Beacon Star Senior Living
A Senior Living CommunityA quiet home for monks, nuns, and lifelong lay devotees, where care and daily practice happen in the same place.
“The setting sun is no longer a sigh at the close of day, but the calmest, warmest, most unhurried hour of it.” — Venerable Xingren Shi
Venerable Xingren Shi
Abbot, American Buddhist Fellowship
Founder, Beacon Star Senior Living
From “An Appeal to Build Beacon Star Senior Living Together”
Where this began
Over many years of teaching I saw a monk pass away in an ordinary nursing home with no one to care for him. I saw many elders living their final days alone and afraid, without vegetarian meals, without Dharma teaching. I remember a fellow monk whose passing left his elderly mother with no one to depend on; only a temple-run home took her in.
This taught me something I cannot unlearn: a Buddhist home for elders is not only shelter. It is a place where compassion is practiced and the bodhisattva path is carried through. When monastics are present to chant and to teach at the bedside, the dying are steadied and calmed, and their passing is helped. That is why Beacon Star Senior Living exists.
“To watch over someone is not just to hold a torch high toward the distance. It is to bend down, so that a small light falls exactly on the face in front of you that needs warmth.” — Venerable Xingren Shi
Care, recitation, chanting at the bedside, companionship, and passing — held together in one place
Five Commitments
- 01 Daily living and nursing care Assistance with daily living, meals, medical and accessible care. Fully vegetarian.
- 02 A hall for recitation practice The Buddha’s name is chanted daily, sustaining a quiet environment for practice.
- 03 Hospice chanting support Trained chanting support and end-of-life care, so that passing may be peaceful.
- 04 A harbor of compassionate care Dharma teaching, emotional support, and care through illness and pain.
- 05 For Buddhists far from home An answer to growing old with no one to turn to, and to dying without help — so that a life of practice has somewhere to come home to.
Dedicated funds for designated use
The Foundation is already operating. Make checks payable to Beacon Star Foundation and mail them to the temple address below. Every gift is a restricted gift: it goes in full to building and running Beacon Star Senior Living, and to nothing else.
- Construction and interiors
- Structural work, interior build-out, fire protection and life-safety systems.
- Medical and accessibility
- Nursing station equipment, call systems, elevators, ramps and handrails.
- Permitting and professional advice
- Applications through health, fire and environmental agencies, plus legal and policy counsel.
- Long-term operations
- Steady funding for medical and nursing staff, kitchen, and care volunteers.
Beacon Star Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 37-1483029. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
Donation Details
Make checks payable to
Beacon Star Foundation
Mailing address
1478 E. Holt Ave
Covina, CA 91724
PayPal
“A dollar given today, an hour of help, a single recitation of the Buddha’s name, even a dedication of merit — each of these is a spark.” — Venerable Xingren Shi
Beacon Star Senior Living will a village. We warmly invite:
- Expertise and operations 專業與營運
- Legal and policy advisers familiar with senior-care regulation Managers experienced in elder services or nonprofit operations Architects and space-planning professionals
- Medical and care 醫護與照顧
- Physicians, nurses, and care aides Kitchen staff Housekeeping staff
- Practice and companionship 修行與陪伴
- Fellow practitioners for bedside chanting and pastoral care Volunteers willing to keep company with elders
If you cannot take part yourself, we hope you will pass word along.
Building a home for elders is harder than building a temple. This is lasting work.
If you have means, give toward the building. If you have professional skill, join our team.
If you have a wide circle, spread the words. If you have compassion, dedicate merit and pray for us.