Pasadena Buddhist Temple

I’ve been here 5 times and each time I feel more and more welcomed by the kind people I meet at the Sunday sermons. This is a beautiful sanctuary; very peaceful. On the contrary, the members seem active with fundraisers such as the upcoming «Super Bowl Chirashi Sale.» Only $ 5 for a delicious homemade meal! This is an example of how sweet this place is. Everyone is welcome, and it’s nicely tucked away within a Pasadena neighborhood. I hope to be a regular here.

This is a bit of a delayed review. but the Obon (wknd of July 13 – 14 this year) was great!
The crowd really gets into the bon odori dancing; apparently they do a lot of practicing before the big day. Food is great — love the shave ice kintoki style tho the line can get really long. The staff at the beer booth were awesome — handing out free coozies to keep your beer (JA favorites: Budweisers, Coorses) cold on the hot day! For the kids they have ring toss, ping pong-​ball-​into-​the-​fish-​bowl (alas, no goldfish prizes), other tossing of objects games, and taiko drummers.
Did I mention great food?

Japanese Obon (oh bohn) festivals are summer time local events which originated from Buddhist philosophy 2,500 years ago in India. One of Shakamuni Buddha’s disciples, Maha Maudgalyayana or Mokuren in Japanese, had supernatural powers and could see his mother suffering in the afterworld. He conferred with the Buddha who counseled him to make food offerings to his fellow monks which was on the 7^th month of lthe 15^th day.
This act of kindness released his mother from agony. Mokuren was overjoyed not only by the fact that his mother was no longer suffering, but also remembered her sacrifices & unselfishness toward him while she was still on this earth.
This realization made him dance for joy & gratefulness. Hence to this day, during the Obon Festival, ancestors are venerated, and people dance in the dark, warm, humid summer evenings in joy & gratefulness like Mokuren.
I have two left feet so I had to opt out of the Obon dancing, but in order to help with the temple fund raising, I bought something that is very near and dear to my heart or should I say stomach.
I ordered Yaki To-​morokoshi or roasted corn on the cob. Being in California, not only was there the traditional Teriyaki sauce to glaze over the corn, you could butter it up and pour on powdered Parmesan cheese, or sprinkle on Pico de Gallo Chile powder mix, etc. The corn was fresh & sweet and tasted of summer.
Also ordered their charcoal grilled beef Teriyaki which was quite good. The Teriyaki sauce had a strong taste of Sho-​yu (soy sauce) with a touch of sugar & a soupçon of ginger.
I tend to like complex flavours since being in California I am influenced by all sorts of cuisine like Korean & Mexican so at home I would whore my version of teriyaki with garlic, pureed jalapeño peppers & cilantro. But I can see my version would be a little too busy for some people.
For dessert, we ordered the Japanese Shaved Ice known as Ko-​ri. This variant is called Kintoki which is Azuki beans simmered with sugar for hours until the beans are sweet and soft. The sweetened Azuki beans are then poured over the soft, snowy ice.
For added extra creaminess, I ordered condensed milk to be drizzled on top of the shaved ice. The Filipino crushed ice dessert drink called Halo Halo has similar cooked sweet beans that reminds me of azuki beans.
By now the Bön Odori (dance) started and the dancers started to circle & dance in a counter-​clockwise direction. We watched and hanged around until it became dark.
Obon Festivals are relaxed, laid back family/​friends events, and are a good excuse to meet people you haven’t met for some time. It reminds me a little like Mexico where people do the Paseo around the town square meeting and talking with friends, relatives, lovers, etc. except Obon lasts only 3 days in Japan.

First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you to the congregation for their hospitality and understanding and ultimately, insight!
I needed to do field work for my studies on religious communities, their beliefs, and their impact in society and had already been to several different religious institutions, however, I had yet to visit a buddhist temple and so when I learned of the Pasadena Buddhist Temple, I visited their site (which was extremely helpful and easy to navigate) and decided to attend their sunday service.
The congregation was few in number but the atmosphere was so inviting and the environment so drawing, I knew I made a great decision to collect my experiences from this place. We finished the service and Reverend Unno at the end led a question and answer session (it was so great because that day there just happened to be two other women who were visiting for academic purposes and we were able to share each others curiosity while our questions were clearly and deeply answered by the Sensei!) We sat down in an intimate Q&A circle with several members of the congregation also in attendance and had not only our questions answered, but also received immense insight into the core of the beliefs, the community that holds to it, and even a large amount of historical information that helped us see the evolution of Buddhism. That coupled with the Reverend’s sense of humor and his honesty, was one of the most insightful, productive (in the sense that I got more than I was expecting), and comfortable sharing circles I’ve recently been a part of. Reverend Unno is extremely knowledgeable, not only in his own profession but WOW thoroughly educated! His credentials and his teaching circuit are in itself, primary sources of accurate information that I know will come in handy when referencing my information.
I’m not a Buddhist and although I’ve had many opportunities to learn about it, I have never been more educated than I was talking with the sensei for the two hours that he patiently endured~
Once again, a huge thank you and yes! I will visit again~

I love this place because I pretty much grew up here. My grandparents started this Church at their house. And then it grew to this actually church then a house. It has a lot of good traditions here that they are still trying to keep up. They have their annual teriyaki dinner or sukiyaki dinners. Of course every summer they still have Obons. They are nice enough to even hold Hatsubon services for people as well.
This place may seem old and people might even wonder who bothers coming. But show up to a event that they have and you won’t be disappointed. That’s only if you enjoy the Japanese culture.

«They say that a shallow man changes his teachings, while a man of depth repeats the same lessons,» Reverend Unno (a.k.a. «Sensei») tells us. «I am a shallow man.»
He says this in the context of reiterating the lesson taught by a great Zen master, which he says was repeated by the master countless times– at services, at lectures, at large Buddhist gatherings. The master silently raised his index finger in the air, then lowered it.
The message: everything is perfect as it is– right here, right now.
I feel so at home here. I am immediately welcomed and greeted as a newcomer. (One of a small handful of Caucasians in a temple full of Japanese.) The service, conducted in both languages, is warm, deep, and slightly irreverent.
In sharp contrast to the central Buddhist teaching of «Right Speech», Rev. Unno mocks celebrities with their money, knocking everyone from David Beckham to Hannah Montana to illustrate that money and happiness/​fulfillment do not go hand in hand. But he does this with such warmth and playfulness that it is, somehow, just right.
The resident minister, Okada, then conducts a brief service in Japanese, and the service culminates with a performance by the precious children of the Dharma school who, in puppy and kitten costume, sing a song that goes something like, «Buddha loves every kitten meow meow meow meow meow.»
This particular day of service was followed by a delicious Japanese lunch, complete with a fortune cookie. «You will experience changes for the better,» mine proclaims. Apparently, this powerful cookie works retroactively, for I am already full from this experience.