8 APRIL 2016 City Employees Club of Los Angeles • Alive! Angel Gomez, Club Director of Sales 8 Angel’s Be Alive! Hsi Lai Temple Hacienda Heights Hello again, everybody! It’s a little different this month – we visit the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights. If you hike the Hellman trail in Whittier, you can see the very top of the temple, which from there looks about the size of your hand. I always wanted to go see the inside of the temple but never got around to making the trip. So for this month, we did. I told my family, “Today, we are going to the temple in Hacienda Heights.” They all said “okay,” so off we went. That was easy! I should have done it a long time ago. History: The temple was built in 1988 and took more than 10 years to plan and construct. The founder of Hsi Lai Temple is Venerable Master Hsing Yun. This temple serves as a center for people interested in Buddhism and Chinese culture. “Hsi Lai” means “coming to the West.” Architecture found in the temple is loyal to the Ming and Ching dynasties. This includes buildings, gardens and statues. The Hsi Lai Temple covers 15 acres and 102,432 square feet. In the middle of the entire temple there is a cement area that is very open and spacious. The Hsi Lai Temple also has many information centers with Year of the Monkey decorations. detailed knowledge of Buddhism. We happened to go on the last day of the Chinese New Year celebra- tions. This year 2016 is the year of the monkey. When we arrived we were surprised to see many decorations celebrating the monkey. The day we vis- ited, we were told that was the last day to hit the bell symbolizing the New Year. Wow! That was amazing! I never hit a bell in a Buddhist temple and on the last day; I must be lucky. Inside there were many statues and sculptures that showed powerful figures of Buddhism. We walked up the steps into the temple and were amazed with all the gorgeous statues and figures that surrounded the entire room. This place was breathtaking, and you should come take a look. We loved the serenity of just being there and would love to come back and learn more about Buddhism. Note about photography: Taking pictures inside the temple is prohibited without permission, which we received for The Avalokitesvara Garden. this article. If you want to relax and get away from the daily grind, I recom- mend you stop by this temple. It’s another wonderful find for us to explore and create new memories, so make some time and visit this amazing place. You will be impressed. We all recom- mend you visit at lest once. A gold statue on the grounds. Be well and “Be Alive!” I share a moment with this amazing statue. Hsi Lai Temple 3456 Glenmark Dr., Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 Hours: 9 a m. to 5 p m. daily • Do not bring meat of any kind or alco- Cost: Free hol onto the temple grounds . Stairs that lead to the temple. • Please show respect to the temple Parking: Free (street parking) and dress appropriately: no sleeve- Special notes: less shirts or blouses, tank tops, • Smoking is prohibited throughout the shorts or short skirts . temple grounds . • Many rooms are off-limits to the public . • Photos and video recording is Please be aware of the signs . allowed only outdoors . Directions: From downtown get on US • No commercial photography is 101 south from West Fourth Street for allowed without permission . two miles . Follow CA-60 east to Three Palms Street in Hacienda Heights . Take exit 16 from CA-60 east (16 3. miles), then follow South Hacienda Boulevard to Castle Bar Drive (2 3. miles) ..