Where to Find Serenity in a Houston Suburb

The Detours series celebrates lesser-known locales worth visiting across the state. When you stand at the midpoint of the red-railed footbridge that arches over the pond at the Vietnam Buddhist Center, you’ll likely smell the incense before seeing tendrils of smoke curl up from a nearby altar adorned with fresh apples and oranges. Lush green lotus plants blanket the surface of the pond, and their flowers—some as tall as six feet—nod their pink and yellow heads in the breeze. Listen and you’ll hear the sonorous tolling of the metal bonshō bell outside the temple at the other end of the twelve-acre property. Ring that bell and remove your shoes before entering the building, with its ornate three-tiered pagoda roof. A 72-foot-tall statue of Quan Âm, the Vietnamese…

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