Wat

Vatt Khmer Lowell


Vatt Khmer Lowell (វត្តខ្មែរឡូវែល) is a Khmer Buddhist temple on Townsend Avenue in the Pawtucketville neighborhood of Lowell, Massachusetts.[1][2] The temple and the planned Khmer American Cultural Center share a site along the Merrimack River, where a larger temple is to be built.[2][3]

History

The Community Of Khmer Buddhist Monks (CKBM) was incorporated in 1993 to encourage unity among Khmer Buddhist monks and lay practitioners in Lowell and to promote Theravada Buddhism and Cambodian traditions. The CKBM is the organization behind the temple, and in 2022 its president was the Venerable Sao Khon Dharma Thero.[4] In 2011 the CKBM announced a plan for a temple in a style reminiscent of Angkor Wat: a $10 million white building on stilts, with a scalloped stupa rising over a forest clearing near the Merrimack River. It was to be a place of worship, a monastery for monks from Cambodia and other countries, and a cultural center for Khmer arts, history and language.[5] That year the community bought 12 acres and built a temple, a monastic residence and a public shrine, which became the focus of cultural and religious events at the site.[4]

The CKBM set up a board to oversee the project and named the Buddhist scholar Nhem Kimteng to its executive committee. Its supporters hoped the temple would also help unite a community with a history of feuding.[5] By 2013 the project had divided Lowell's Cambodian community. A 2014 directory of Khmer temples listed the temple under the name Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks, Inc., at 48 Townsend Avenue, with the numbers (978) 501-0106 and (978) 251-1198.[6]

In 2012 Samkhann Khoeun said the temple would be a gathering place where local Cambodians could celebrate their traditions and teach their children about their culture.[3] By 2015 the Venerable Dhammathero and the CKBM had raised $840,000 for the project. Plans that year called for a three-story temple inspired by Angkor Wat, set behind a bowling alley, with a cultural center and a facility for senior citizens.[7] "I desire a representation of the Khmer empire here in Lowell, and Angkor Wat serves as that emblem," Dhammathero said. He saw the four towers of Angkor Wat as symbols of the four Buddhist virtues: loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.[7]

In 2019 city boards, including the Conservation Commission, issued new permits for a single-tier pagoda of nearly 1,580 square meters (17,000 square feet), along with a permit to remove 108 trees. The planned building held Dharma and Preah Vihear spaces, a dining area, a rectory for monks, a convent for nuns, a library, a museum, cultural and storage facilities, and a Buddhist garden.[3] Plans at one point called for an inauguration in 2020, to be attended by 500 monks.[4]

In June 2022 the plans called for a temple and cultural space of about 2,800 square meters (30,000 square feet), with a redented tower, one with stepped and notched corners, reminiscent of Angkor Wat. The space was meant to give American children of Cambodian heritage a place to learn the Khmer language and the culture of their ancestors. A library and a museum of Khmer culture were to serve as an educational and research site in connection with the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the community hoped to buy nearby properties as homes for female monastics and the elderly.[4] The 84,000 Buddha Campaign was then seeking US$10 million to enshrine 84,000 Buddha statues in the complex, each with its donor's name engraved on the base. Donations had come from around the world, from Buddhists and non-Buddhists, Cambodians and non-Cambodians.[4]

Vatt Khmer Lowell & Khmer American Cultural Center Inc became tax-exempt in April 2022. For 2021 it reported $238,112 in revenue, all from contributions, and $201,904 in expenses. The IRS designates it a church, so it is not required to file tax returns.[8][3]

In August 2025 the Lowell Conservation Commission issued an enforcement order against the temple for removing many trees in the floodplain without authorization. The 12-acre property lies entirely within a 100-year floodplain, with Claypit Brook crossing its northern section and wetlands on the site. Khoeun, speaking for the board of directors, called the removal an oversight stemming from the 2019 permit. The commission said the notice of intent approved in 2019 had been valid for three years and had expired. It voted unanimously to keep the order in force until the temple submits a tree inventory and a site plan, and postponed the hearing to September 10, 2025. Khoeun said the temple would replant the trees and file a new application, and he gave 2030 as the target for the larger building.[3] Earlier that year a gazebo went up on the property in May, and in July the temple began a money-tree fundraising campaign to develop Jayavar VII Park and to renovate an existing property into a Sangha residence and a dining and prayer hall.[3]

84,000 Buddha Capital Campaign

The capital campaign honors the Buddhist tradition that the Buddha gave 84,000 teachings in his lifetime. Every donor's name, or the name of a loved one the donor wishes to honor, is to be engraved on the pedestal of a small Buddha statue displayed in the new pagoda. The goal is $20 million. In September 2026 the campaign had raised $1,197,107 and lit 11,827 of its 84,000 Buddha statues.[2]

As of September 2026 the temple states that its land is secured and its design complete for a traditional Khmer temple and cultural center, which it calls the first of its kind in New England. The planned building covers 2,917 square meters (31,400 square feet) over two and a half stories, on a footprint of 1,524 square meters (16,400 square feet). The site is given as 13 acres, against 12 acres in earlier accounts.[2][3] The temple section, of about 1,390 square meters (15,000 square feet), is to hold the 84,000 Buddha Grand Hall, a central Buddha statue 6.61 meters (21.7 feet) tall and meditation rooms. The cultural center, of the same size, is to hold a museum, library, memorial hall, multipurpose hall, classrooms and gift shop, with a community gathering hall for celebrations, education and civic life. A new roadway, rain gardens and 274 parking spaces are also planned.[2]

Religious life

Vatt Khmer Lowell follows Theravada Buddhism. Its resident Sangha, the community of monks, leads the temple's spiritual life by guiding ceremonies, teaching the Dharma and serving the community.[9][4] A 2026 directory of Khmer temples in the United States lists three monks at 48 to 66 Townsend Avenue.[1] The land has been blessed by several years of Theravada ceremonies held by the monks and lay Buddhists.[4]

The temple's year includes Buddha Abhiseka, a ceremony blessing the Buddha statues and the site of the new temple, and Magha Puja, which recalls the day 1,250 disciples gathered to hear the Buddha teach. Maha Ghosananda's Day is held each year with the Khmer Noodle Festival. Khmer New Year brings music, dance, food, water blessings and community gathering. Pchum Benda (Pchum Ben) is fifteen days of offerings and ceremonies to honor the souls of ancestors, and Katina-Dana (Kathina) follows the rains retreat, when lay people offer robes and gifts to the monks.[2]

The temple names the Venerable Maha Ghosananda as an inspiration. It remembers him as the "Gandhi of Cambodia," as Supreme Patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism, as the leader of the Dhammayietra peace walks across Cambodia and as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.[2]

Community

The temple states that it exists to preserve the memory of those who suffered and survived, to keep Khmer culture and the Buddhist tradition alive for future generations, and to give the community and all its neighbors a place to gather, learn and celebrate.[9] Its corporate documents give its mission as promoting Cambodian cultural heritage and teaching Theravada Buddhism to the Cambodian diaspora in Greater Lowell and beyond.[3]

The temple counts about 30,000 Cambodian Americans in Greater Lowell and more than 40 years of community life there, and it calls Greater Lowell the second-largest Cambodian diaspora in the United States.[2] The Lowell Southeast Asian Water Festival, founded in 1997, draws thousands to the banks of the Merrimack River every August. Board president Samkhann Khoeun helped found it.[2][9] The temple's partners include the CKBM and community and civic partners across Greater Lowell.[9]

Leadership (2026)

The temple lists its Sangha and volunteer board of directors as follows.[9]

Sangha:

  • Ven. Bora Ngath, abbot
  • Ven. Veasna Keam, treasurer
  • Ven. Sophan Hem, Dharma Master
  • Ven. Sophal Pat, Sangha advisor
  • Ven. Sovannkongkea Noth, Sangha member
  • Ven. Song Muth, Sangha member

Board of directors:

  • Samkhann Khoeun, president
  • Rina Saneth Ath, vice president
  • Vanna Chy, secretary
  • Kennis Mor, board member
  • Allen James Chansovan Chham, board member
  • Im Khom, board member

For 2021 the organization listed Samkhann Khoeun as president, the Venerable Veasna Keam as treasurer and the Venerable Vanna Chy as secretary, with the Venerable Bora Ngath, Abbot Jessda Ounpauly, the Venerable Keatha Kouy and the Venerable Socheata Sok as directors, all unpaid.[8]

Visiting

As of August 2025, the temple held events under a tent on the property, depending on the weather.[3]

Associations

Vatt Khmer Lowell & Khmer American Cultural Center Inc (associated organization).[10]
Legal name: Vatt Khmer Lowell & Khmer American Cultural Center Inc.
Registration identifiers: EIN (United States): 83-1553702.
The official site identifies this as the temple and cultural center's 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ProPublica's registry-derived listing gives the full legal name and the same identifier.[11]
Relationship checked 2026-09-25.

Community Of Khmer Buddhist Monks (associated organization).[12] Organization details: Community Of Khmer Buddhist Monks.
Buddhistdoor's June 2022 account identifies this organization, incorporated in 1993, as being behind the temple initiative. This entry records that historical project relationship.
Relationship checked 2026-09-25.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wat Ratanarangsey blog, 2026 Directory of Wat Khmer or Cambodian Buddhist Temples in the USA (September 18, 2026)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Vatt Khmer Lowell, official website
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 The Lowell Sun, Monks remove trees in flood plain without a permit (August 17, 2025)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Buddhistdoor Global, When the Dharma came to Lowell (June 2022)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Long Beach Post, Sex and the Single Monk (October 11, 2013)
  6. ↑ Temple News, 2558 Khmer Buddhist Temples Directory (April 2, 2014)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Atlantic, This Cambodian Monk Is Building a Mini Angkor Wat in Lowell, Massachusetts (May 13, 2015)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Vatt Khmer Lowell & Khmer American Cultural Center Inc
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Vatt Khmer Lowell, About and Contact
  10. ↑ Vatt Khmer Lowell, About and Contact
  11. ↑ ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Vatt Khmer Lowell & Khmer American Cultural Center Inc
  12. ↑ Buddhistdoor Global, When the Dharma Came to Lowell
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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:29.