Finn Kelly ’27
A Theravada Cambodian temple rooted in the City of Love
On the corner of Sixth and Ritner street in Philly, an out-of-place, yet astounding almost fortress-like building sits in an otherwise uninteresting neighborhood. Red and gold gleaming gates guard the entrance to a well-kept temple, and the Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple is home to a group of polite and generous monks. The founder, Sin Wat Sakyamuni is part of a lineage of masters that stem from Cambodia. There are eight monks, and a membership list of 3,500, and each ceremony has upwards of a hundred attendees! The temple was founded in 2003, and they have since expanded to having two locations, one in Philly and one in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
The Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple is a central spiritual and cultural hub for the surrounding Cambodian-American community. The temple preserves rich Theravada Buddhist history, with copies of Pali texts within the gates and monks with great wisdom. The temple has acted as an area for community gathering, education, cultural exchange, and religious practice. The monks are truly dedicated to service here, and have no interest in the desires and distractions of the modern world. This blog post will take a deeper dive into the temple that is akin to a Cambodian colorful castle on the corner of Sixth and Ritner.
Beliefs and Origin
The monks here are Cambodian Theravada Buddhists. Surprisingly, today in Cambodia the predominant form of Buddhism is Theravada, even though newer forms like Vajrayana and Mahayana have been largely successful in other regions. The name, Preah Buddha Rangsey, means “Blessed Buddha” which goes back to Cambodian Buddhist history. Buddhism was introduced to Cambodia somewhere in the third century, very close to the origin of Buddhism in India. Through the years it has risen and fallen in Cambodia, but today Theravada Buddhism is practiced by 97.1 percent of Cambodian people, and is the state religion. During the Khmer Rouge reign in the seventies and eighties, Cambodian Buddhists were forced to leave their homes, work as peasants, and it is estimated some 25,000 monks were killed by the regime. The lay people in Cambodia had it worse than the monks, as many were left without a home or were forced to work for the Communist Party for no compensation.
As for their beliefs, the monks are very traditional, humble, and respectful. They believe in the Four Noble Truths and believe the purpose of existence is to escape samsara. They are very holistic about this in the sense that they live every day, mindful of their moments. They are not distracted by the whims of the modern world like most lay people, including myself. Meditation and trainings in wisdom have allowed them to quiet the music box of the mind and achieve deep focus in their everyday activities. In terms of healing and opinion on medicine, they do go to hospitals and use conventional medicine as well as specific meditation. Interestingly, they deny the existence of supernatural beings and stress specifically finding the origin of our unhappiness (suffering). This is unlike traditional Theravada Buddhists, but it is nevertheless a more modern and realistic approach to Buddhism.
Relationship with other Buddhist communities
There is a variety of other Buddhist communities in Philadelphia. Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple is one of two Cambodian Buddhist temples, with one in far North Philly and Preah Buddha Rangsey being located in southern Philadelphia. Other than that, there is a Tibetan monastery and a Chinese Zen temple closed for construction. Wat Phila and Chua Bo de, which are both Vietnamese temples that are active. These communities do celebrate some similar holidays, especially Vesak which is practiced by anyone who believes in the Life of The Buddha.
Daily Practice
The temple offers a variety of programs for both its community and people outside of the community. They offer daily prayer and meditation, and since they are rooted in Theravada tradition they practice mind-body-soul, which includes chanting and circumambulation. They chant in Pali, the original language of Theravada Buddhist texts, although sometimes when they are doing public meditations they use a Khmer translation. At 11 in the morning, they practice pindapata, which is the practice of going out into the community to receive offerings of food and alms from lay people. This practice dates back to the very first Buddhists, including Buddha himself. The monks offer wisdom to lay people coming through in the city, especially points on mindfulness and promotion of peace and compassion. In the afternoons, they will study Buddhist texts and meditate further, with focus on integrating the words from the texts into their daily lives. Throughout their bits and pieces of free time, they perform daily chores around the temple. To keep it short, they work quite tirelessly to keep the temple and surrounding gardens and artwork beautiful. They are very well connected with nature, and they believe that making a deeper connection with nature helps us unlock the secrets of our mind.
Preah Buddha Rangsey also hosts a number of cultural celebrations, including Maga Puja, Vesak (celebrating the triple birth, death, and enlightenment of the Buddha), Pchum Ben, Visakha Puja, and the Cambodian New Year. During these times, people will come out in the streets in numbers to celebrate and offer gifts for good karma and insight on reflection and renewal. They still participate in Rains Retreats (Vassa), which will start sometime in the summer. Late in the year, they hold a large festival called Katina, where they wear special yellow robes and hold offering ceremonies. For lay people, they offer classes and workshops on Dharma, meditation, and Cambodian culture. There is a specific focus on educating the young, especially for people of Cambodian descent who want their children to be spiritually educated. This is intended to help the next generation carry on the traditions of their ancestors.
Sangha and The City of Love
Philadelphia, commonly nicknamed the City of Love, is a diverse mixture rich with culture stemming back from many years ago when immigrants would move to the United States. Immigrants will maintain their cultural identity and bring it with them, which to any Philadelphian is clear simply from walking around the streets. This community is alive with people from different and similar neighborhoods coming together to keep traditions from fading. During the days, the city markets in Chinatown are busy with people, and at the temple the monks give sermons to members and lay people willing to listen.
They are connected with the Philadelphia community around the temple as well, participating in local food drives and health fairs through the Khmer Buddhist Humanitarian Association, which gives alms to the local neighborhood. Though Theravada, they do have a members list with people who give money to the temple. Regardless, the temple uses most of its money to give back to the neighborhood in positive ways. For Cambodian-Americans in Pennsylvania, the temple serves as a place of worship and healing. Cambodian-Americans are still not far removed from the Khmer Rouge genocide, and this temple acts as a safe space. For the current generation, it is their parents or their grandparents who had to suffer through that and these people now navigate a complex life within the United States. Emigrates from Cambodia would come to America, many times alone with no family. The temple in Philly became their home, and has served to heal the wounds inflicted on the Cambodian people. Places like Preah Buddha Rangsey can bring together individuals with shared trauma to sustain mental, spiritual, and cultural well being.
Ultimately, since the Buddhists moved into south Philly in 2003, crime in the area has dropped to below ten percent. The neighborhood had previously been a site of violence and crime, but a large flourishing of cultural Buddhist practices among many temples has sparked a change in the city culture. Both lay Americans and those who have travelled to Philly from all over the world to seek a better life have found a comforting identity within this community.
Concluding Thoughts
Some people think that Buddhists today would be a victim of the modern age, carrying cell phones and using every convenience of the modern world available. For some communities, this may be true, but for the Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple, these people are as close to the Buddhism of old as you can get in the modern world. Monks do not own cell phones and only know about the general ongoings of the world from people visiting the temple and telling them. They live purely off of donations, yet every day they work to better the community and themselves.
The Preah Buddha Rangsey Temple isn’t just a place for Buddhists to come and worship. It is an eloquent well-kept anchor of what the combination of community and culture can bring to urban area. The temple fosters a sense of belonging for people who may not fit comfortably into “American” culture. It acts to educate, to serve the community, and to enrich our spiritual minds. There is much to appreciate about the temple and its multifaceted roots in Cambodian identity and Buddhist faith.
