Hsi Lai Temple

click photo to enlarge		 No were not converting to Buddhism either.
The Hsa Lai Temple is the largest in the western hemisphere. We wandered and looked at the entire place and as we were leaving discovered they had audio headsets you could wear to tell you what you were looking at. It was mid day and it was hot so we decided it would be a good thing to come back in the winter.

click photo to enlarge		 The grounds are very beautiful. The temple was built on 15 acres and was completed in 1988.  The temple was built as a spiritual center for those who want to learn more about Buddhism and the Chinese culture.

click photo to enlarge		 The architecture is of the traditional Ming Dynasty temples.
They have organized tours for groups and you can also wander the grounds like we did. They also serve vegetarian food in their restaurant. We have visited similar temples in Hong Kong and at one our tour included their vegetarian meal.

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click photo to enlarge		 All of the different statuary have meanings or symbolism but since we didn't have the audio headsets I have no idea.
The picture to the left is looking inside the main temple. There are no photographs allowed inside so I shot this one from outside.