, so it has been a pretty good atmosphere for their community and haven’t experienced hostility.

Q4: What does being a Buddhist mean to you? 

Venerable Jirayut Tonlek said being a Buddhist is just a way of life they practice in order to live in the present moment and not focus too much on the past or present.  It also includes doing the best of their actions in the present moment so they can live a good life and be aware of what they do.

Q5: How is meditation part of this community? 

Venerable Jirayut said meditation is one of the most essential things we can do as humans because it brings awareness and consciousness to our mind and helps us know what we need to do to be a good person, not just for ourselves but for other people, too. He explained that in modern day society where we have a lot of social media and technology, we sometimes forget what we need to do in order to make ourselves as well as others happy.

Q6: How is meditation taught to its members as well as those not a part of this community? 

Venerable Jirayut Tonlek said they do offer meditation classes with varying levels of difficulty. They teach sitting, walking, lay down, and sleep meditation and they often start with the easiest technique. Venerable Jirayut explained they typically start with sitting meditation and then work their way up to walking meditations. If a student has difficulty walking, then they will go straight to lay down meditation. He also said for those who are not familiar with meditation, they will teach them basic sitting meditation starting off with 10 minutes in length.

Q7: How is the public teaching of meditation part of this community today and in the past? 

Their temple has been involved with the International Faith in Chino Hills and have performed one of their meditations or brought one type of meditation to demonstrate what they do at their temple. This is one of the things they do in their community. They used to help special needs kids from a nearby high school at a local park because they are very active and need help learning how to calm down. They typically went to the park and taught them how to meditate for five minutes. Venerable Jirayut is the main person who teaches meditation to English-speaking people because he's the only one at the temple who can instruct meditation in both Thai and English. During 2020, they didn't have a lot of classes for meditation and postponed a lot of their activities for the following year.

Q8: How do you understand the way your teaching of meditation intersects in the lives of your community? 

For Venerable Jirayut, he has heard from some members that they have been improving in terms of not worrying as much and spending a lot more time with themselves when they meditate.  For members, meditation brings enough peace to reflect on their actions in life and helps bring them more appreciation for what they have as well as self-awareness.

Q9: Does this temple offer any services to its community besides meditation classes (such as financial or immigration support)? 

There are times when people may need a job because they were fired or laid off and need assistance with finding new employment, so the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep USA Buddhist Temple will sometimes help their members find a job.  The temple also brings in food vendors, similar to a farmer’s market, for their members to shop for food.  They are looking into other ways of providing services for their temple members in the future, such as having a monk graduate from law school who could help with immigration as well as establishing a nursing home in the temple to help elderly members who have no place to go.

Q10: How has the 2008 recession and the current COVID pandemic affected this community?

During 2008 Venerable Tonlek said there was probably some financial hardship similar to a lot of other people during that time, but it was in 2015 that they were adopted by a foundation temple in Thailand to help support them through economic crises. It helped them a lot at the time and still helps them today.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they really haven't been struggling that much with the temple because people were sacrificing more of their own time and budget in order to pitch in for the temple. This has also helped the monastic community immensely to continue providing spiritual support.

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