chuang yen monastery

As you ascend the sidewalk, you are transported to another world. Worshipers begin their prayers as they walk towards the temple. (Helpful hint: You need to wear socks. All shoes are removed if you want to go inside. Bring a bag if you do not want to leave your shoes unattended.)In a chaotic world, this monastery is one of the quiet highlights of the Hudson Valley.

The monastery must be on old sacred grounds . As soon as you come up the drive you will get a sense of calmness and know you are in a place of peace and acceptance. One can come for the day or for a retreat of up to ten or more days . There are weekly meditations and classes. Sometimes there are movies and lectures. The food is simple and the residence spartan if you choose to stay for a retreat. The website is difficult to navigate but most of the information is there.

This place is probably not for you if you are looking to have "fun" time with your family. It is more of a spiritual place. If you would like to enjoy peaceful time for some time then this is the place to visit. I don't think kids will enjoy it as there is nothing for kids there. There is gift shop but everything is way too expensive. They also serve vegetarian food between 12-1 for the price of $6. Again food is very simple nothing fancy. I went with my spouse and we enjoyed it.

There are plenty of great parks and trails in the area where you can appreciate what is a naturally beautiful area in this part of the Hudson Highlands. The monastery adds a unique sort of meditative element. Well kept grounds and buildings, including a statue arcade and the traditional bell & drum towers (full of swallows' nests). The whole place is on kind of a loop, with several criss-crossing foot trails through both wilderness and garden areas. There is also a large pond filled with carp and turtles, where I used to bring my toddler children to throw bread crumbs when I lived in the area. It's not strictly a "tourist destination," but it is worth visiting if you're in the area and open to a little cross-cultural spirituality.

We visited the monastery during the week. Very quiet and peaceful. Interesting statues line the walkway up. Be prepared for bland, vegetarian meal if you eat there. We signed up for a tour, which turned out to be one woman who spoke for over an hour about her life experience with Buddhism. The only item of interest she pointed out was that it houses the largest Buddha in North America, which I already knew. I was hoping for a tour of the grounds, but she just kept on talking and finally after an hour, I politely excused myself. Nice-sized gift shop; very scenic. If you're in the area, it's worth visiting for an hour or two.

We were there on a Saturday morning around 9:30am. There was only one other car in the visitor parking area, but the main building was packed full of people, all in special attire, having some sort of service. Most of the signs have English under them, so you know what something is, but there aren't any directions as to where you should be going to see stuff, what there is to see, or areas you're allowed to go into. None of the other buildings were open as far as we could tell, and we were only able to peak inside at the giant Buddha, because we didn't want to be disrespectful and disrupt their service. The buildings are interesting for someone who's never been to China, but overall it just doesn't feel like the kind of place a tourist should stop.

A very nice and modest monastery. Peaceful and quiet. Beautiful statues and sculptures. Very clean, parking available.

Initially I wanted to stop here on the way to somewhere else primarily to see their gardens. This turned out to be a very interesting and relaxing stop. I came on a Sunday morning and, although I am a Christian not a Buddhist, I found much to enjoy here. I did not realize they would be holding services during my visit and the chanting and bit of pageantry were lovely and immediately transported one to Asia without the airfare. Another pleasant surprise was the $6 vegetarian plate lunch. Simple, authentic Chinese home cooking! Some nice things in the gift shop, a pretty lake and some monuments to see also. Never did find much in the way of cultivated (as opposed to woodland) gardens but was very glad we stopped. I believe much of what we enjoyed (lunch, chanting) is only happening on Sunday around noon though, so check their website. Also, be sure and wear slip off shoes and be aware that there are lots of stairs involved.

The temple and grounds are very peaceful. It's a nice way to spend a few hours walking around. There are thousands of mini Buddhas in the temple that houses the large one. Murals in the temple are interesting too.

We were heading to PA and decided to detour and visit this place. What a great experience! The place was beautiful and very peaceful. It allowed us the opportunity to meditate for a few minutes, even though we had 2 small children with us. Lots of amazing books available for he price of your donation. Also, the gift shop provided lots of interesting jewelry and spiritual pieces. Definitely a must visit again!

Just wandering around the place you get the feeling of peace and freedom. You will feel refreshed in the mind. Also learn about the lovely buddha religion and the friendly people. Very serene and lovely place.

It's not really a tourist destination but just a place to see. My wish would have been someone to give a tour or answer questions. The funniest part was finding our respective Buddha that matched who we are. Also now I have seen the largest Buddha in America and that's cool.

It's peaceful & quiet. Surrounding is beautiful. We missed the lunch time, though , next time we will go back there and try their vegetarian foods.

This is a place younmust visit. The lsrgest statue of Buddah can be seen insidethe temple. It is 60 ft high. There are gardens and a pond which make for a very peaceful enviorment. I was somhapoy to learn about Buddaism.dont miss it.

Very interesting to visit. Quiet and peaceful. They even let you watch evening prayers . You can take nice walks thru the property and see different statues and places of prayer. There are places to sit and think , listen to nature. I enjoyed a visit very much with my daughter who did a report for her school.