In January I got the chance to visit the Hsi Lai Temple just outside of LA. I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest, I had been to a few Buddhist temples before but never one this big! The people at the temple were preparing for Lunar New Year which meant lots of decorations and flower lanterns everywhere (I mean.. EVERYWHERE).

The people inside the temple working there were nothing short of SUPER freaking nice and they even gave us these little mp3 players to use on a self guided tour. While there we were informed that we could take photos anywhere outside but not inside of the buildings. We were curious about why not inside the building and the nice information lady told us that according to their religion it is bad luck to throw away an image of a Buddha. So to protect us non informed people from possibly creating bad karma for ourselves they make sure that we don’t take photos of any of the what seemed like thousands of statues.

A vegetarian buffet is available for a $7 donation during the lunch hours and you’re welcome to roam around and even try out their tea service. Even for non-Buddhist people it was a really relaxing and beautiful place to take photos and spend a couple of minutes. I highly recommend stopping by to take a look at the big gates if you happen to be in the area!