Wat

Watt Munisotaram


Watt Munisotaram is a Theravada Buddhist temple on 40 acres of former farmland in Empire, near Hampton, in Dakota County, Minnesota.[1][2] Cambodian refugees founded it to keep their religious traditions and culture alive after resettling in the United States, and the temple calls itself the largest Cambodian Buddhist temple in the country.[1]

History

As more Cambodian refugees settled in Minnesota, community elders led by Mrs. Kan Sally wrote to the Venerable Ung Mean, head of the Buddhist monastery in Washington, D.C., and asked for a monk to lead a monastery in Minneapolis. The Venerable Chey Siddhi San came to serve as the first abbot.[3][4] The community formed the Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society (MCBS) to carry out the work. The society's own histories date its formation to 1981 or 1982, and one magazine account dates the first temple in Minneapolis to 1983.[3][5][6] In 1982 the temple collected 110 volumes of the Tripitaka, the Buddhist scriptures.[1]

The community first worshipped in a rented house in Minneapolis. In 1984 it moved to a house in St. Paul, which more families could reach by bus. It later bought a house in Eagan, dated 1985 in the society's account and 1988 in the Carleton College history.[5][3] In 1988, under the second abbot, the Venerable Son Thach (also given as Thach Son), MCBS bought a 40-acre farm near Hampton, with a house and two red storage barns, for $221,000. Savings of $50,000 and a gift of $20,000 from Mrs. Lar Munstock helped make the purchase.[1][7][3]

The farm became a monastery over the next decade. The house was enlarged for the monks in 1990, a Buddhist center was built in 1991 and inaugurated in 1994, and an entrance gate in the style of a Cambodian monastery went up in 1992. The driveway was paved in 1993, one barn became a social hall in 1995, and rooms for lay visitors and a dining hall were added in 1996. More than 200 trees were planted in 1998.[1] The Venerable Iddhimuni Moeng Sang (also given as Sang Moeng) arrived in the United States in 1996 and became the third abbot in 1997.[1]

In 2000 the temple enshrined 110 Tipitaka volumes bought in Cambodia and began a project to light the roads around the grounds.[1] Sacred boundary stones were set at a groundbreaking ceremony on February 17, 2001, and planning for a permanent two-story temple, or vihara, began on October 30, 2002. The vihara was sanctified in a ceremony from July 5 to 8, 2007.[1][7]

The grounds kept growing. The temple received Buddha relics from Sri Lanka in 2009 and began the Sakyamuni Stupa in 2010. A Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta worship site followed in 2013, and the Jade Buddha was shown at the temple from August 5 to 10, 2014.[1] Muchalinda, a reflection pond, was built in 2015 and inaugurated in 2017. In 2016 the large red barn gave way to a community hall. A parking lot of 4,431 square meters (47,700 square feet) for 260 vehicles was finished in 2020 and opened with new public restrooms in 2021. A statue of the Buddha in self-mortification was sanctified on May 5, 2022, and the Great Gate, built in 2017, was inaugurated on August 8 and 9, 2025.[1]

Architecture

The Cambodian architect Yav Socchea, who came to Minnesota in 2002, designed and built the main temple with help from monks and volunteers. The two-story building covers about 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). It took almost five years to complete and cost about $1.5 million, and its gold roofs rise above the surrounding farmland.[8][6][9] Ten sima boundary markers surround it and mark the holy ground where ceremonies can properly take place.[1][3]

The Sakyamuni Stupa was built to enshrine relics of the Buddha. It stands on a base of about 334 square meters (3,600 square feet) and rises three levels to about 30 meters (100 feet), with the relics kept at the top.[10][7] Nearly all construction has been paid for by donations from the Cambodian Buddhist community, given as merit-making.[11][4]

Religious life

Watt Munisotaram follows Theravada Buddhism. Its stated aims are to teach loving-kindness, compassion and peace, to foster virtue and meditation, to serve the community, to bring young people into religious life and to preserve Cambodian traditions.[12] In 2023 ten resident monks led daily chanting and meditation.[13]

On weekends people come to pray, meditate and hear sermons, and to join Khmer singing, dance and chanting groups. Families mark marriages, births and deaths at the temple, and monks give blessings and advice during the week.[11] The year follows the Buddhist calendar: Meakha Bochea in mid-February; Cambodian New Year at the first full moon in April; Visakha Bochea in late May; Kan Ben and Pchum Ben in late September or early October; the Kathina robe offering in October; and in November a reading of all 13 chapters of the story of King Vessantara.[11]

Ordination at the temple is short and occasional, often a week or a weekend. In Cambodia, by contrast, men have commonly spent time as novice monks before starting their careers.[11] In the winter of 2022 to 2023 the temple opened enrollment for its sacred dance troupe and drew more than 20 new dancers.[13]

Community

Minnesota has the fifth-largest Cambodian population in the United States, and the temple is a center of its religious and cultural life.[2] Twin Cities PBS and WCCO have called it the largest Buddhist temple in North America.[9][14] In 2026 the Minnesota Humanities Center and the Cambodian American Partnership brought educators to the temple to learn about its history from monks and community members.[2]

Monks and officers

The William & Mary American Buddhism project lists these resident monks and officers.[11]

  • Ven. Iddhimuni Moeng Sang, resident monk; chair and president
  • Ven. Dhammajoto Seng Bun Sang, resident monk
  • Ven. Chum Vichet, resident monk
  • Chhith H. Yanat, first vice president
  • Mey Sophal, secretary general
  • Chan Samnang, treasurer
  • Chhem Saing Ean, treasurer
  • Neou Kim Thida, treasurer

Visiting

Visitors, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, come to see the temple and its grounds.[9] Shoes are removed in the main hall, the shrines and the meditation room, hats come off in sacred buildings, and children are welcome with supervision.[15] The temple posts its events on its website.[16]

Press

Associations

Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. (operating organization).[17]
Legal name: Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc..
The temple's official website explicitly states that Watt Munisotaram is administered by the Minnesota Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. (MCBS). The organization name and abbreviation are distinguished from the physical Wat.

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 Watt Munisotaram, About us
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Minnesota Humanities Center, Learning from Place: Watt Munisotaram (2026)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Munisotaram.org, Who we are
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 AAUC, How Cambodian Minnesotans Built One of North America's Largest Buddhist Temples (2025)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Religions in Minnesota (Carleton College), History
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mpls St. Paul Magazine, Little Temple on the Prairie
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 MNopedia, Watt Munisotaram
  8. ↑ Religions in Minnesota (Carleton College), The 40-acre campus
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 WCCO/CBS Minnesota, Finding Minnesota (2018)
  10. ↑ Twin Cities PBS, A Cambodian Temple Among the Cornfields (2023)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 William & Mary, American Buddhism: Watt Munisotaram
  12. ↑ Watt Munisotaram, official site
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Buddhistdoor Global (2023)
  14. ↑ Twin Cities PBS, Sacred Minnesota: Refugees Find Peace in Buddhist Temple (2021)
  15. ↑ Watt Munisotaram visitor guidelines
  16. ↑ Watt Munisotaram, Events
  17. ↑ Watt Munisotaram, official website

Sources

Retrieved from "https://dev.khmerconnection.com/w/index.php?title=Watt_Munisotaram&oldid=8362"
This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 22:45.