Organization
International Community Of Khmer Buddhist Monks
The International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks (មណ្ឌលសហគមន៍ព្រះសង្ឃខ្មែរអន្ដរជាតិ) is a Khmer Buddhist organization in Pelham, Massachusetts.[1] Its temple on Buffam Road is known as Wat Santivana, a Wat Khmer in Massachusetts.[2][3]
History
In 2011 the International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center (មជ្ឍមណ្ឌលសហគមន៍ព្រះសង្ឃខ្មែរអន្ដរជាតិ) was listed at 144 Buffam Road, with Bhikkhu Sila Gotto as its abbot.[3] The center appeared at the same address in the 2558 Khmer Buddhist Temples Directory, published in 2014.[4] BuddhaNet lists the center as the affiliation of Wat Santivana.[2][5]
On October 19 and 20, 2024, the center held its Kathin ceremony.[6] In 2026 two monks resided at the Pelham temple.[1]
Oakland branch
A branch of the same name, with four monks in 2026, is in Oakland, California.[1] Supreme Patriarch Preah Maha Ghosananda founded it.[7] The branch has used earlier donations to buy two lots, for a monastery and a parking lot, and is raising funds for a new praying hall called Preah Vihear. The hall's design copies Prasat Banteay Srei, a tenth-century temple of the Angkor period, and was drawn by a Cambodian architect from Los Angeles and a master contractor from the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia.[7] The branch plans to use it for New Year ceremonies, language classes and a senior center, and says it will be a place where elderly survivors of the Khmer Rouge and children affected by trauma can pray and heal.[7]
The Oakland temple holds ritual ceremonies, meditation and chanting, and blessings for housewarmings, weddings, ancestors and funerals.[7] Its festivals include Pchum Ben and Kathin, and a three-day Khmer New Year of precepts, chanting of the Paritta, offerings to the monks, the bathing of Buddha images and elders with perfumed water, and sand hills built on the temple grounds.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wat Ratanarangsey, 2026 directory of Wat Khmer in the USA
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 BuddhaNet World Buddhist Directory, Massachusetts
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Templenews, The International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center (IKBM) (October 2011)
- ↑ Templenews, Khmer Buddhist Temples Directory 2558 (2014)
- ↑ BuddhaNet World Buddhist Directory, United States
- ↑ Templenews, Kathin at the Int'l Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Ctr on Oct 19 – 20, 2568/2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 International Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center, Oakland