Founder
The Mahayana Temple of New York was founded and opened to the public by Annie Jin Yang in 1971. However, the community’s history is much richer than that. Mrs. Yang was born in 1915 in Wuxi, China, and has been a devout Buddhist since her childhood. During the Chinese Civil War, she moved to Taiwan and was involved heavily within her local Buddhist community. Upon her move to New York City in 1955, she worked to establish a Chinese Buddhist community. She and her husband managed then to establish the Temple in 1962, “the first official Chinese Buddhist Association, Eastern States Buddhist Temple.” This Temple was the oldest Buddhist Temple on the east coast.
Services and Events
The Temple provides a multitude of services and events to members and newcomers. The Temple is open daily from 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. However, not just the City Campus Temple is open at this time. The Original Temple -where the Temple was originally founded-, the Temple Retreat, and City Campus Temple are all open daily during the above time. For those in groups of 10 or more, the Temple offers year-round tours, coupled with the opportunity to learn the general history of the Temple, as well as Buddhism in general. Memorial services are also offered by the Temple, whether in their Columbarium to store loved ones’ urns, or memorial tablets for lost loved ones. Every Thursday from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M, a weekly calligraphy class is offered entirely free. Guided museum tours and Buddhist art research are also offered after joining the Temple’s mailing list. Every Sunday, afternoon meditation is scheduled from 2:00 to 5:00 P.M, structured to provide multiple forms of meditation across the allotted time. Everyday Sunday morning from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M., Sutra chanting is offered to all who would like to participate. They chant many well-known sutras, including the Heart Sutra and Diamond Sutra. Most importantly, all events are held free of charge, with donations simply encouraged, but not required. There is also a multitude of annual events held by the Temple. The Temple Retreat is offering a weeks-long celebration, with numerous events to celebrate the new year. The second of many celebrations are held to celebrate the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, said to be the original Buddha and founder of Buddhism.
The Temple also offers volunteer service without any prior experience. They offer help in a variety of fields including, but not limited to kitchen work, charity and fundraising, video editing, and Dharma service preparation. Similarly, they are in the process of working on an internship program.
The Temple offers unique private events, for those who would like to have a ceremony or practice alone. Offering lamps are available for members to purchase, described as a way to celebrate, offer prayer, or honor someone’s death. Rituals can be sponsored for both the living and the dead, for a multitude of reasons. Rituals to allow the living of a better life are common, as well as rituals in an attempt to build karma for the deceased. The disposal of Dharma materials is perhaps the most unique aspect offered by the Temple. There are places around the Temple to dispose of the Three Jewels privately, or potentially disposed of during a ritual ceremony.
What Type Of Buddhism Is Followed?
The Temple follows traditional Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. Contrary to many other communities, the Mahayana Temple does not subscribe to a specific school such as the Pure Land school. They are willing to accept all Chinese Buddhist followers, regardless of their affiliations with other schools. The goal of Mahayana Buddhism is to become a Bodhisattva and consequently use that newfound knowledge to help others then become Bodhisattvas. This means when a follower has the opportunity to escape Samsara and reach enlightenment, they forgo that option for the sake of helping others reach their current status. The Lotus Sutra is extremely important in this school of Buddhism, as it showcases that enlightenment is available to all sentient beings, not just those who are monastic. It also describes the notion that all is empty, and nothing has intrinsic existence. This is what allows the belief that all can be enlightened because due to the fact that there is no intrinsic self, everyone is inherently the same. This fact thus means that all can thereby become enlightened should they attempt to do so properly. This Temple does not have explicit relations with other communities, but they seem to have a general guideline. The Temple supports all Buddhists in any denomination and welcomes them readily into the Temple.
Where Do They Get Their Funding?
The Mahayana Temple is entirely sustained by its members. Meaning, all funding is received through strictly tax-deductible donations. All services at the Temple are free, however, as previously mentioned, donations are heavily encouraged by both visitors and members in order to sustain the Temple. Currently, they are working towards a $250,000 goal to reconstruct their Retreat, and are at 20% of that goal. On their page, the donation form suggests amounts of $5.00, $10.00, $20.00, and $50.00. It’s unclear how long the community has been raising money for this project, so it is difficult to tell how successful their endeavors have been.
Who Are the Teachers?
There are three venerable monks who teach within the Mahayana Temple. Venerable Kuo Ming grew up Buddhist. He “took refuge with the Three Jewels” in the Qixia Temple in Nanjing, China. He was ordained in 1998 at Tianning Monastery in China. His most esteemed position was the position of “resident monk” at the World Buddhist Center. Following that in 2016, he was invited to lead “dharma services and congregation practices” by the Mahayana Temple.
Venerable Pannasiri does not provide much information about his past, but he did spend a great deal of time studying in Myanmar under multiple monks. He now teaches mindfulness and introspection meditation to the members of the Temple.
Venerable Daoyi was born in Malaysia to begin his Buddhist journey. He graduated from the Institute of Medical Research in Malaysia, as well as received his novice ordination in 1997.
In 2002 he graduated from the Fu Yan Buddhist Institute with a diploma in Primary Buddhist Study. In 2012, he received a Graduate Diploma in Buddhist Studies from the same institution. He taught at multiple institutions throughout this time and is now a Dharma speaker at the Temple.
What’s Special About this Community?
What’s special about this community is that it not only has a City Campus Mahayana Temple, but a nearly 166-acre Retreat Mahayana Temple in Upstate New York. This Temple provides first and foremost Buddhists a place to go on a retreat as part of their journey towards becoming a Bodhisattva. As a whole, it possesses very unique architecture, featuring multiple halls. The highlight is the Seven-Storied Jade Pagoda, as well as the numerous gold statues. At this campus, a “Lake Front Zen House” is available to book called the Joy Cottage. It allows full access to the entire Retreat Temple, while also boasting impressive amenities. It provides a realistic means for many practitioners to take part in retreats, in order to progress their journey. The City Temple also possesses very unique features, as during its establishment Mrs. Ying imported a Thousand-arm Guanyin statue from Taiwan. Guanyin is described as the Bodhisattva of compassion, an extremely important figure in the Mahayana Buddhist community.
Demographics
The demographics of this community are especially enticing. Upon using the Temple’s Instagram (@mahayanatemple) to investigate pictures of events, I saw great variety. Groups ranged from 10-50+ at event membership, which was very impressive. Groups traveled from France for special ceremonies, while other events were small groups of locals simply wanting to take part in the numerous celebrations. There were people young and old, male and female, and of all races. This community truly comes across as accepting of all, in the pursuit of becoming a bodhisattva at the Mahayana Temple. There was also a stark contrast in event attire, which was very surprising. There were events where many were dressed in traditional monastic attire, but also others where all attending were dressed in normal everyday clothing. This contrast provides something for all attending, as it allows a more relaxed approach to those less committed to the journey, but also more traditional settings for those who desire it.
Conclusion
This temple seems to represent a very modern approach to a Buddhist community. It is accepting of people from all walks of life, regardless of any characteristics such as age, gender, race, etc. Similarly, practitioner’s denominations hold no weight in their ability to practice at the Temple, as they are accepting of all in that regard as well. The Temple is very noble in only being supported by donations, while simultaneously holding extensive events, classes, and celebrations for all to take part in. To visit the City Campus Temple, visit 133 Canal Street, New York while in New York.