Wat Buddhawararam of Denver is the only existing exception to the long process of development of Thai Buddhist temples in the United States. It came into existence almost overnight as a temple with monks in residence. Some intermediate steps, especially the organization into a Buddhist association or a Buddhist center, were passed over. This might have been mainly because this temple was established at a time when visits of monks from Thailand and the availability of Thai monks residing in some parts of the United States were no longer of extreme rarity, and when the organizers could learn much from the experience of other existing temples.
It happened that in the middle of 2518/1975, while a senior monk from Bangkok, accompanied by three other monks, was visiting Thai temples and Thai communities in different parts of the United States, a follower of his who resided in Denver, invited him and the accompanying monks to make a stop at Denver. During their short stay in Denver, there was a large gathering of Thai people who, being overjoyed at the news of an arrival of a group of Thai monks, came to pay respects to the monks and participate in a merit making ceremony. Being impressed by the faith of the people and their enthusiasm to participate in such a Buddhist religious and cultural activity, the venerable senior monk suggested the founding of a Thai Buddhist temple in Denver. The idea was warmly welcomed and the assembled people assured him of their earnest intention and cooperation. He also assured them that he would supply monks and necessary religious articles.
Shortly after the 2519/1976 New Year’s Day celebration, a meeting of Thai people in Colorado was convened to consider the proposal for the founding of a Thai Buddhist temple in Denver and the purchase of a Salvation Army church as the site for the temple. Positive resolutions were passed and a committee was formed to implement the project. On March 25, 1976, the establishment of a Thai Buddhist temple with an official name of ‘Wat Buddhawararam of Denver, Inc.’ was legalized by a Certificate of Incorporation granted under the Colorado Nonprofit Corporation Act. On March 31, 1976, a promissory note was signed for the one year plan purchase of the Salvation Army Church on a three tenths of an acre plot of land at Julian Street in Denver at the price of $50,000. On April 13, 1976, the same day as the celebration of the Thai traditional Songkran or water festival, Thai monks took residence at the Temple, formerly the church building, marking the beginning of the Denver Temple activities.
However, the number of the people in Denver and nearby areas is comparatively very small, around 500 or 600. The payment of $50,000 for the purchase price of the building under a one year contract seemed to be too heavy a burden for such a small community. Therefore, a large part of the amount had to be sought from contributions by devoted people elsewhere, especially those in Thailand and large U.S. cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. After strenuous efforts had been made to raise the necessary funds to make the payment on schedule, it turned out that contributions made by devotees in Thailand exceeded by one third the total amount of payment.
In the Vassa of 2520/1977, the total number of monks in residence at Wat Buddhawararam of Denver was six.
Wat Buddhawararam is usually quiet due to the small local Thai community. There are relatively few participants in day to day merit making ceremonies, and at ceremonial gatherings at the Temple. Its beautiful suburban setting with a lake and a park in the foreground and the Rocky Mountains crowned with silvery snow seen from afar in the background adds to its peaceful atmosphere favorable to meditation. The only complaint may be a noisy highway just in front of the Temple. Given this background of peaceful atmosphere and the infrequent involvement of Thai people in day to day activities, its monk executives have a policy to concentrate on conducting Buddhist activities of the Temple with the emphasis on offering meditation training and the propagation of the Buddha’s doctrine to native Americans or English speaking people. Accordingly, a class in Insight Meditation was opened on the first day of the first Vassa period of the Temple and, except for the celebration of some traditional holy days and holidays, was the first Buddhist activity to be held at Wat Buddhawararam. The periodical of the Temple, ‘Journal of Wat Buddhawararam’ cites among its objectives the encouragement of Insight Meditation Practice. Besides meditation, the Temple runs Buddhist Sunday school classes for children and Thai language classes for adults. Every three months since July 1977, having been invited by the Ogden Air Force Base in Utah, the Temple has been sending two monks there to conduct Buddhist services for some 300 or 400 Thai women who are married to US military personnel. Buddhist holy days and some Thai traditional festivals are also observed and celebrated both for religious and for cultural purposes.
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