A Lively Experiment
A Multireligious Historical Overview of Rhode Island
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| Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island originated in the late 1970s with the fall
of the Khmer Rouge government in Cambodia. Many Cambodians who had been
oppressed under the Khmer Rouge began to flee to refugee centers in
Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, from which they later moved to third
countries such as Australia, Canada, France, and the United States. A sizable
number emigrated to Providence, Rhode Island, including the monk Venerable
Maha Ghosananda, who has become a celebrated international peace activist.
Maha Ghosananda and his followers initially met in the Cambodian immigrants' own homes until 1981 when they received nonprofit status as The New England Buddhist Center. Ghosananda resided with and served the community from the 1980s until 1995, during which time they changed its name to the Khmer Buddhist Society of New England and constructed their first temple, the Wat Thormikaram. This was the first Cambodian Buddhist temple in the United States. When their original building burnt down in 1996, the community purchased a residential home across the street for use as a monastery and built another structure that they now use as their main temple. By 2003, some 10-13,000 Cambodians had emigrated to Rhode Island, an estimated 80% of whom affiliate with this temple. |
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