Wat
Wat Ahram Meinjai
Wat Ahram Meinjai is a Theravada Khmer Buddhist temple in Bowling Green, Kentucky, about six miles from Western Kentucky University.[1] It is also known as the Cambodian Buddhist Temple of Bowling Green.[2]
The temple stands outside the city center in a small building covered with Khmer script and Buddhist prayer flags. It is a meeting point where the Cambodian immigrant community keeps its customs and culture alive through worship, language and food.[1]
History
Published address listings for the temple date from 2011 to 2019. It is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the EIN 27-2714590.[3][4] Charity Navigator lists the organization at 219 Phelps Court, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42104.[3] A memorial service was held at the temple on May 7, 2022.[2]
By 2023 the monks Sarith Nan and Kheang Socheat had served the temple for about seven years. They led services with sermons and blessings in Khmer, and traveled to other temples for religious gatherings. In 2023 Socheat left monastic life after becoming a U.S. citizen, and Nan became the only monk at the temple. He took charge of its holiday gatherings.[1] In 2026 a directory of Cambodian Buddhist temples in the United States listed two monks at the temple.[5]
Community
Most lay members are elderly Khmer people. As of 2023 every member of the community, monks included, was a first-generation immigrant, and services used little English. Some members travel from Louisville and Memphis several times a year for holidays such as Navam Full Moon Poya and Choul Chnam Thmey, the Khmer New Year. The monks live mostly apart, and a member of the congregation prepares their meal each day.[1]
At the temple's Magha Puja celebration, members prepared food together. There was Khmer monastic music, with prayers and blessings for the health and prosperity of lay members and monks. Each person took a turn placing a scoop of rice into the monks' alms bowls.[1]