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At this point in our retreat reconstruction process, we would like to introduce our core development team of engineers and architects. Assembling the most suitable group for this project has been important to us for the sake of creating the best improvements for the Mahayana Temple community. Collaborating with our development team has been very productive and fruitful so far. This group is qualified not only in skill and expertise, but also in their respect and understanding of the significance of the temple.   Our engineers are Dan Proper and Austin Leonard of Proper & O’Leary Engineering. The Mahayana Temple…

Following the supportive response to last month’s update, we are pleased to announce that we will be relocating our 500 arhat statues from the temple retreat to 133 Canal St. Please stay tuned to find out what will be replacing the 500 Arhat Hall at the retreat reconstruction.  The current home of our arhat statues, the 500 Arhat Hall at the retreat, has welcomed hundreds of guests since it was constructed in 1988. Since our collection is by far the largest set of arhat statues in the United States, we at Mahayana Temple wanted to make these unique statues accessible…

Amongst all our recent discussion of reconstruction plans for the retreat, we are pleased to share that we are also planning changes for our city temple at 133 Canal St. Our community is important to us here at the Mahayana Temple, and we strive to always provide a comfortable space for all who enter. One way we practice these values is through gradually implementing physical improvements to create a sense of peace for everyone inside the temple. We will begin the process with updating the common areas. The spaces we plan to improve include hallways, restrooms, and the staircase from…

With the 2026 Chinese New Year festivities now complete, we at the Mahayana Temple are ready to share with readers all the excitement of the celebrations across our three locations. Chinese New Year is a culturally significant time for Chinese Buddhists to gather with our communities and pray for good wishes upon the year, and we are honored to be a part of the celebration each time. Many members of the community traveled from near and far to join us across the two weeks that our festivities took place. Throughout our annual Chinese New Year events, participants praise a variety…

After months of planning with our development team and receiving questions from curious readers, the Mahayana Temple team is now ready to start sharing concepts from our reconstruction meetings!  With the magnitude of ideas being discussed, changes will have to happen gradually. Though our plans are still subject to change, we’ve indicated the reconstruction phases as currently anticipated on the concept map. As readers may have gathered from last month’s blog post, Phase 1 will begin with reconstructing the Avalokiteshvara Hall. It will also involve finalizing the master plan in preparation for future phases. Phase 2 is dedicated to designing…

This month, we are pleased to inform readers that we’ve made considerable progress in our search for the contractor who will construct the new Avalokiteshvara Hall. We have narrowed our options down to the final two contractors.  Choosing the contractor best suited for this reconstruction project is important to us for the sake of both the Thousand-Hand Avalokiteshvara statue and the Mahayana Temple community. The grand statue, carefully hand-gilded by parishioner Zi Xai Li, would only be appropriately housed in a temple as inspiring as itself. It is our belief that our monastics and parishioners, who have meritoriously contributed to…