Berkeley Buddhist Monastery

Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
	Location in Berkeley
Religion
Affiliation	Chan Buddhism
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	Monastery
Leadership	Heng Sure
Status	Active
Location
Location	2304 McKinley Avenue Berkeley, California
Country	United States
Coordinates	37°52′00″N 122°16′26″W / 37.86655°N 122.27383°W
Architecture
Established	1994
Website
	www.berkeleymonastery.org

The Berkeley Buddhist Monastery is a Chan Buddhist monastery in Berkeley, California affiliated with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and led by Heng Sure. It is the site of the Institute for World Religions, founded by Hsuan Hua.

Berkeley Church of the Nazarene

The Berkeley Buddhist Monastery is currently located on the site of the Berkeley Church of the Nazarene. On January 7, 1897 Dr. Phineas F. Bresee, the founder the of the Nazarene church, held religious services in Berkeley with Rev. Ernest Alexander (E.A.) Girvin who would later serve as the church's first pastor. Soon afterwards the church was constructed, many of its initial worshipers were discontented members of the Trinity Methodist Church. The Church of the Nazarene operated on the corner of McKinley Avenue and Bancroft Way until it was purchased and repurposed as a monastery in 1994.

The Monastery Today

The monastery holds public lectures, meditation sessions, meditation classes, and daily ceremonies, in English and Chinese, and occasionally in Vietnamese. The abbot, Heng Sure, is a supporter of vegetarianism and of the use of the English language and Western musical styles in Buddhist liturgy.

References

↑ "Institute for World Religions - Berkeley Buddhist Monastery". berkeleymonastery.org. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
↑ "Berkeley's New Church". San Francisco Chronicle. Berkeley, California. January 1, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
↑ "Church of the Nazarene". San Francisco Call. Vol. 81. 8 January 1897. p. 11. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
↑ "The Church of the Nazarene and Trinity Methodist Church-Discord in the Latter". San Francisco Call. Vol. 81. 31 December 1896. p. 11. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
↑ Lee, Jonathan H. X.; Iwamura, Jane Naomi; Matsuoka, Fumitaka; Yee, Edmond; Nakasone, Ronald (2015-08-31). Asian American Religious Cultures [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. pp. 209–210. ISBN 9781598843316.

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[berkeleymonastery-1] "Institute for World Religions - Berkeley Buddhist Monastery". berkeleymonastery.org. Retrieved 2015-08-16.

[2] "Berkeley's New Church". San Francisco Chronicle. Berkeley, California. January 1, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved October 3, 2026.

[3] "Church of the Nazarene". San Francisco Call. Vol. 81. 8 January 1897. p. 11. Retrieved 3 October 2026.

[4] "The Church of the Nazarene and Trinity Methodist Church-Discord in the Latter". San Francisco Call. Vol. 81. 31 December 1896. p. 11. Retrieved October 5, 2026.

[5] Lee, Jonathan H. X.; Iwamura, Jane Naomi; Matsuoka, Fumitaka; Yee, Edmond; Nakasone, Ronald (2015-08-31). Asian American Religious Cultures [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. pp. 209–210. ISBN 9781598843316.