Wat
Sarana International Buddhist Center
Sarana International Buddhist Center is a Theravada Buddhist temple in Tukwila, Washington, shared by Cambodian and Sri Lankan Buddhists.[1][2] Its other names include Wat Tukwila, Wat Saranaram and Wat Khmer Sarana.[3] The temple sits on about 0.4 hectares (one acre) between Seattle and Tacoma, beside the elevated light-rail tracks near the Tukwila station and close to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.[4][3][5]
History
The Most Venerable Polwatte Pagnananda Nayaka Thero (also spelled Pangnananda), a monk born in Sri Lanka in 1953, came to the United States in 1996. Pagnananda began training as a monk in 1965 at the Namaloya Kadurugoda monastery in Ampara, Sri Lanka, received higher ordination in 1974, and studied the dhamma at the Dharmaduta Buddhist Center in Colombo and the University of Kelaniya.[1][5] In 1998 he established Sarana in Tukwila with support from the South Seattle Cambodian community, and Buddhists from several ethnic groups helped found it.[5][6] The Cambodian Buddhist community played a major role in making Sarana a monastery led by monks ordained in the Sri Lankan tradition. In 2000 Khim Horn Chheng donated the down payment for the Tukwila property.[5]
For its first years the center worked out of a former single-family home, with a converted stand-alone garage as its sala, or hall.[1][3] A new vipassana (insight meditation) hall opened in March 2005.[6] Members prayed at the site in late 2012, and construction of a new dharma hall began in January 2013.[3] After a year of building, a larger sala of 158 square meters (1,700 square feet) opened in 2014. It seats 216 people and was built because crowds had overflowed the smaller space.[1] Later, under Pagnananda, the center added a community gathering hall and outdoor meditation spaces.[5]
Pagnananda died on March 27, 2026, at age 73. Hundreds gathered at the center for his memorial and cremation ceremonies on April 26, 2026, which followed traditional Theravada last rites led by monks, with Pali chants, candles and symbolic offerings. Narangamuwe Punnasiri Thero, a member of the temple's sangha since 2021, became its leader.[5]
Buildings
The 2014 sala has two bathrooms, heating, air conditioning and ceiling fire sprinklers. The original garage sala remains in use for meditation groups of up to 30 people and for cultural and religious practice groups.[1] The altar holds Buddha statues and paintings from Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Burma and India.[6] In 2013 the abbot also planned a Buddha statue about 4.6 meters (15 feet) high, with landscaping and parking.[3]
Religious life
The monks follow Theravada monastic rules and care for the spiritual needs of the congregation, while lay donations provide their food, shelter and medical care.[1] In 2013 and 2014 the temple had three resident monks. As of 2026 it had five, four of Sri Lankan origin and one of Cambodian origin. Sinhala, Cambodian and English are used at the temple.[3][1][5]
Sarana holds Buddhist services, dhamma talks, weddings, funerals and house blessings, and runs a dhamma school.[1] The center holds Buddhist religious events for several communities, with precepts observance, Seth Pirith, Dhamma School and Dhamma discussions, and regular gatherings with the monks.[4] In 2013 about 100 people, most of them Cambodian, came to the Sunday morning services.[3] The monks keep an annual three-month vassa, the rainy-season retreat. The 2005 retreat ended on October 30 with a Kathina ceremony, when lay supporters offered the monks new robes, flowers, food and other gifts.[6] A Cambodian Katina celebration was held in the new hall in 2014, and the temple also holds Sri Lankan end-of-retreat ceremonies.[1] Cambodian and Sri Lankan families celebrate Vesak and Kathina together.[5]
The Sunday dhamma school teaches young people Buddhist ethics, meditation, cultural traditions, community values and service.[5] In 2013 the children's dharma school met on the second Saturday of each month.[3]
Community
Northwest Dharma News calls Sarana the only Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist temple in the Seattle metropolitan area. Its monks work with nearby Cambodian temples and with Sri Lankan temples elsewhere in the United States.[5] In 2013 the abbot said the neighbors and the City of Tukwila had supported the temple's growth.[3] In 2014 an English-language meditation group met on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the original sala. It was led by Tom Youngjohn, the center's immigration attorney since 2007.[1]
Visiting
The temple is open to people of any religion, tradition or culture.[4] Around 2005, regular services were held on Sunday mornings from 9 a.m., and meditation and yoga classes on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Northwest Vipassana Society held all-day workshops from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month.[6] The center posted New Year blessings for January 1, 2025, and a Vassana Aradhana ceremony for July 12, 2025.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Northwest Dharma News, Sarana International Buddhist Center Opens New Hall (2014)
- ↑ Cambodian American Community Council of Washington, Resources
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Northwest Dharma News, Sarana Buddhist Center Builds Dharma Hall (2013)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 SIBC - Tukwila
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 Northwest Dharma News, Honoring the Legacy of Ven. Polwatte Pagnananda (2026)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Dhamma Wiki, Sarana International Buddhist Center