San Francisco has long been home to many generations of Asians who immigrated to the United States. In a lot of cases, they are Buddhists, but since they are from a variety of cultures and countries, the way they practice Buddhism also varies.
At an intersection in San Francisco, not far from the city's Japantown, two buildings provide an interesting contrast. One is a Catholic church designed in a Japanese style to attract Japanese-American worshippers. Across the road sits a Western-style building that appears inside and out much like a church but is actually a Buddhist temple. Ron Kobata, the Japanese-American resident minister, wears a robe much like a Christian minister would, but he does not pray to God. He prays to Buddha.
From Japantown to Chinatown and the Tien Hau Temple, Chinese immigrants in San Francisco
first established this Temple in 1852. It was moved to its present location, also in Chinatown, in
1910. It is dedicated to the Goddess of Heaven and Sea, Tien Hau, also referred to as Mazu.
This is the oldest Buddhist temple in all of San Francisco. It has no monks or nuns: it only has
Susan, who keeps up its day-to-day operations. The temple has become one of San Francisco's
tourist attractions.
More recent Asian immigrants, such as those from Thailand, have brought their own versions of Buddhism. A building near San Francisco's Golden Gate Park has been converted into a temple named Wat San Fran Dhammaram. The temple was established in 2002, and today has more than 600 worshippers, most of whom are ethnic Thai. Seven monks and five nuns live here.
Tibetan Buddhism is another school of Buddhism increasingly popular in the United States. Tibetan Buddhism has enriched an already very vibrant Buddhist community San Francisco. (Source: Voice of America, Jan 28, 2010)