Salt Lake Buddhist temples have Protestant, Mormon roots

Two Buddhist temples dot Salt Lake City’s urban core. Both are housed in historic structures, serve a diverse population and preach about the transitory nature of human life. One of these temples, though, is simple and understated, while the other is ornate and awash in traditional Asian colors. And the details of their sacred spaces reflect very different — even opposite — historical trajectories.

The Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, home to Utah’s oldest and most continuous Buddhist congregation, is nestled into a crowded city block near the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center. The building sits unobtrusively in an area now noted for parking lots and industrial spaces but was once a bustling neighborhood known as Japan Town.

This temple has the look and feel of a Protestant church, and that is no accident, says longtime member Brenda Koga.

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