Wat
Wat Khemararam (Créteil)
Wat Khemararam, also written Vatt Khémararam, is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist monastery at 16, rue Saint Simon in Créteil, in the suburbs of Paris.[1][2][3] It belongs to the Dhammayutta order and is run by the Association Bouddhique Khmère - Vatt Khemararam. The community calls it the first Cambodian temple built in France and in Europe.[1][4]
Names
The name Vatt Khemararam means "Khmer monastery." The temple is also listed as the Monastère Vatt Khemararam, as Vatt Khémararam de Créteil, as Vat Khemararam and as the Khemararam Temple.[4][5][6][7][8]
History
From 1975, many Cambodians fleeing persecution found refuge in France, some of them at the France Terre d'Asile shelter in Créteil.[9] In 1977 a small group of exiled Khmer monks and lay people founded the Association Bouddhique Khmère (A.B.K.) in Paris, the first Khmer religious association in France. It was led by the Venerable Bour Kry, in exile in France since 1976, as the most senior member of the exiled monastic community.[4][1]
When refugee monks arrived from Thailand, Cambodian lay people found a flat for them. In 1980 the growing community moved to Créteil, where a house and land were bought with donations from lay supporters. Bour Kry, the community's spiritual guide and the chief monk at the time of the move, decided to build a temple there, and the association took the name Vatt Khemararam.[4][1][7]
After other monks left, Bour Kry remained alone in Créteil. He invited two Cambodian refugee monks to come from Thailand, but they later left to join Wat Bodhivansa. He then ordained some young monks, and as of 1985 most of the resident monks were not Cambodian.[7]
The temple received its consecration ceremony in 1982, and the official consecration (sima) of its vihara, the main temple hall, was celebrated in 1985.[1][7][9] In 1987, at Créteil, Prince Norodom Sihanouk raised Bour Kry to the rank of Samdech Preah Ang Krou, and in 1991 King Norodom Sihanouk appointed him head of the Dhammayutta order of Cambodia.[4][1]
Under Bour Kry, affiliated monasteries and centers were built in Lille-Roubaix, Toul and Brussels, in Ohio in the United States, and in Makassar, Indonesia.[1] They include Wat Khemararam Lille and Wat Khemararam Toul.
Architecture
The temple stands in the garden of the Créteil property and cannot be seen from the street. It is low and wider than it is long, built in a roughly traditional Khmer style.[7] The vihara was built by the rules of ancient Buddhist tradition, and its modest architecture recalls the great monuments of Angkor.[1][9]
Religious life
The monastery follows the Theravada school within the Dhammayutta order. The Union Bouddhiste de France lists the Venerable Maha Sangharaja Bour Kry as its current spiritual authority and Seng Veng Ly as its contact.[3] The community calls the temple a center open to all, without distinction of race, nationality or Buddhist school, in the spirit of its founder, who has built ties of friendship with many schools of other Buddhist traditions.[1][4]
The temple's 2024 calendar followed the Buddhist year. It began with the international New Year on January 7 and Makha Puja, the commemoration of the Four Great Assemblies, on February 25. The traditional New Year, for the Year of the Dragon, ran from April 13 to 16, and Visakha Puja, marking the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing, fell on May 26. A Solidarity and Flower Festival on June 16 raised funds for Secours Bouddhique International. Chaul Preah Vassa, the start of the monks' rains retreat, fell on July 22. On August 7 the temple honored Bour Kry, Supreme Patriarch of the Dhammayutta order of Cambodia and founding president of A.B.K.-Vatt Khémararam. Kan Bend and Pchum Bend, the fortnight of the dead, ran from September 19 to October 2, and Cheng Preah Vassa, the end of the retreat with the offering of robes (Kathina), fell on October 20.[10]
Community
Vatt Khémararam organizes Khmer festivals at the Grande Pagode du Bois de Vincennes in Paris. In 2024 these were the traditional New Year on April 14, Pchum Bend on September 29 and Cheng Preah Vassa on October 20. Because of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Chaul Preah Vassa ceremony on July 28 was held at Vatt Khémararam instead.[10] In 2026 the festivals at the Grande Pagode are Khmer New Year on April 5, Pchum Ben on October 4, and Kathina, the end of the monks' rains retreat, on October 25, each from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.[6]
During the 2018 Heritage Days, the Vatt Khemararam association led guided visits of the temple, introducing the schools of Buddhism and Buddhist practice in France and Cambodia, especially among lay people.[9]
Visiting
The monastery is near the Créteil Université metro station.[10]
Associations
Association Bouddhique Khmère - Vatt Khemararam
(associated organization).[11]
Legal name: Association Bouddhique Khmère - Vatt Khemararam.
The temple's history states that the Association Bouddhique Khmère acquired land in Créteil in 1980 using donations and supported construction of Vatt Khémararam. This records the historical relationship without treating the 1980 acquisition as a fresh verification of present ownership.
See also
- Wat Khemararam Lille
- Wat Khemararam Toul
- Wat Dhammarangsey (Bagneux)
- Union Bouddhiste de France
- Pchum Ben 2026
- All organizations
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Vatt Khemararam, Premier temple cambodgien en France
- ↑ Vatt Khemararam, Contacts
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Union Bouddhiste de France, Association bouddhique khmère - Vatt Khemararam
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Vatt Khemararam, Bouddhisme Khmer Dhammayutta (official site)
- ↑ LeBouddhisme.com, Buddhist temples in France
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Union Bouddhiste de France, Grande Pagode festivities, 2026 season
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Milada Kalab, Cambodian Buddhist Monasteries in Paris: Continuing Tradition and Changing Patterns (Project MUSE)
- ↑ Temple News, 2558 Khmer Buddhist Temples Directory (2014)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Journées du Patrimoine, Temple Bouddhique, Créteil
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Vatt Khemararam, Agenda (2024)
- ↑ Vatt Khémararam, temple history