Tu Vien Kim Son Monastery

Visited today (a tuesday). The 4 of us were the only visitors, besides the construction workers. We were told they DO NOT serve food to the public. They don’t have a proper license. (The Madonna Center, down the road at 445 Summit, has a public Café open before and after lunch. Lunch is served with advance reservations.)
Beautiful grounds… I encourage walking around. Don’t miss the pond, with turtles and koi, in the lower part of the grounds.

Very peaceful drive and it’s beautiful up here. Their vegetarian lunch is complimentary so make sure you put in a donation.

A very scary ass drive from Santa Cruz but it was well worth it.
Greeted w/​massive statues of many Buddhist icons once you enter the parking lot. I felt a sense of ease the second I arrived. I’m usually not a calm and patient person but visiting temples in general made me stop to smell the roses. You kidding me? Usually I don’t have time to stop to smell the roses! Once Gavin and I entered the temple, we prayed and continued to be in awe w/​everything.
It was still early and I didn’t want to leave so soon so I asked if there is anything I can do to help; setup tables and chairs, kitchen help, anything! I was put on carrot duty. After chopping carrots for just a few minutes, I had a deeper appreciation for those working in the kitchen. It also made me feel blessed for being able to help in their kitchen. Gavin was right beside me, eating oranges and helping me «inspect» the carrots as I chopped them. After what seemed to be forever, we were asked to join everyone outside for lunch.
Eating at a slow pace, eating just enough to survive, and forgetting life’s problems was preached and lectured before we lined up to grab our plate of food; all vegetarian options. Gavin didn’t care for much of the food except the fruits but I enjoyed every single morsel. We live in a world where food is cheap and we take things for granted (including myself). Sometimes it’s OK to not have a big feast, a fancy meal, yoga pants, Nikes, chocolates, or even a workout. The things that matters are health and self happiness.
If you are not happy w/​yourself then being w/​someone else will not make you happy.
If you do not have your health, you will not be able to work or enjoy life.
All very simple and common sense practices that we tend to forget.

I been going to this temple ever since I can remember and this place definitely has update. They been remodeling for the past 5 years or so. I love coming here because it so far away from the city. Seriously every time I leave this place I feel like my soul has been lifted. Lol if that makes any sense. Anywho, I love coming here and can’t wait to see what good things they are doing to this place! Remember to donate so they can keep making this place better!

My family and my personal favorite temple! Been going to this temple ever since I was a little kid. Although it’s quite a drive going up the sharp curved mountain hills, this place is stunning. It’s refreshing and relieving. They’ve been remodeling for quite some time but I’m sure they have something amazing planned. The monks here are just absolutely lovely. They all remember my family and I because we come here so often and they always invite us in for lunch. After getting our prayers out, we always visit the little shop they have. They always have new decorative Buddhas. It’s interesting to look at the unique Buddha statues and buy a new one to bring home. This temple has always been a favorite for my family and I. We don’t wait until a certain holiday/​occasion to come by; whenever we feel like we want togo, we just go. It’s never a waste of time or too much of a hassle to come to this place. If anything it assists us and makes us feel some type of way afterwards (a good type of way). If you’re looking for a place to just feel rejuvenated, this is it.

Stay away from this place. One of the most racist places I have ever visited in US. Some fine lady asked us to have lunch here, but when we went to have lunch other people started yelling and shouting at us, outright insulting us. This was our first time visit. One lady told us that «This is not Indian Buddha, this is Vietnamese Buddha, so shut up and get out.»
Who does that? This incident happened on Oct 11^th, 2015.
What’s the use of all the religious practices, penance, piles of philosophical texts, if you can’t even respect other human beings? We are never going to visit this place again.

Beautiful and peaceful and a regular stop for us every other month or so. There was a recent water main break, flooding the monastery and gift shop. Please come and support the repair effort with your donation! On the way back to the South Bay, there’s a farmer’s market we usually stop by, although I fail to remember the name.

Beautiful temple. I go here every year for TET. Can’t wait for the back of Buddha to be finish being build. Very nice place and very peaceful.

I came to Kim Son during Lunar New Year. This is a great place outside of Vietnam in Northern California to pray to Buddha. It is peaceful and also under new development. There is free lunch the day I came but I didnt try it. Very kids friendly.

Beautiful, peaceful place to be. The people here are wonderful. Around Chinese New Years time it’s going to be real packed so stay away if you don’t like huge crowds. The place overall is amazing and worth the drive!

Driving to the secluded Kim Sun monastery in Mt. Helena, going through the forest was quite a drive and at times the road is not in best condition especially when you get closer to monastery just drive slow. Its makes you wanna question if you are going the right direction despite what’s the GPS is telling you. Hang in there and be prepared to find peace and serenity!
Soon as you drive on to the property you will see a beautiful and huge Laughing Buddha w/​little kids playing statue carved out granite. It’s amazing! Photo opp! There are many many statues on this property. This place is clean and the volunteers were performing many task on the Saturday 7÷19÷2014 we visited. No appointments necessary. The volunteers and monks here are very welcoming and friendly. Please don’t be loud and disturb any prayers that might be going on. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to go to this place. Please respect the people there and their practice of their religion. You can browse the property and the building. There were many statues that were stored in the parking lot and it seems like the monastery is expending, construction happening on the left of the current main building. Most likely the statues will go in or around the new building. You are free to light incense stick at the statues were they have it and maybe say a prayer. There’s a gift store you can visit if you go down the stairs on the back side of the building. The two nice elder ladies in gift shop were very nice and pleasant and helped us chose some beads we bought. This place gives you the sense of calmness and peacefulness within. Smile because you are breathing!

I was raised Catholic but left the Catholic Church at 14.
I came here on Christmas Eve. It was surreal. I felt like this was meant for me. I can’t even put in words what coming here has done for me. life changing.

Beautiful place… People are very friendly here. It was our first visit to Monastery, we did not know about a lot of things. but, whenever we asked someone, they were more than happy to help. It is indeed very peaceful… And the incense aroma is all over the place. it feels so calm…
Mt.Madonna is blessed with these two (Hanuman Temple and Monastery) sacred and beautiful places, Must Visit at least once.

Always feel peaceful while we are here! The great place to relax my mind during the whole busy week.
The food here is the best vegetarian food I have ever tried. The friendly people are around!
Fresh air, good food, and nice people are everything I can tell you about this place!

I came here with a couple of my Vietnamese friends to celebrate the Lunar Year. Even though I am not a Buddhist, either Vietnamese or Chinese, I still enjoyed my visiting experience here. This temple has a lot of iconic statues. The monks are very cordial and inviting. I find the gardens and ponds quite magnificent and alluring, alongside with tall green bamboos to add the real Asian look. The incense, the chanting and the pious worshipers was picturesque.
Visit this temple! It feels like into a whole other world of serenity. It was lovely, the Buddha was huge and the ceremony also made you appreciate the Buddhist faith. The food in a tray they provided is free out of compassion, but donations are greatly appreciated. Great vegetarian food. Thank you Kim Son!

Out of all the temples I have ever been to, this is my absolute favorite
Just stepping foot onto the premises washes away all my headaches, worries and sorrows. It is extremely peaceful even with the hundreds of people there for a special occasion.
I came here a couple of times for Tet, Trung Thu and Le Vu Lan. Everyone who belongs to the temple, who volunteers and even people who visits are extremely friendly. I learned so much from each and everyone within my 30 mins visit than what I have at other temples. There are no such thing as «rights» and «wrongs» and you wont get scorn at for mistakenly not obliging to the «rules».
Overall, I love and adore this place. If it was as more convenient to get to, I would definitely come more often. But sometimes, the trip is what makes it more worthwhile.
PS: they are currently renovating so do not expect to see everything that you saw from ¾ years ago, nor expect to see more. Alot of things as been shuffled around, such as the Xin Xam place place has been moved to the front, etc.
PSS: Theres 2 routes to get there, one route takes you directly up the hills, but it will be a brutal hour drive. I highly recommend going on the route that wraps around the mountain if you aren’t a strong driver. Just to ease down your nerves and anyone else in the car.

Great place to visit on all occasions! Chinese/​Vietnamese New Year, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc. Although Christmas isn’t really a Buddhist holiday, I went with family for Christmas this year and was welcomed to eat lunch with the monks. They acknowledged this holiday and also announced that people of all religions are welcome to their monastery.
First time coming here from San Jose (North of this Monastery), and we took the «old» road there. Our GPS showed us the «quickest» way there, but really it’s the slowest way there.
If you’re planning to take Redwood Retreat road and Mt Madonna road to Summit road Its through the forest with thin, undivided two-​direction roads that seems to only fit one car’s width at a time. In addition, some hikers and bicyclists might be taking those same roads. It’s much SAFER to take 101S and then 152W to get to Pole Line Rd/​Summit Rd.
Lunch is free but the monastery predominantly depends on donations to keep their practice alive. Lunch is vegetarian but definitely filling! During lunchtime, you will be eating with monks, so they ask you to turn off your phones, eat silently and sit to face the monks. It’s more their tradition than anything, so its nothing personal!
The monks are really nice and often translate in English before they speak in Vietnamese for their announcements. I was able to talk to one of the main elderly monks who spoke fluent English and Vietnamese, and threw out some jokes here and there! Pretty chill people.
Definitely stop by the gift shop. Honestly, most items are pretty cheap! Small palm-​sized statues of Zodiac animals, fish, elephants, Buddha and so forth might come to be about $ 4 each. They also sell English and Vietnamese books, and a lot by Thich Nhat Hanh, a famous Zen Buddhist.
I will definitely come again in the future! They have many events during the year and have a pamphlet about their events. Construction is being undergone at the side of the main building, so I cannot wait to come back when it’s done!

if you are a true vietnamese. you have to know about this temple and have been here at least once in your life and most likely its chinese new years.
i have been going to this temple since i was a uhhh younger.
i guess the point of this temple that i believe everyone goes to is because your that much closer to buddha cause youre up in the mountains. but dont get me wrong. thats not the only thing. right when you come in, it feels soo peaceful and this place it huge so you have a lot of walking to do if you wanna see the whole place.
TIP: dont wear revealing clothes here. THEY will stare. i MEAN EVERYONE WOULD!
*i forgot i was stopping by this temple after gilroy gardens when i was wearing a tank. the most awkward feeling.

Lovely place to visit.
If you go up there on a foggy day, it feels like you’re in an old school Chinese martial arts movie with the fog parting on a peaceful mountain top. The view is spectacular! There’s many beautiful statues, gardens, and scenery to take in up here. It’s amazing how they managed to get these gigantic statues up here. They also have a gift shop, dining hall, prayer hall, and dormitory building.
The monks and nuns are incredibly kind. They mostly speak Vietnamese, but some speak English. They are very welcoming to all people. The monks and nuns who teach the youth sessions are marvelous people who have wonderful hearts and a fun sense of humor.
If you come during a Buddhist/​Vietnamese holiday, it is really crowded here. Numerous people make the trip up Mount Madonna to visit Kim Son Monastery. Be prepared to be surrounded by crowds of Vietnamese people flocking here to pay their respects and enjoy the splendid surroundings.
On the holidays and weekends that I’ve been here, the monastery provides a delicious vegetarian lunch for everyone to partake in. It’s really delicious.
The roads up to the monastery change from paved roads to dirt roads to one lane roads as you head up the mountain, so be careful. It’s best to try to use a GPS since it can be a bit confusing to get to if you never have been here before.
Kim Son Monastery is a beautiful, peaceful place to visit for anyone who wishes to.

It’s quite a trek up here. The roads are windy up the mountain and at some points there’s only one lane so drive cautiously. Once you get to the monastery though, a blanket of peace and calm just sweeps over you, no matter what state you are in.
There’s many giant statues to take in. I’ve seen similar ones while traveling in Thailand. The last time I went here was more than a decade ago. Kim Son has come a long way. I was in such awe that I even asked a couple of the female monks if I could join their ranks. When they laughed at my request, I asked if they could teach me the Iron Fist instead.
Whatever your beliefs may be, Kim Son Monastery is definitely a great place to pay your respects and find some solace to a troubled soul.