The Buddhist Association of the United States was established by the efforts of Venerable Lok To (樂渡長老, 1923 ~), the late Upasika Yu-Tsing Hwang (姜黃玉靖居士), and the support of Upasaka C.T. Shen (沈家楨博士, 1913 ~ 2007). They had the vision that the ever-new wisdom embodied in the principles of Buddhism would be able to bring peace and happiness to a suffering and troubled world.
With other ardent Buddhists, they set up a place for Dharma practice in an apartment in the Bronx, New York, in early 1964. On October 21, 1964, a charter of non-profit incorporation was granted to the Buddhist Association of the United States (abbreviated as BAUS hereafter) by the State of New York.
