Fo Guang Shen Temple

Great lunch! BBQ wonton soup was delicious, although vegetarian you couldn’t tell (meaning, my meat eating husband also thought that it was great). Green tea also good. Beautiful surroundings to top off a great afternoon in a unique spot.

I am not a full practising Buddhist nor a vegetarian i still enjoy the time spent here at this temple. At times I do pray here and eat here, find peace within and enjoy what food there is. Of course they did a fantastic job of creating and building the temple along the same lines as the ones in China, but like many things overseas you will never get the same experience, feeling or look as you do in the native country. It is good how they welcome anyone into their community who wishes to follow Buddhism, provide learning classes for both adults and children in different subjects, and provide an area of peace in the middle of a built up area. And like I said before the food is good and healthy.

This Temple is truly a captivating sight. It yelled out, ‘FILM ME’ the moment I saw it. Sort of reminds you of those Kung Fu movies Bruce Lee was famous for, or perhaps more ornate ones, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
For all its superficial beauty and splendour, I found the people who run it to be very focused on commercialism. They are wonderful at it by far, but it’s not something I would expect from humble, Buddhist monks. I like that they reach out to the community, but the commercialism took away from their religious aspect.
Still, it’s a nice place for a spot of tea.

I’m not a Buddhist at all but I still love everything about this Buddhist Temple situated in what seems like the middle of nowhere. The temple structure and design is massive and simply beautiful, it really looks like it just doesn’t belong where it is.
When I first saw this place under construction, I was really shocked at the sheer size of it. The architecture of the finished building is a very traditional design and reminds me so much of being in Japan. Perhaps this is why I enjoy visiting this temple, to get my nostalgic fix. It’s a little bit of the orient in NZ.
Anyway, the inside is just as spectacular as the exterior and has enormous space. It’s so quiet and peaceful, with monks walking around and everything! It’s free to enter the building, and I strongly suggest that you check it out at least once. They have a pretty cool gift store near the entrance too.

Every time I used to go to Botany Town Centre for some superficial unnecessary money spending, I always saw this place and thought twice. A place that just oozes tranquility and inner reflection. Perhaps this is why it is located so close to the mall.
Soon enough, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to visit this place, not only because it looks so intriguing, like a grand Buddhist temple of mainland China, and not only because I myself feel attuned to Buddhism as a religion. But also because my mum used to go there and get takeaway vegetarian noodles, which always tasted addictively authentic.
Once you enter those gates, you truly feel as if you’ve left Auckland. The exterior is so ornate and intricate, and the interior equally so, but it is the gardens that make this place special. This is the best place to find peace within yourself in Auckland.
The tea room is also a nice touch (try the lemon tea!)