Organization

Cambodian Buddhist Society Silver Spring

វត្តពុទ្ធិការាម


The Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. is a Khmer Buddhist religious and educational nonprofit in Silver Spring, Maryland, organized in 1976.[1] Its headquarters temple is Vatt Buddhikarama (វត្តពុទ្ធិការាម, Vatt Buddhikarama), on New Hampshire Avenue.[1][2] The society calls it the first Cambodian Buddhist temple established in the United States.[1] The temple is both a place of worship and a community center, and its Culture Committee runs a volunteer Sunday school in Khmer dance, music, language and Dhamma.[1][3]

History

Cambodians living in Oxon Hill, Maryland, organized the society in 1976 to renew their culture and religion after the genocide had driven them from their homeland.[4] Its founders had fled the Khmer Rouge, whose rule included the mass execution of monks and an effort to wipe out Buddhism in Cambodia.[2] The first prayers, sutra readings, blessings and ceremonies took place in a converted single-family house that held a sanctuary and quarters for monks.[4] In 1978 the Venerable Preah Sumedhavansa Oung Mean Candavanno, the society's founder, came to Washington, D.C., to help revive Khmer Buddhism among displaced Cambodians, and that year the society was incorporated in Maryland as a nonprofit religious and educational organization.[4][1][5]

The temple moved several times. From Oxon Hill it went to a larger property in New Carrollton, where a Khmer language class was already being taught.[4][3] The society gives 1986 as the year the temple moved to Silver Spring, and Capital News Service gave the same year in 2007; a William & Mary profile gives 1987.[1][6][4] Many Cambodian refugees who settled in the Washington area turned to the temple for religious and community support.[7]

Oung Mean Candavanno, the society's abbot and president, raised almost all of the money to build its Buddha Hall, or vihara.[7][4] The Washington Post reported in April 1992 that the new temple would be inaugurated shortly after the Cambodian New Year, and that it was believed to be the largest and most magnificent Cambodian Buddhist temple outside Cambodia.[8] The society dates the completion of the building to the end of 1992 and its consecration to July 1993.[1] As of 2011, Chan Horn had led the temple since 1997. Sovan Tun was president of the society in 2007.[9][6] In November 2020 a stupa, a monument to hold Buddha relics and the ashes of monks, was under construction.[10] The finished stupa holds Buddha relics and family ashes.[1]

In 2026 Washingtonian called the society the oldest and the first Cambodian Buddhist temple in the United States, and Montgomery Planning credits it with hosting the first Khmer temple in the country. A William & Mary profile calls it the oldest and one of the largest Khmer temples in the United States.[2][10][11][5]

Religious life

The society counts three major buildings on its grounds; a 2020 profile counts two. One is residential and includes a ceremony hall and the vihara, where cultural classes and religious ceremonies are held.[1][10] Organized services are held on all Buddhist holy days, and chanting sessions take place every morning and evening.[4] The temple's main Buddhist scriptures have been translated into English, and it keeps an archive of Cambodian Buddhist texts, books and artifacts.[9][6]

The monks serve as Dhamma teachers and counselors and lead the temple's ceremonies. They also go to private homes by invitation to give blessings at birthdays, weddings, funerals, memorial services and housewarmings.[1] The society's own description gives six to seven monks; a 2026 temple directory lists six, and Washingtonian counted seven resident monks in April 2026, among them Chhun Sophal.[1][12][2] In the United States the monks do not go door to door for alms, and offerings from temple members are their sole food. Volunteers bring meals once a month on a set day and once a year at the festival.[10][6] In 2026 workers and volunteers, some speaking Khmer and some Spanish, were preparing the monks' meals.[2]

The temple celebrates Khmer New Year (Chol Chnam Tmey), the Festival for the Ancestors (Phchum Ben) and the Theravada ceremonies of the robe offering (Ben Kathin), the end of the rains retreat (Cheng Vossa) and the Buddha's last sermon (Meak Bochea).[4] The New Year festival lasts three days in April. In 2007 it began on April 14 and drew 1,000 to 2,000 people a day, some from as far away as California; the morning service was followed by free food, dances, folk music and games.[6] The temple's Kathina, the offering of robes to monks who have stayed in one place for three months, ran from 7 p.m. on October 19 to 1 p.m. on October 20, 2019.[13]

Community services

The temple is a main point of contact for government agencies trying to reach Cambodian Americans, including the Cambodian refugee community of the East Coast.[1][4] It offers citizenship training every Saturday, especially for older adults, and English lessons for older adults.[1] It has also served as a job board, given temporary shelter to people with nowhere to stay, offered free food to people in need and held free vaccination clinics and health screenings for older adults.[9][6][4] The temple has raised money for Cambodia several times.[9] Its halls host a beauty pageant that selects a Miss Cambodian-American from the congregation.[4] In summer, American students visit to learn about Buddhism and Khmer culture.[9]

Culture Committee and Sunday school

In 1986 Oung Mean Candavanno formed a committee to support the many newly resettled refugees. It later became the Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee (CBSCC). Its first programs were Khmer language classes at several levels and Dhamma sessions that introduced young people to the Buddha's teaching and Cambodian traditions.[7] In 1990 the cultural program was formally organized at Silver Spring, adding Khmer dance and music. At Oung Mean Candavanno's request, Dr. Sovan Tun asked Dance Master Peou Khatna, a member of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts award, to lead it. Peou Khatna brought in other dance teachers from the area, among them Sin Ny, and Music Master Chum Ngek joined in 1994.[3][7] A 2011 faculty page gives 1989 as the founding year of the society's Culture Group.[14]

The dance and music classes began with 24 students; 25 years later more than 70 were enrolled.[3] From September through June the school holds four classes every Sunday, in dance, music, language and Dhamma, between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Volunteers run the whole program.[3][15] The committee also offers meditation classes.[15]

Dance students learn classical royal court dances and folk dances, with their hand gestures, body postures and meanings, and they are grouped by age or ability.[16] Music students learn traditional songs on string and percussion instruments, among them the skor, a barrel drum; the roneat, a xylophone; gongs; and cymbals.[17] The language classes meet on Sundays from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and average about 40 students a year. They move from the alphabet and simple words for children aged five and older to reading, writing and public speaking for young adults. Each class ends with a lesson in customs and manners, such as how and when to greet one another, elders and monks.[18] The Dhamma classes teach peace, respect and compassion, and give students time to talk with friends about practicing Cambodian culture at home and in public.[19]

Every April the students perform at the New Year festival, where the CBSCC Cultural Show is the main event, for families and visitors from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.[16][3] On May 17, 2026, students of the Cambodian Buddhist Society School performed traditional dance and music at Wheaton Library in a Khmer New Year program.[11] The committee's programs receive an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.[7][20]

Governance

A 15-member board of directors governs the society. Board members, other than monks who serve on it, are elected every four years, and the society also elects internal auditors.[1] Its committees handle ceremonies, cultural affairs, security and public relations, and construction and maintenance.[1] The president manages the temple's religious and social operations.[14]

The society's federal filings for 2011 to 2016 reported no paid salaries or executive pay. In 2016 it reported $76,642 in contributions and $309,660 in program service revenue.[21]

Culture Committee leadership

Officers listed on the committee's website (undated).[22]

  • Narin Jameson, chairperson
  • Raci Say, vice chairperson
  • Natalie Chhuan, vice chairperson, language director and music teacher
  • Masady Mani, art director
  • Ngek Chum, music director
  • Vathana Say, assistant art director
Culture Group faculty (2011)[14]
  • Masady Mani, co-art director since 1992
  • Ny Jewell, a founder of the Culture Group (1989) and co-art director
  • Master Ngek Chum, music director and teacher since 1994
  • Puthyrith Sek, dance teacher since 1989
  • Khantya Nou, dance teacher since 1997
  • Sochietah Ung, teacher since 1999
  • Viphas Heng, teacher since 1999
  • Vathana Say, apprentice teacher

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Cambodian Buddhist Society, About us
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Washingtonian, Inside the many faiths of Maryland's "Highway to Heaven" (April 2026)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Programs
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 American Buddhism (William & Mary), The Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Angry Asian Buddhist, Where is the first Khmer American temple? (May 2013)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Capital News Service, Food, new clothes ring in Cambodian Lunar New Year (April 2007)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, About us
  8. ↑ The Washington Post, Cambodians mark New Year with new temple (April 12, 1992)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 VOA Khmer, Monk sees US pagoda as central to Cambodian community (July 2011)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 American Buddhism (William & Mary), November 2020
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Montgomery County Public Libraries, Celebrate the Cambodian New Year (May 17, 2026)
  12. ↑ Wat Ratanarangsey, 2026 directory of Wat Khmer in the USA
  13. ↑ InterFaith Council of Metropolitan Washington, Program for Kathina: Cambodian Buddhist Temple (October 2019)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 CBSCG.org, Faculty (2011)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Mission
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Dance classes
  17. ↑ Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Music classes
  18. ↑ Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Language classes
  19. ↑ Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Dhamma classes
  20. ↑ Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, home page
  21. ↑ ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Cambodian Buddhist Society
  22. ↑ Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Chair and staff

Sources

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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:25.