Buddhism in the Bay Area: A Digital Documentation
Advisor: Ms. Sagal
Internship Location: (IBM)Remote
Onsite Mentor: Ying Lu
Buddhism has played an instrumental role in Chinese culture for thousands of years. Ever since its introduction to China in the Han dynasty, it has undergone evolution and numerous changes, making it very different from its original Indian form and more adapted to traditional Chinese values and ideologies. It serves as an important cultural connection for many generations of the Chinese diaspora. After preliminary research using print and online sources, I will study how Buddhism Has evolved in the Bay Area, from the earliest waves of Chinese immigration to the present day, by comparing temples in the Bay Area to each other and to ones in China. By using photography as a medium, I will be able to visually document my research in a way that other digital mediums Cannot. In my final product, I will compile the photos I’ve taken over this period into a photo album, separated by location, with captions analyzing the differences between these temples and comparing them to the information I obtained from my preliminary research on Buddhism in China, in order to trace the evolution of Chinese Buddhism in the Bay Area.
Project Blog
Week 0: Introduction
Coming from a Chinese family, whenever we’d visit China over the holidays, I saw how Buddhist influences were present in many aspects of culture and day-to-day life. Buddhism has played an instrumental role in Chinese culture for thousands of years. Ever since its introduction to China in the Han dynasty, it has undergone evolution and numerous changes, diverging from its original Indian form and adapting to traditional Chinese values and ideologies. It serves as an important cultural connection for many generations of the Chinese diaspora.
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the largest concentrations of Asian, particularly Chinese, immigrants and diaspora in the United States. As a religion in its original location keeps evolving over time, offshoots of this religion, after spreading to new regions, deviate and branch off, influenced by local populations, events, and cultural shifts. The situation becomes more complicated with multiple waves of immigration, each one with different motivations and contexts.
I want to conduct this research to understand how Buddhism has evolved in the Bay Area, from the earliest waves of Chinese immigration to the present day. By using photography as a medium, I will be able to visually document my research in a way that other digital mediums cannot. This research will also help me establish my own identity in relation to my ancestral roots.
Week 1
This week, I focused on compiling and reading some sources and papers about Chinese Buddhism, including “The successful integration of Buddhism with Chinese culture” (Ou, 2012) and “Chinese Buddhism in transnational contexts” (Cheng, 2020). An interesting distinction presented by the latter was the definition of “Chinese Buddhism,” a broad term most commonly excluding other Buddhist traditions in China including the form of Theravada Buddhism practised by the Dai people in southern China. As Cheng states, this definition “as such allows us to look at Chinese Buddhism as a religious and cultural practice, without the limitation of geo-political boundaries.” Although this paper focused on the earlier transnational spread of Chinese Buddhism to countries like Vietnam, I find that it raised points applicable to Chinese Buddhism’s spread to other places, like the United States, as well.
I also began my search for (mainly Chinese, but I keep an open heart to other denominations) Buddhist temples located around the Bay Area. I found one Pao Hua Buddhist Temple in San Jose, and I intend to pay it a visit next week to take some photos and observe the workings of it. I have started compiling interview questions, and I will finish them next week before my visit. Additionally, although I did not get the chance to do so this week, next week I will visit the library in search of books about Chinese Buddhism’s spread and the distinctions between different sects of Buddhism, and I will research more websites and documentaries.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back next week!
Week 2
This week, I visited the library and picked up a few books to begin reading. I got started on The Art of Buddhism by Denise Patry Leidy, which offers valuable insight into the iconography of Buddhism and how it’s changed between different regions and evolved over the centuries. The book seems to present a fairly comprehensive view of Buddhist art up until the nineteenth century. One can see how Buddhism takes on elements of cultures it comes into contact with, eventually becoming a mish-mash of fragments of history.
I also visited Pao Hua Buddhist Temple and took some photos, which I have attached below. I was unfortunately unable to find anyone to interview, but the place itself was peaceful and quite beautiful, a quiet place in the middle of suburban San Jose. Next week, I will continue reading the books I borrowed from the library and searching for more temples to visit.
That’s it. Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Week 3
This week, I focused mostly on continuing to read the books I picked up from the library last week. I continued reading The Art of Buddhism and started on Approaching The Buddhist Path by the Dalai Lama, in the hopes that it would provide me with inspiration for my project. Although they were both intriguing reads, offering insight into a field still relatively new to me, I feel that hands-on research through temple visits and photography will be a more direct approach and of more use to me.
Unfortunately, I was unable to accomplish as much this week as I had been hoping to, on account of my wisdom teeth having been extracted from the warm embrace of their dental alveoli. However, next week I plan to visit Pu Guang Temple in Oakland and possibly another one too, to make up for this week. Apologies for the short post this time; next week, I will return with something more substantial. See you!
Week 4
This week, I visited Pao Hua Temple again to take some more photos. This time, I was able to talk to a monk and ask some questions about the temple. I learned that Pao Hua has been around for over 30 years, with its primary demographic being Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese speakers) and Vietnamese people. The temple is dedicated to worshipping the Three Saints of the Western Pure Land (Chinese: 西方三圣; exact English translation varies between sources). Below are some photos I took this time around:
I also visited Pu Guang Temple in Oakland. It was a small place, sequestered away in a nondescript building with washed-out brick and peeling paint, but there was something beautiful about a place of devotion and worship hidden away in this dreary, urban landscape.
That’s it for this week. In the future, I’ll continue visiting more temples. See you all!
Week 5
Hello everyone! This week, I visited not one, not two, but four different temples. The first one was Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale, and the first thing I noticed upon arriving was the stone engravings mounted on the side of the building, depicting scenes from the Buddhist mythos. The Chung Tai Zen Center and the neighboring churches and temples were juxtaposed with the Apple Wolfe campus, the quintessential Bay Area corporate tech office. Although I was not allowed to photograph the indoors, I had the chance to speak with one of the monks working there. I learned that it was a branch of the Taiwanese Buddhist organization Chung Tai, with over 90 locations. This was by far the largest and most widespread organization I’ve seen on this journey.
(image: one of the stone engravings on the wall)
The next three I visited were all Buddhist temples catering to Southeast Asian populations, all located within a 1-mile radius in San Jose. I visited Wat Lao Buddhaxinaram (Lao), Huyen Khong Monastery (Vietnamese), and Khemararam Buddhist Temple (Cambodian). At each one, I talked with monks working there to understand more about Buddhism in their respective cultures and their experiences working at these temples and monasteries in the Bay Area. Something I found interesting was that Huyen Khong Monastery (and seemingly most Vietnamese Buddhists) practices Mahayana Buddhism, possibly due to a higher degree of cultural influence from China, whereas Wat Lao Buddhaxinaram and Khemararam Temple both follow the Theravada branch of Buddhism, which is in fact the official religion of Cambodia and the dominant religion of Laos. At Khemararam Temple, I had the chance to talk at length with Vuthy, a monk who had studied Buddhism in and moved from Cambodia to the United States to spread Buddhism. He commented on the generational and cultural gap between first generation and second generation immigrants, which seemed to be a common sentiment. All of the people I spoke to were very passionate about and knowledgeable on their faiths, which was kind of inspiring.
(left: the nine-headed naga, a protective serpent spirit; center: the interior of Wat Lao Buddhaxinaram; right: the interior of Huyen Khong Monastery)
(left: the interior of Khemararam Temple; center: Vuthy, standing outside; right: the Cambodian flag, the Buddhist flag, the Californian flag, and the United States flag, in order from left to right.)
Thank you for reading, and I’ll be back next week!
Week 6
This week, I visited the Land of Medicine Buddha Retreat Center, located in Soquel. The place provides lodging, classes, and spa facilities, and is located in the middle of a redwood forest in the mountains. The place is dedicated to worshipping Ksitigarbha, a bodhisattva commonly revered in East Asian Buddhism. His name translates to Earth Store, and he is one of the four principal bodhisattvas, along with Samantabhadra, Manjusri, and Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism. Ksitigarbha is depicted carrying a cintamani (shown in the photo), a wish-fulfilling jewel in the form of a clear orb.
Although I was unable to find anyone to ask for further information in person, the retreat center’s website offers some background info; Land of Medicine Buddha is part of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which was established in the 1970’s in order to hold together the many Dharma centers and projects that have sprung out of the teachings of Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, beginning with Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Next week, I will continue compiling all the information and photos I’ve accumulated so far, a task I began this week. That’s all for this week, and thanks for reading!
Week 7
For this week, I’m focusing on rereading some sources from earlier that I haven’t finished, such as The Art of Buddhism. In the next couple of weeks, as I travel around China, I hope to visit well-known temples such as Qinglong Temple in Xi’an, which is known as the cradle of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to observe and study these historical and cultural landmarks in person.
This week’s blog post is regrettably short, as I am traveling to China for a couple weeks and will be back in early May. See you all again next (next) week!
Week 8
Hey everyone! I had a nice, relaxing spring break, but now I'm back on the grind. Since I'm in China, I had the opportunity to visit some temples. So far, I've visited three: Xiangji temple, the origin of Pure Land Buddhism; Daxingshan Temple (Tantric/Vajrayana Buddhism); and Guangren Temple (Tibetan Buddhism). Some of these temples had more tourists and sightseers (particularly those located in urban centers), but I also noticed that overall there would be a lot of people lighting incense and praying. I definitely feel that religion is much more commonplace in Chinese culture; even if one isn't a part of the faith, one can still pray at a temple for good luck, etc. This lines up with what I've learned from speaking to people at temples in the Bay Area; perhaps religious acts are less normalized(?) in American culture.
The architecture of Chinese temples is definitely more grandiose in both detailing and scale:
(left: the partially collapsed pagoda of Shandao at Xiangji temple; center and right: the intricate detailing and vibrant colors associated with Tibetan Buddhism, at Guangren Temple.)
Here are some more miscellaneous photos:
Overall, it’s cool to see how various design elements and even the people contrast or parallel Buddhism back in the Bay Area. That’s it for this week, and I’ll see you all next week!
Week 9
Hey everyone! Before I leave China, I’m making two final visits to two temples. Shuilu’an in Linyi is well known for its almost 4000 intricate and unique clay sculptures lining the walls, detailing the life of Sakyamuni/Siddartha Gautama. It is also known for being one of 30+ real-life locations that the hit action RPG Black Myth: Wukong was based off of, which helped it gain more popularity as a tourist attraction (although still not as crowded as some real tourist hotspots, like the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda). I also visited the Small Wild Goose Pagoda located in Chang’an, the historic capital of the Han and Tang dynasties. Unlike other temples I visited, which were a combination of tourist attractions and functional sites of worship, this one no longer serves its original purpose as a temple.
That’s all for now. I’m finally returning from China, just as this senior project is starting to wrap up. See you all next week (for what may possibly be the last time)!
Week 10: Finale
What’s up!!! We’re finally at the end of our senior project journey. It’s been a long ten weeks, and yet the time passes so quickly once you look back from the finish line. Over the course of these months, as I’ve visited and observed temples, taken dozens of photos, and talked to monks, I feel that I’ve gained a better understanding of the state of Buddhism in the Bay Area and beyond. One common theme of the practice of Buddhism in the US was the cultural disconnect between generations, which I brought up in a previous post. From the language barrier, to a lack of interest in following a religion relatively uncommon in this country, many second-generation Asian immigrants do not hold as strong of religious beliefs as their parents and ancestors. Something else I took note of was the overall attitude towards religion, particularly Buddhism, in the Bay Area and in China (and Asia): in Asia, Buddhism is viewed as familiar, foundational, and traditional, while in Western spheres it is seen as progressive, new-age, possibly even “woke”.
Overall, conducting this research was an enlightening experience and I’m grateful that I got the chance to study Buddhism’s place in our culture today. Religion is such a broad yet nuanced topic to tackle, with so many different facets and angles, and this project has inspired me to continue looking into religious studies, as spirituality is such a fascinating aspect of human culture that has shaped the course of history over centuries and millennia.
Thank you all for reading, and goodbye!