Jeng Sen Buddhism and Taoism Association, San Francisco旧金山正善佛道社
- Type
- Overseas Daoist Temples
- Location
- United States · California · San Francisco · Second floor, 146 Waverly Place, in the same block as the Tin How Temple in Chinatown
- Coordinates
- 37.7943, -122.4068 Map ↗
- First built
- 1957 · Founded in 1957, according to the temple's own account
Overview
The Jeng Sen Buddhism and Taoism Association occupies the second floor of a building on Waverly Place (formerly called Tin How Temple Street) in Chinatown, and is one of the rare religious organizations in North America whose formal name explicitly declares "joint veneration of Buddhism and Daoism"; the temple describes itself as the first Buddhist–Daoist united temple in the United States. Its altars are arranged in three groups: the main altar enshrines Chunyang, Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin), with a separate altar for Shakyamuni Buddha and the various buddhas and bodhisattvas, and another for the Most High Lord Lao and the assembled immortals and perfected. This arrangement continues the South Chinese tradition of the "Daoist altar–benevolent hall" in North America: Patriarch Lü serves as the principal deity for spirit-writing and moral exhortation, Buddhist and Daoist deities are worshipped together in the same hall, and doctrinal boundaries are not strictly maintained. The third floor of the building serves as a rehearsal space for a Cantonese opera troupe and the ground floor houses a restaurant, making it a typical example of the "vertically stacked" religious space of Chinatown. It is open to the public daily, and its rites and fortune-stick interpretation are conducted mainly in Cantonese.
Highlights
- Describes itself as the first Buddhist–Daoist united temple in the United States
- Dedicated primarily to Chunyang Patriarch Lü, with Shakyamuni and the Most High Lord Lao also enshrined
- A continuation of the South Chinese Daoist altar–benevolent hall tradition in North America
- A typical example of Chinatown's vertically stacked religious space