About

Our History and Mission

Karuna Buddhist Society was officially established and registered as a nonprofit Buddhist organization on September 20, 2002, with the aim of practicing and promoting the teachings of Buddhism. After several years of dedication and community effort, we acquired our first property in 2008—a modest 663-square-foot house on a half-acre lot on Golondrina Drive. While it marked a significant step forward, the space quickly proved too small to accommodate the growing number of devotees and indoor activities. Due to various challenges and limitations, it took us more than a decade to finally secure a more suitable property—our current location on Pacific Street, which offers ample space for both monastic residence and community gatherings.

In the 1990s, several Chakma Buddhist families migrated to the United States, primarily through the Diversity Visa (DV) program, with more arriving in the 2000s. The Chakma people, an indigenous ethnic minority group from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, Northeast India, and Myanmar, have long faced religious and ethnic discrimination in their homelands. The Chakma families settling in California, especially from Bangladesh and India, brought with them hopes of freedom, opportunity, and a better life. Like many immigrant communities, their journey involved challenges of integration, cultural preservation, and the search for spiritual grounding in a new country.

As a minority group, we remain deeply committed to preserving our language, script, culture, traditions, and Buddhist faith. We felt a strong need for a Buddhist temple led by Chakma monks—where Dhamma could be taught in both Chakma for the elders and English for the younger generation. Due to the language barrier for seniors and juniors, we struggled to practice Buddhism in another temple. Initially, we had no resident monks, but we were blessed with occasional visits from Ven. Bimal Bhante of Bodhicariya, Kolkata, whose encouragement was instrumental in our early efforts. It was he who first inspired us to establish a Buddhist center in San Bernardino. He was the one who motivated and encouraged us to establish a Buddhist center in San Bernardino. We needed Chakma monks who would preach Dhamma in the Chakma language to elders who do not know English and English for our new generation and English speakers.

In 2011, Ven. Bimal Bhante introduced Ven. Upagupta Bhante, then affiliated with the University of Hong Kong. He was invited to lead our spiritual community, and upon arrival, served faithfully in the original 663 sq. ft. residence for nearly a decade. Later from 2018, additional Chakma monks joined the monastic team, greatly enhancing the scope of our religious services and community outreach. All our resident monks are multilingual and fluent in English, allowing us to connect meaningfully with both Chakma-speaking elders and English-speaking youth and newcomers.

Our Mission

Since our founding, our mission has been to spread the timeless teachings of the Buddha—fostering mindfulness, happiness, compassion, lovingkindness, and ethical living. We open our doors to all faiths, cultures, and communities, including LGBTQ+ individuals and anyone seeking wisdom, meditation techniques, or a spiritual path grounded in Buddhist values.

As the Buddha taught: “Ehipassiko” — Come and see.
This is an open invitation to all who sincerely seek truth, inner peace, and understanding.

Let us walk this path together, cultivating good karma through wholesome thoughts, speech, and actions—both for our own happiness and for the well-being of all beings.

Humanitarian Work

Alongside our spiritual mission, we are committed to charitable and humanitarian activities. While we reside in a prosperous country, we have not forgotten the struggles faced by the communities we left behind—many of whom continue to endure poverty, lack of education, and discrimination based on religion and ethnicity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we stepped up to support vulnerable families, including our relatives, friends, and others in need in Bangladesh and India. Our community organized and distributed relief aid and continues to sponsor educational scholarships for underprivileged students who cannot afford basic schooling or life-skills training.

If you wish to support these efforts, please visit our [Donate] and choose to contribute to our educational, relief, or humanitarian programs.