American Buddhist Fellowship (Initials A.B.F., known as Meifo Temple) is a non-profit Buddhist organization established in 2009. Our mission is to provide Buddhist services to local and national communities, ranging from monk training, dharma talk, counseling, funeral service, hospice care, disaster relief and others social welfare activities etc.

Our first temple, located in a residential area in Alhambra, a quiet neighborhood of Los Angeles, was founded in 2009 by Venerable Xingren Shi. 

In his early years, Venerable Xingren studied Buddhism at the Chinese Buddhist Academy, then went to Sri Lanka to pursue further studies. Finally he came to Los Angeles to complete his PhD in Buddhism. After more than three decades of promoting Dharma in various places around the world, Master Xingren deeply felt that in the United States, due to the constraints of language and culture, the spread of Buddhism, especially Mahayana Buddhism, was basically only within the Chinese community. Very few monks and monasteries have services in English. In order to promote the Dharma more extensively, Master Xingren founded the American Buddhist Fellowship (Meifo Temple) in Los Angeles to take the meaning of "Teaching the Dharma in the United States".

Over the years, it has become an increasing challenge as more and more disciples have come to join our services in the small residential facility in Alhambra, CA. Therefore, in 2024, Meifo Temple has decided to raise funds to purchase a 7.16 acre multi-use land in Covina, Los Angeles, to better accommodate events and provide greater convenience for the disciples, so that the Dharma of the Buddha can reach and benefit even more people.

Venerable Master Xingren, Dharma name Chuanxiang, was born in 1973 in Wenzhou, China, and raised in a devout Buddhist family. He entered monastic life as a youth, spending his early years in study, meditation, and recitation practice at Buddhist temples.

After receiving full ordination in 1991, he traveled throughout Asia to study with respected teachers. He completed seven years of formal training at a major Buddhist college in southern China and the National Buddhist Academy in Beijing, focusing on Indian Buddhist philosophy.

In 1998, he continued his studies in Sri Lanka, specializing in Pāli and Theravāda Buddhism, and later lectured in Singapore, where he received the Dharma name Chuanxiang, meaning “to spread auspiciousness.”

Supported by Pu Jue Temple, he pursued a Ph.D. in Religious Philosophy at the University of the West in California and graduated with distinction in 2005. He later returned to Singapore, where he helped establish the Singapore Buddhist College and served as Dean of Academic Affairs, promoting Humanistic Buddhism through education and publication.

Since 2007, Master Xingren has lived in Los Angeles, engaging in research, teaching, and Dharma activities. He currently serves as President of American Buddhist Fellowship and Chairman of the Minzhi Elder Monk Foundation, devoted to spreading the Dharma and guiding people toward wisdom, compassion, and peace.