Wat

Wat Samaki Temple


Wat Samaki Temple (វត្តសាមគ្គី, Watt Samaki) is a Khmer Buddhist temple on Back Nippen Road in rural Buxton, Maine.[1] Its name means Unity or Solidarity Temple.[1] The temple calls itself Maine's only Khmer Buddhist temple, and it is the center of the state's Khmer community for religious ceremonies, funerals, blessings and holidays.[2][1]

History

Most of the Khmer who came to Portland, Maine, had been farmers in Cambodia who fled the Khmer Rouge terror that began in 1975.[3] The temple's own history counts more than 150,000 Khmer who came to America as refugees between 1975 and 1994, and about two million Cambodians who died under the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979.[1]

By 1984 about 800 Khmer in Portland had formed a nonprofit called Watt Samaki to raise money for a building.[3][4] They first found an abandoned chicken barn on 2 hectares (five acres) some miles west of Portland and asked for a special zoning variance to turn it into a church. Neighbors objected. More than 70 townspeople came to the hearing, and Portland newspapers and television stations covered the dispute. The community withdrew its application and lost its $1,500 deposit, and several local churches gave more than $800 to offset the loss.[3]

Six months later the community found a small two-story house in Portland. The local Quaker meeting lent $10,000 toward the down payment. The house was dedicated as the Watt Samaki Buddhist Center, with a Buddha Hall for worship and festivals.[3][1] An early directory entry lists the community as Wat Samakkiram at 2 Delham Street, Portland, with the telephone number 207-797-8554, the same number the Harvard Pluralism Project gives for the Portland temple.[5][3] Supporting a monk became a heavy cost. After the community's monk left, the small temple was used mainly for weddings, New Year and ancestor festivals, and fundraisers.[3]

In August 1993 the Buddhist center was vandalized. Electronic equipment was stolen, and the words "Dirty Asian, Chink, Go Home" were written on the temple wall.[3][1] Pirun Sen, a community leader who was a nurse and former monk, said the center was "the only place that can bring all of us together to love, to care for one another, to pass on the Khmer culture."[3] Police did not find the vandals or the stolen equipment. Neighbors who had not known the purpose of the little house pledged their support and watchfulness.[3]

The community outgrew the Portland house and bought land in rural Buxton in 2005.[4] The temple's own history dates the move to 2007, when fear of more hate crimes led the community to look for a quieter rural site. Navan L. was voted board president to lead the relocation, and Lyna S. and Meng Y. later became permanent volunteers caring for the building and grounds.[1] Pirun Sen was chairman of the board when the temple first opened.[4]

Buxton residents objected to noise, parking and building codes, and for a time their petitions kept the temple out.[6] In 2008 the Buxton Planning Board approved the temple's revised plans.[6][4] The town required a large parking lot and a runoff pond, and without them further gatherings would have been illegal and subject to steep fines. Bak Him, who had fled the Khmer Rouge and became a monk at the temple in 2006 at the age of 72, moved stones and dug the pond with his hands, a shovel and a wheelbarrow.[6]

In February 2021 the University of New England College of Dental Medicine gave the temple's monks free dental care. The college had also helped the temple put COVID-19 safety measures in place for holidays and supplied toothbrushes and toothpaste.[4] During the pandemic the temple worked with the Cambodian Association of Maine on relief efforts.[7] Also in 2021, the temple faced accusations over its use of the land and alleged property code violations. The temple holds that these codes were applied to it but not to similar places of worship in the Buxton area. Judge Eric Mehnert helped Watt Samaki through the dispute.[1]

Westbrook project

During the COVID-19 pandemic the community decided it needed a larger space.[8] The Buxton temple sits on a small parcel of about 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres).[9] Its hall is too small for major festivals such as Pchum Ben, Kathin and Cambodian New Year, which can draw up to 300 people.[8]

In 2023 Khmer Maine, led by Marpheen Chann, became the temple's partner in the move and in building ties with other communities in Portland and Cumberland County. The board added new members that year as interest in the temple grew.[1] With financing arranged through Coastal Enterprises, Inc., the temple acquired a parcel of about 12 hectares (30 acres) at 00 Cumberland Street in Westbrook, which lies between Buxton and Portland.[9][8][7] On August 11, 2023, the temple and Khmer Maine launched the Welcome Home fundraising campaign for a traditional Cambodian Buddhist temple and a cultural and community center on the land.[9]

The plan has two phases. The first, over one to three years, brings a new residence for monks and a cultural and community center. The second, within three to five years, brings the traditional temple. A music and events hall is also planned.[8] The center is meant as a home for Cambodian culture, arts and music, where traditional dance, music and arts are taught and performed. It is also planned to hold English classes, a food pantry and community gardens, and to be open to the wider community.[9][8] Cambodian builders and contractors in the community are donating their labor.[8]

The temple and Khmer Maine brought in civil engineers, wetland biologists and other experts for the planning approval and planned neighborhood meetings to hear from neighbors.[9] The Westbrook City Planning Board unanimously approved the site plan design in late summer 2024.[2] In 2025 Savy K. was voted board secretary to help guide the Westbrook project and widen the temple's connections.[1] As of 2026, the temple planned to begin clearing trees in summer 2026 and aimed to finish the new wat and open it as a spiritual home and community center by its fifth year.[2]

Khmer Maine leads the campaign for the Asian American Community Center (MAACC) building and will manage it. That building is estimated at $7.4 million and is planned as a hub for environmental education, sustainable forestry, and urban community farming and gardening. Watt Samaki raises funds separately for its Worship Hall, estimated at $8.4 million. The two groups need $2.6 million to begin the driveway to the main complex, a cost that includes utilities running from Cumberland Street to the first building and construction through rocky ledge.[2] Most funds so far have come from Khmer community members across the United States, and the temple is also seeking support from foundations, government agencies and corporate sponsors.[2][9] Plans for public access include links to existing trails and the Westbrook City Forest, educational visits for schools and colleges, and a museum of Khmer culture, history and art.[2][9] Existing trails on the site are to be kept open to the public.[8]

Religious life

Monks live at the temple and serve as the spiritual leaders of its congregation, and most members are refugees.[10] Members are taught precepts that include not killing, not stealing, not speaking untruth and not taking intoxicating substances.[10] A 2026 directory of Khmer temples in the United States lists three monks at the temple.[11]

The temple holds Pchum Ben, Bon Kathin and Khmer New Year, as well as funerals and blessings.[1] It held a Bon Kathin celebration in fall 2025.[12] The forests and farmland around the temple recall temples in Cambodia, where nature is an important part of Buddhist practice.[1] Pirun Sen said that people like to meditate in the forests there because the setting helps them focus and lifts their spirits.[4]

Community

The temple celebrated Khmer New Year with a public festival in Westbrook for the first time in 2023, and about 300 people came. In 2024 the second festival and parade were held at Riverbank Park in Westbrook, with Khmer Maine collaborating. Temple elders and monks walked in the parade, led by seven angels played by girls in traditional dress, and the monks gave water blessings. A family cooked food to raise money for the temple. Before the festival, Khmer Maine helped the temple hold its ceremonies in Buxton.[13] In September 2023 a Khmer Maine dinner encouraged donations to the Watt Samaki building fund.[7]

Names and listings

The temple is also known as Watt Samaki, Wat Samakkiram and Wat Samakiram. Directory records of the Buxton address date from 2011 to 2019. Directories of Khmer temples from 2011 and 2014 list it as Wat Samakiram at 128 Back Nippen Road, Buxton, Maine 04093, with the telephone number (207) 929-5527.[14][15] The 2026 directory gives its Khmer name as វត្តពុទ្ធិកខ្មែរសាមគ្គី, with the same address and telephone number.[11]

Visiting

As of 2025, visits are by appointment only. The temple does not hold weekly services and cannot arrange tours for outside visitors. Its staff are all volunteers, few with technical skills, and they answer email when they can. Savy K., the board secretary, handles community inquiries.[12]

Board and monks (2026)

The temple lists these board members and monks.[1] Navan Leng was also named as president in 2023 and 2024.[9][13]

  • Navan Leng, president
  • Meng Yi, vice president
  • Ven. Phally Prakk, senior monk
  • Ven. Chan Men, resident monk
  • Lyna S., treasurer
  • Savy K., secretary
  • Chhun Sreng O., secretary II (for Khmer traditions)
  • Ann O., Vuthy C., Paky V., Pech E. and Savin K., board members

Associations

Khmer Maine (supporting organization).[16]


Khmer Maine, led by Marpheen Chann, partnered with Watt Samaki from 2023 on the Westbrook relocation. It leads the campaign for and will manage the MAACC building on the Westbrook campus; Watt Samaki raises funds separately for its Worship Hall.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Watt Samaki, About
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Watt Samaki, home page
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Harvard Pluralism Project archive, Watt Samaki Temple
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Buddhistdoor Global, Cambodian Buddhist Monks in Maine Offered Free Dental Care (2021)
  5. ↑ TempleNews, Portland directory entry
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Contexts, Digging for Mutual Cooperation (2013)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Press Herald, Society Notebook: Khmer Maine celebrates Cambodian community and supporters (September 24, 2023)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Buddhistdoor Global, Cambodian Buddhist Community in Maine Launches Temple Fundraiser
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Gorham Weekly, Cambodian community to build center, first-in-Maine temple (August 18, 2023)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Khmer Maine, Press Herald: Cambodians seek to preserve centuries-old traditions in Buxton (2008)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bhikkhu Pat Sophal, Cambodian Buddhist Temples in the USA, B.E. 2570 (2026)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Watt Samaki, Contact
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Press Herald, Cambodian festival to ring in Khmer New Year (April 22, 2024)
  14. ↑ Khmer Buddhist temples address book (2011)
  15. ↑ Temple News, 2558 Khmer Buddhist Temples Directory (2014)
  16. ↑ Watt Samaki, home page

Sources

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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:23.