Opening the Door to Heaven: Localization and London’s Fo Guang Shan Temple

This article addresses a lacuna in research into the religio-spatial practices of Chinese Buddhist communities in Britain. Although the numbers of Chinese migrants to Britain is increasing and diversifying, scholarly attention to religious practices (especially in relation to Buddhism) has been lacking. In this article, I focus on Fo Guang Shan London - a transnational Taiwanese Buddhist organization, occupying a Grade II* listed former Victorian Parish School and the first Buddhist temple to receive Heritage Lottery Funding for renovations. Drawing on interviews and observational data gathered at the temple, predominantly with university students and young professionals, I examine the varied attitudes to, and experiences of, the heritage building and explore how the built environment has contributed to Fo Guang Shan’s aim of localization in Britain.