When you stand at the midpoint of the red-railed footbridge that arches over the pond at the Vietnam Buddhist Center, you’ll likely smell the incense before seeing tendrils of smoke curl up from a nearby altar adorned with fresh apples and oranges. Lush green lotus plants blanket the surface of the pond, and their flowers—some as tall as six feet—nod their pink and yellow heads in the breeze. Listen and you’ll hear the sonorous tolling of the metal bonshō bell outside the temple at the other end of the twelve-acre property. Ring that bell and remove your shoes before entering the building, with its ornate three-tiered pagoda roof. A 72-foot-tall statue of Quan Âm, the Vietnamese goddess of compassion, looks down over it all. She’s the eighth-tallest statue in the nation. In a very Texan twist, the country’s third-largest, a 90-foot-tall depiction of the deity Hanuman, was unveiled last summer at the Hindu temple next door.
This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “Serenity in a Houston Suburb.” Subscribe today.
The entrance to Dharma Hall.
Photograph by Matt Conant
Various figurines on display in the garden.
Photograph by Matt Conant
The main hall inside the temple.
Photograph by Matt Conant
A walkway, including a footbridge over the pond, that leads to the main temple.
Photograph by Matt Conant
A detailed look at the altar.
Photograph by Matt Conant
A statue of Quan Âm, the Vietnamese goddess of compassion.
Photograph by Matt Conant
