Ten Ho Temple (original) (raw)

750 Yale St

The Thien Hau Temple is a traditional Chinese temple where prayers and worship are offered to ancestors and Chinese gods.

The Chua Ba Thien Hau (or CamAu) Temple

The Los Angeles Chinatown temple is one of 1,000 temples worldwide dedicated to the goddess Lin. While the "mother" temple is in Fukian province of China, smaller temples can be found in many areas in the south of Vietnam, southern China, and wherever peoples from these regions have settled, including Los Angeles!

Legend has it that Lin was born mute and even as a baby never cried. She is beloved by people who make their living by the sea and is consulted in matters concerning money, work, love and life in general. Many of those who worship here have very personal stories of suffering in Vietnam because they didn't heed Lin's advice, or loosing money in business schemes in this country that didn't pan out because they didn't ask her advice.

Her believers come to the temple to worship her with food offerings, incense offerings*, and donations. To ask a question, they shake a can of sticks to see what number stick falls out, and then consult slips of papers arranged on the left hand wall that decipher the number into a message. Her birthday is the 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month (usually falling in April or May).

The History of CamAu Temple: This temple was originally a Christian church and was bought 12 years ago and transformed into a Buddhist temple. It has gained in popularity and has been able to raise a great deal of donated money with which to build a larger and grander temple next door. Later in 2005, the old temple will be demolished to make way for a parking area for the new CamAu Temple next door.

Deities at the Main Altar The figure on the left is Fu De, the earthly deity. The figure in the middle is Lin Meng (also known as Ah-po or Ma-zho), the goddess and protector of fishermen and coastline areas. The figure on the right is Guang Gong, protector of the Heavens.

*Incense is available on a complimentary basis at the temple because individuals donate it believing that if someone uses their incense to worship the goddess, they will receive blessings too. If one wants to make sure that the goddess knows it is he/she that is worshipping, one should either bring one's own incense, or pay for whatever incense used, paying as much or as little as one wishes.

Chinese New Year Traditions: On the eve of Chinese New Year, the community gathers to receive a blessing and to burn incense in worship of the deities. Lion dancers perform and firecrackers are popped in order to scare away an evil spirits. Representatives from the over 25 family associations headquartered in Chinatown are present to light the firecrackers.

On the 1st and 15th day of the New Year, the ceremonial bell and drum are played and only vegetarian food is supposed to be consumed. People come to the temple especially during the first week after New Year to receive a blessing for the year. On the 15th day of the New Year people come to the temple to borrow money from the goddess Lin and to pay back what they promised to her. (Generally, double the amount of money borrowed is paid back to the temple the next year.)

The New CamAu Temple Next door, finishing touches are being added to the impressive structure that will become the new home of goddess Lin in the spring of 2005. $2 million was raised to build the new temple, with many specific parts (such as columns and doors) being donated by wealthy individuals. Most of the masonry, ceiling, and decorative art was crafted in China and assembled on site.

The ceremonial drum and bell can be seen hanging next to the massive columns at the temple's entrance. The front doors represent the traditional door guard deities, and on the sides one can find the gods of the four directions. Inside the temple are panels carved of pure granite representing dragons (on the right wall) and tigers (on the left wall). The main deity niche is much grander than that of the original temple and will house the same representations of the deities.

The temple is scheduled to open in spring of 2005, and the old temple will be raised to make room for much needed parking.

Other Chinatown Temples - Los Angeles Chinatown is home to six temples. In addition to these, most of the family associations have ancestral shrines that are sometimes confused with temples.

The temples are located at:

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