Overview
Wat Pasantidhamma is a Buddhist Community in southeastern Virginia, located in Carrollton. The Wat Pasantidhamma community practices Theravada Buddhism and provides a wide variety of Buddhist services to the community. Their mission statement is simply defined by “peace”: peace up, or loving Buddha, which is done through practicing the Dhamma; peace in, or serving each other, which in turn serves Buddha; and peace out, which changes the world through peace among all.
Foundation
Wat Pasantidhamma as an idea began in discussions around 1996, when Buddhists in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia expressed frustration with the difficulty in accessing Buddhist services in the region. At the time, the closest place to attend Buddhist services was in Washington, DC. This made the ability to worship in a Buddhist community difficult for some and outright impossible for others. Therefore, many people started reaching out to monks in Washington, DC for advice on how to remedy the issue at hand. Out of these discussions the idea of establishing a Buddhist temple in Hampton Roads was formed. After consultations with monks in both DC and Bangkok, followed by a unanimous vote, work began to form Wat Pasantidhamma. Searches were begun for a location and talks to discuss fundraising were held. As the project expanded, more and more people joined the team of devoted members working tirelessly to form the community. This team officially became an organization titled the “Samukee Dham Association.” The first president of the Samukee Dham Association was Dr. Tawatchai Onsanit, who was a major part in guiding the project through the troublesome beginning. After the first formal community meeting to discuss the project, a newsletter was created by a community member named Mrs. Sompong Bray. She was integral to the creation of Wat Pasantidhamma and worked tirelessly to provide communication about the project to members both inside and outside of the organization. This newsletter still continues to operate today. One of the biggest initial problems in finding the perfect place was the dilemma of either purchasing land, which was more expensive but more flexible, or renting, which was less expensive but much harder to work around. After nearly two years of searching for a location and securing funding, the organization was able to tour the plot of land in Carrolton Virginia. They decided it would be the perfect place, and in December of 1997 the land was finally purchased. Shortly afterwards, monks from Wat Thai in Washington DC visited the land, blessing it and bestowing the name of “Wat Pa Santidhamma” which means “Forest Temple Peace Dhamma”. In April of 1998, Wat Pasantidhamma was officially established.
Constituency
Wat Pasantidhamma has a wide variety of constituents. The temple itself has a community of monks who reside there full-time and also offers members of the community to stay for up to a week at a time regularly. The current abbot of Wat Pasantidhamma is the Venerable Udom Pabhangako. At the time of its founding, Wat Pasantidhamma was mostly supported and attended by local Thai, Laotian, and Cambodian members of the community. This continues today, but Wat Pasantidhamma stresses that the community is open to all regardless of their background or if one has been affiliated with Buddhist practices in the past. Another way Wat Pasantidhamma engages members of its community is through a book club, in which lay people and monks can read books and engage with one another about the texts they read.
Practices
Wat Pasantidhamma as a whole adheres to the Theravada practice of Buddhism, more specifically the Theravada Thai Forest Tradition. Readings include that of the Tripitaka, or three baskets, that serves as the base of Theravada practice. Discussions and lessons are held about the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka, and the Abhidamma Pitaka. The temple leads daily mediative practices, as well as longer meditation retreats that involve learning about the teachings of the Buddha, and mediation in the forms of sitting, standing, and walking. This is offered throughout the year with the exception of winter. During December, January, February, and March, the monastics at Wat Pasantidhamma observe a silent winter retreat. It is possible to visit during the day in this time, but the temple will not allow overnight guests. Another practice implemented at Wat Pasantidhamma is the use of small groups. These are groups made of eight to twelve people, either couples or individuals, that pray, and discuss together. These small groups have five aspects: life change, cultivating relationships, promoting participation, providing care, and identifying future leaders. Additionally, the temple also offers an Upāsakā program to encourage laypeople to engage with monastics and each other over the Dhamma. The purpose of the program as stated by Wat Pasantidhamma is to encourage individual practice and discipline, strengthen understanding of Dhamma, increase contact with similar people, and to be able to better teach others the teachings of the Buddha. This program entails many guidelines for those participating, including following the Three Refuges and Five Precepts and formally taking them quarterly, gathering regularly with other Upāsakās, daily meditation, going on retreat, attending festival days or community gatherings, having basic knowledge of the Teachings, supporting the sangha, and keeping to the program for at least one year. There are two forms to this program, with Upasaka for men and Upasika for women. Aside from this, the temple also offers a radio program in order to allow people to listen to regular talks about the Buddha’s teachings. These talks are available for download on the Wat Pasantidhamma website as well.
Events
Wat Pasantidhamma offers a wide variety of events throughout the year, celebrating holidays and conducting retreats. Observances are held for full, half, and new moons throughout the year. Meditation services are offered every Wednesday from 5:00pm-9:00pm, whereas regular services are available from 6:00am-8:00pm Monday-Friday and 6:30am-8:00pm Saturday-Sunday. Meditation retreats are offered Friday-Sunday on certain weekends of each month outside of the monastic silent winter retreat period. Services are provided for national holidays, traditional Theravada Buddhist holidays, and Thai holidays as well. Celebrations are held for the anniversary of Wat Pasantidhamma and the Songkran Festival celebrating the Thai New Year. Ceremonies are also held of Vesak, or Visakha Puja each year to celebrate the Buddha. Asalha Puja, or Dharma Day, is also celebrated in July. A Buddhist Lent ceremony is conducted in July as well. A longer retreat, known as the five days Moment to Moment retreat, is conducted in the beginning of August. In September, a Sart Thai day ceremony is held. At the end of the Rain Retreat in October, a ceremony is held as well. This is followed by a Kathina Ceremony. Smaller ceremonies are also held throughout the year for days like Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and others.
Funding
Wat Pasantidhamma is funded entirely by donations of the public. This was the case for its founding and is still the case today. All services, including retreats, are offered entirely free of charge as the community believes that “the Buddha’s teachings are priceless.” The temple encourages donations on its website, particularly if one wishes to attend services, but stresses that these are not mandatory and would only benefit the community if one chooses to do so. Wat Pasantidhamma lists projects on its website which the temple wishes to either continue doing or complete in the future. Each of these projects has links to fundraising, with the goal amounts for each project listed. The largest such project was launched in late 2014. It is a Sala Ruam Jai, or multi-purpose building. This would allow a place for study of Buddha’s teachings, other religious functions, would serve as a cultural center for the community, and would provide classrooms as well. The project launched with a hefty goal of one million dollars to raise and did so successfully. The project was very recently completed, and now serves as a perfect meeting place for the Wat Pasantidhamma community.
Relationships with other Buddhist Communities
Since its founding, Wat Pasantidhamma has enjoyed a close relationship with Wat Thai in Washington DC. This is due to the great assistance of the monks from Wat Thai, particularly abbot Luang Ta Chi, in helping coordinate the founding and development of Wat Pasantidhamma in the early stages of its creation. Additionally, Wat Pasantidhamma retains relationships with Theravada Buddhists all around the area, and keeps an open line of communication with monks in Bangkok, Thailand as well.
Contact
Wat Pasantidhamma has several methods available to contact:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gowatpa/
Phone: (757) 238-3461
Website: https://gowatpa.org/