Atmosphere
The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is a strict Buddhist monastery adhering to the traditional Asian monastic culture although it is located in a liberal area of California. The organic farm and peaceful way of life appeals to most Westerners who want an alternate lifestyle. This creates an interesting mix of different ideologies. While the traditionalists are more drawn to the spiritual and devotional side of Buddhism, Westerners are often more interested in meditation. Some of the boarding school children are Westerners from the local community who want their children to grow up in a community-oriented place, while some of the children come from Taiwan and China, even from European countries, such as France, Belgium, and Holland, where parents think highly of Hua. The liberalism of Westerners and the strict traditionalism of Easterners may clash at times.
Unique to the City, the monastery houses both male and female Sangha, students from the boarding school, and is open to the public. Many monasteries in China, Taiwan, and in the West house only monks or only nuns but not both, and are closed to the public. However, males and females have separate campuses, with gender-neutral buildings in the middle of the campus.
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