The American Society of Buddhist Studies

This is by far the largest & probably the most popular Buddhist temple in Chinatown. Opened in 1974, it is also one of the very oldest.
However, despite my pleas,
has refused to consider it part of Chinatown & for reasons obsolete 50 years ago, it is listed by Unilocal as a part of the Little Italy that exists only in the memory of elderly Italians.
It is located at 214 Centre St, almost next door to the smaller, 2^nd floor Heavenly Graces Buddhist Temple at 200 Centre St. As a result, many tourists & former residents & descendants can’t find the 214 Centre St temple if they use Unilocal when they return to NYC to visit. More importantly perhaps, Chinese know the temple as Guangmingsi or Guangming Temple, not by the English name apparently used on some original business certificate. Anyone in NY now who doesn’t speak Chinese knows it as the Centre St temple, as it is the only one with a street-​level entrance. It occupies the entire 5-​storey through-​block building & has always been painted yellow. Anyone can visit. No donation is required or expected. It is an active convent/​nunnery, & a vital heart of the Chinatown community. It is one of the few remaining temples where one can still obtain free literature about Buddhism in Chinese or English. The selection changes constantly with new donations.
This temple is among the least commercial & most inspiring of Buddhist temples in Chinatown. It makes no attempt to pander to modern trendy styles. The most outstanding feature inside the temple is the humongous statue of a standing 11-​headed, 1000-​armed Guanyin bodhisattva. Go right up front & center & look up. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to walk completely around this statue & look up. (Preferably do so counter-​clockwise — go behind on the left side & come out on the right side.) Notice the way not only the body leans forward, but the stacked 11 faces/​heads lean even farther forward. Anyone looking for the «big Guanyin» is undoubtedly looking for this temple.
But the rarest aspect — the absolutely most unique feature, is the set of 84 wooden sculptures on the side walls of the main Buddha Hall. Each about 3+’ high, they represent 84 ways in which Guanyin can appear. The number & details don’t really matter; the point is that Guanyin can appear in any possible form. I am not aware of any other place in the world (including China) where a similar set of 84 Guanyins exists. The «name» plaque under each statue contains not a name, but one of the 84 arbitrary groups of characters of the Dabeizhou — a Sanskrit praise-​prayer to the ancient Hindu deity Nilakantha, but now a mantra (Chinese pronunciation of the Sanskrit) believed in all of East Asia to be dedicated to Guanyin, especially the 1000-​armed Guanyin, & arguably the most popular short text memorized for chanting by East Asian Buddhist practitioners.
Unilocal is doing a great disservice by not cross-​referencing the true name of the temple & worse, not even listing it in Chinatown!
FYI: This temple undergoes a complete cleaning annually for 6 days between one Sunday & the next Sunday during the 2 weeks preceding Chinese New Year (on the new moon day) in late January or early February The main hall becomes a beehive of activity — all altars are dismantled, all sculptures moved, everything gets washed, some things even repainted. Prior to the new year, everything is reassembled & looks as beautiful as before, but the sparkle is a little brighter!
Guanyin can also be spelled Guan yin or Kuan-​yin or Kuan Yin.
Guangming can also be spelled Guang ming or Kuang-​ming or Kuang Ming.

This is an updated review. I previously posted this review for Heavenly Grace Buddhist Temple but I was told by another Unilocaler that this temple is at 200 Centre Street while the one I was reviewing is actually on 214 Centre Street.
I have been coming to this temple for over 10 years and it has not changed at all throughout the years. The décor has not changed at all and the kitchen downstairs that serves a free vegetarian lunch most days has remained exactly the same. It seems to be a pretty authentic temple, except for the random disco ball above the Buddha, which I have never been able to figure out why it is there. The free vegetarian lunch here is very good, if you don’t mind eating it in a rather dungeon looking basement.
On Chinese New Year, this place is PACKED. The lines goes around the block and it seems like at least a thousand people pass through this temple on one day. The line goes pretty quickly and even though it was looped around the entire block, we waited only an hour. Halfway through the line, they give out a snack and hot tea, which was amazing. Inside, there is pretty much an assembly line and there is no time for prayer. They give you a red envelope and fruits as you pass through the line to go downstairs to get a lunch box.