Wat
Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple
Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple (វត្តធម្មរារាម) is a Theravada Cambodian Buddhist temple in a residential neighborhood of east Stockton, California.[1][2] Its grounds hold more than 90 painted statues that tell the story of the Buddha's life, and a reclining Buddha that is the centerpiece of the grounds.[3][4]
History
The temple began as one monk's vision.[1] It serves the Khmer community of Stockton and the wider Central Valley, and the local community built it and maintains it.[4] Published address listings date from 2011 to 2019. The temple is also known as the Stockton Cambodian Buddhist Temple.[3] In 2012 Temple News listed it as Wat Dhammavararam Buddhist Temple, at the same address and telephone number, with the fax number 209.462.3066, the email address khmer@watdhammararambuddhist.org and the website watdhammararambuddhist.org.[5] In 2007 the temple appeared on Huell Howser's Road Trip during a visit to Stockton.[3] The 2026 directory of Cambodian Buddhist temples in the United States records 11 monks there.[2]
The statues
The statues are brightly painted, many with gold and jewel-like decoration, and together with painted murals they follow the Buddha's life from birth to death.[1][3] The sequence begins with Queen Maha Maya giving birth to a prince in Lumbini Park. A chariot marks the moment when Siddhartha leaves the palace and sees the poor people outside it. Other statues show him leaving his life of luxury, putting on a monk's robes to meditate, and fasting for about six years before a girl named Sujata offers him milk-rice porridge. He then finds enlightenment and becomes the Buddha.[3]
Later scenes show the Buddha teaching his first Dharma to five ascetic companions, Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama and Assaji. He calms the King of the Giants and names the five precepts: do not kill, steal, commit adultery, lie or drink. He calms a wild elephant that his cousin Devadatta set loose to kill him, and a man bent on killing gives up his old ways, takes the Buddha as his new teacher and never kills again.[3]
The reclining Buddha shows the Buddha at the age of 80, in his last moments before he passes into Nirvana. It is wrapped in golden robes and rests on a base patterned in red, orange and gold.[3][1][4] Its length is given as 50 feet (about 15 meters) or as 54 feet (about 16.5 meters), with a height of 12 feet (about 3.7 meters). Building the body took four months, and the throne took another six to seven months.[3] Along the east side of the statue area stand goddesses, among them the Goddess of Nature, the Goddess of the Earth and the Four Faced Goddess, whose faces stand for mercy, happiness, kindness and peace.[3]
Architecture
Tall guardian figures in traditional Cambodian dress, detailed in gold, flank the front of the main building. Above the entrance a large decorative face with wide eyes looks out, framed in blue, orange and red. Rows of seated Buddha figures, painted orange, red and gold, line another part of the grounds. Shrines and smaller figures stand throughout, pathways are edged with blue and red tiles, and trees and flowering plants grow among the buildings.[4] Many signs on the property, all in Cambodian, honor donors, and donation boxes stand at many of the statues.[1]
Religious life
The temple is used for active worship by the Cambodian Buddhist community, and monks are often on the grounds.[4][1] Every April it hosts an annual Cambodian New Year celebration.[3][1]
Visiting
Visitors are welcome every day during daylight hours. Entry and parking are free, donations are accepted, and bathrooms are on site.[3][6] Tours are self-guided, and the temple provides a free guide to the statues. Temple members and monks welcome visitors' questions.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Atlas Obscura, Wat Dhammararam (2018)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wat Ratanarangsey blog, 2026 Directory of Wat Khmer or Cambodian Buddhist Temples in the USA (September 18, 2026)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Visit Stockton, Stockton Cambodian Buddhist Temple (Wat Dhammararam)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Family Destinations Guide (2026)
- ↑ Temple News, Wat Dhammavararam (May 26, 2012)
- ↑ Visit Stockton, directory listing (2026)