Da Bao Temple

Look for the US flag, the Buddhist flag and the Vietnam flag hanging proudly at this temple if you are lost. Chua Da Bao or Da Bao Temple is quite the hidden gem. This temple is quaint and cozy, but the headmaster Thay Nhu Hai has a big heart. He is compassionate and caring with all who encounters him.
My mom and I first met Thay Nhu Hai when he did the prayer at a family friend’s funeral and also the weekly prayers and other traditional death-​praying after: once a week for 7 weeks, 49 days, 100 days & deathiversaries. He is very helpful and informative with families who are less knowledgeable about these burial traditions and we like his style of praying.
I also later found out that Thay Nhu Hai is friends with the Headmaster at Quang Thien Temple, Thay Minh Dung. I guess it’s a small world when it comes to a minority community of Vietnamese Buddhist in southern California.
So my mom and I come here a few times a year to visit this little temple and to have tea with Thay Nhu Hai. I appreciate the conversations he has with him because I feel like he provides a very deep and wise moral outlook on life. He is simple enough that even a non-​Buddhist can understand and appreciate his profound wisdom. On a few of our visits, we have ran into a few of his other disciples from out of state who have sought out his temple during their visit to California. He clearly made an impression on their lives if they took the time to see him on their vacation.
When my mom had her surgeries, Thay Nhu Hai heard about it somehow and he actually reached out to her to ask how she was doing and that he would pray for her quick recovery. I think that is so caring, especially since we aren’t even his weekly Sunday disciples. Not to make it sound casual, but in the past I have actually called or texted him to pray for people for me. «Cau An» is praying for wellbeing for the living and «Cau Sieu» is praying for peace for the dead. Thay Nhu Hai is a very benevolent and compassionate individual.
I would definitely take my mom to Da Bao Temple more often if it was closer to home, but we always come during New Years during our Temple-​hopping routine and a few more times throughout the year. I always love the smaller temples because I feel like they care more.