The Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association is an organization based in New York City. Their organization has three locations, two of which are in the city, and the other located in upstate New York. The first location of note is the Original Temple, located on 64 Mott Street, in the center of Chinatown. This small temple is where the organization officially started in 1962. The Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association was founded in 1962 by Annie Jin Ying. Mrs. Ying was born in 1915 in Wuxi, China. In 1949, in the wake of the Chinese Civil War, she, her husband, and her 8 year old son fled to Taiwan. Later, in 1955, they emigrated to New York City. Upon arriving, they realized that although there was a large Chinese community that practiced Buddhism, there was no Buddhist temple in the city for any of them to worship. Originally, they set up a temple in the back of their gift shop on Broadway. After a few years, they had the funds to set up the Eastern States Buddhist Temple of America in 1962, with the crown jewel being a Thousand-arm Guanyin statue imported from Taiwan. The temple was designed to be both a place of worship and a social space for Chinese immigrants. Ying had witnessed many Chinese men who moved to America to make money for their family back home, but then became alienated after communication was cut off in 1949. The temple gave the community a safer place to meet and converse. It’s the smallest of the three locations. It can be somewhat hard to find, as the entrance is nestled between a pediatric office and eyewear store. Inside is a small room that contains a place to leave offerings as well as a donation box in front of a Guanyin statue. In exchange for a $1 donation, you can get a fortune slip. I am unsure if this is the same Guanyin statue that was imported from Taiwan 60 years ago, but if it was, it would make sense that it was encased in glass for preservation. This location quickly grew in popularity, and had a massive influence on the spread of Buddhism on the East Coast. Many people who practiced there would go on to study in China or open up their own temples. Within only a few years, Chinese Buddhist temples opened up throughout the greater New York City area. However, none of these were any larger than the Eastern States Buddhist Temple of America, and thus the need for a larger space began to grow. In 1971, the Mahayana Temple Retreat, a 166 acre monastery, was opened up in Leeds, New York. Visually, it is standard for a monastery. The complex consists of multiple buildings, all designed with traditional Chinese architecture. Throughout the area, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of statues. Eventually, in 1997, the City Campus Mahayana Temple was built on Canal Street, as a larger Buddhist temple in New York City was necessary for the community. This was the only one I had the time to visit in person, as my description of the other two buildings were based on images I could find online. The waiting room was a bit small, with a few benches, receptionist desk, an offering table, and donation box. I also noticed a stairwell behind the receptionist desk, so anything in the temple above the 2nd floor is most likely offices. Beyond the waiting room is a massive open space. At the entrance to the room are two corners dedicated to members of the community who have passed away. In the middle of the room, there were many tables. Across the room was a large statue of Buddha where one could pray, give offerings, and donate.
The Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association practices Mahayana Buddhism, and when I went there they clarified that they specialized in Zen Buddhism. Every Sunday morning, they hold chants that anyone can attend. Later that day, they have meditation classes that are free with a reservation. Throughout the year, they hold big events, to commemorate days such as Chinese New Year and the birthday of the Buddha, or dedicated days to pay respects to elders or the deceased. Private events are held throughout the year, most commonly for families to receive blessings after a loved one passes on. Outside of worship and practice of the dharma, they also hold weekly calligraphy lessons and occasionally offer guided tours of Asian art museums. There are also various events at their retreat up in Leeds. The most common is a standard retreat, where people meditate and are taught sutras, with the most recent example listed on their website being a lesson on the Diamond Sutra. There is also the annual Three Thousand Buddhas Repentance, in which Buddhists gather and name all 3,000 Buddhas of the three eons for good luck in the new year. The temple upkeep is funded through donations, and there does not seem to be any dedicated events for fundraising. At most of their events, these donations are optional, but for group tours, one must donate to the temple upon arrival.
The Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association publicly celebrates three venerable teachers that work with them to enlighten people on the dharma. The first is Venerable Kuo Ming. Growing up in a devout Buddhist family, he was ordained by his uncle, Venerable Juejun, at a very young age. In 1988 he began his refuge at the Qixia Temple in Shanghai. A decade later, Venerable Songchun ordained him at the Tianning Monastery in Changzhou. After 11 years spent as a practicing monk in China, he became the resident monk at the World Buddhist Center in New York City. In 2013, he became the karmadana (director of business) at Fo’En Temple in Chongqing. Finally in 2016, he joined the Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association to lead dharma services and congregation practices. The second teacher is Venerable Pannasiri. He studied at the Chanmyay Myaing Meditation Center in Yangon, eventually becoming ordained by Mahathero Chanmyay Sayadaw. His time there saw him also study with other prominent Burmese monks like Thero Sayadaw, Mahathero Sobita, and Sayadaw U Nyanaramsi. It is unknown when he became a teacher at the Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association, but his role here is to teach mindfulness and introspective meditation. The third and final teacher of note is Venerable Daoyi. He was born and raised on Penang, a prominent island just off the coast of Malaysia. After moving to Kuala Lumpur to attend the Institute for Medical Research, he graduated in 1997 and then moved to Taiwan to study Buddhism. In 2002, he graduated from the Fu Yan Buddhist Institute with a Diploma of Primary Buddhist Study. He used this to teach at the Malaysian Buddhist Institute from 2003 to 2009. Afterwards, he returned to the Fu Yan Buddhist Institute and received a Graduate Diploma of Buddhist Studies from there in 2012. Since then, he briefly taught at the YiTung Buddhist Institute from 2014 to 2015, became an advisor for the YBAM PELITA Psychological Guidance Unit in 2016, and at some unknown point became a dharma teacher for the Mahayana Temple Buddhist Association
Details about membership aren’t well known. When I visited the City Campus in October of 2022, they estimated that somewhere between 200 and 300 people regularly attended events and were considered close members of the community. On top of that, there are thousands of tourists that visit the temple annually. Their community outreach in the beginning encouraged many Buddhists throughout the region to open their own places of worship. As a result, many Mahayana associations throughout the greater New York City area are in contact and have good relationships with the Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association. They also maintain friendly, albeit distant, relationships with many Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist temples in the area. When I was there, I asked how they represented Buddhism, and they said that they didn’t. They believed that no organization could act as a representation for Buddhism, as it is the pursuit of the individual. No one group should have any claim to the dharma. Despite this answer, I still believe that they had a significant impact on how Buddhism is practiced on the east coast. Before the 1960s, worship was almost entirely limited to the home and local businesses, including the one owned by Mr. and Mrs. Ying. When the Eastern States Buddhist Temple was founded in 1962, it showed Buddhists in the area that they could worship in public, and encouraged them to establish their own temples. This is why despite the denominational differences, there are still some ties between the Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association and various Theravada and Tibetan groups, because they were the catalyst for Buddhism’s more defined presence in New York.