Buddhist Mahayana temple is located in Manhattan Chinatown is the largest in the Western hemisphere, the Chinese enclave. Remarkable building with two gold lions at the entrance is right at the entrance to the Manhattan bridge.

The history of the Church is very touching. The first Buddhist temple in new York was established in 1962 married couple Ingov. Ann and James Inga, immigrants from Taiwan, was equipped in the rear of his store on Broadway, a room for prayers. It was a success among the Chinese Buddhists, and Anne realized I need a real temple.

She made this conclusion because got accustomed to the streets of Chinatown. On the sidewalk sat a lot of older Chinese who did nothing, just chatting and drinking coffee. These were workers who once came here from China, they planned to work ten to twenty years and return home with dollars. Revolution in China destroyed their plans. They could not return home, did not know that with their families, and America did not become a second home to them. These people had nothing to do but sit and wait.

Ann Ing regretted having lost all old people and decided to create a temple, which would be a club. She organized and her husband James financed the establishment of the center on Mott street, 64. There was a small library, people played chess and drank free tea, on Saturdays to the public lectures. But in the depth of the building was a small Church. At this address and is now the Chinese community center.

Many years passed, and the irrepressible Ann Ing, early to build another temple near the city, looked around and saw that the new York Buddhists still not enough places for prayer. And then she built the temple of the Mahayana from the Manhattan bridge, it was opened in 1997 in James ' birthday (he turned 83 years).

The lions, in the tradition of guarding the temple from evil spirits, and the building itself was constructed in the Chinese style. Inside, everything is very simple – wooden floors, red chairs and paper lanterns, but with this simplicity contrasts the biggest in new York, the statue of Buddha. Five-metre high Golden Buddha sitting in the Lotus position, immediately attracts attention. Many tourists perceive the whole situation as an attraction, but people go here to pray, so visitors are asked to keep quiet and not take pictures. However, tourists usually spend more time in the gift shop than about the Buddha. If you donate a dollar, you can get a sheet of paper with the prediction. However, impressionable tourists better not to do it – oddly enough, on papers written not only a good prediction.