Watpa Nanachart

Introduction

Within a stone’s throw of Dulles International Airport’s well-worn landing strips and the bustling intersection of US routes 15 and 50 lies the building that originally housed Watpa Nanachart. Though having moved twice in its history, after more than two decades, the monastery not only remains alive today as a religious refuge for those who seek to practice Theravada Buddhism, but also, it has developed into a bastion of community for the plentitude whom it services and the surrounding area. This is made possible with Watpa Nanachart’s long standing commitment towards Buddhist principles and philosophy, whose continued practice and presentation is so attested by persistent temple goers, visitors, and passersby alike. It is the aim of this page to delve into Watpa Nanachart’s history, guiding principles and practices, as well as the wat’s constituency itself, as to get a wider and more informed picture of a Buddhist community organized in the United States.

History

With continued outward development and suburban sprawl ever so familiar to the residents of northern Virginia, the necessity for more spaces of communal worship likely grew, along with the population. Thus, in 2001, Watpa Nanachart’s doors opened to the public at its original location in Chantilly. Its initial decision in locale, as touched upon in the organization’s Facebook page, was chosen to help best serve Buddhists and their families in the immediate vicinity to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Growing its constituency within the first few years of the organization, a decision was made that Watpa Nanachart was to be moved northwestward on US route 50 into Aldie, VA. After a brief residence on Goshen Road, the monastery elected to trade the continuous hum of the suburbs for the tranquil countryside; the board bought a rural plot further down the highway in 2004, whose late 18th century residence now lays as the permanent fixture of the organization.

Since then, under the direction of the temple’s current abbot and Director of Committees, Phrakhu Sangharak Khampong Panyavudho, the constituents of Watpa Nanachart have held various religious events, ceremonies, and celebrations at the most current venue, and will quite certainly hold them for years to come.

Funding

In addition to actively sought-after private donations – some notably meriting up to four or five figures – some larger, regional functions are occasionally held or participated in by the wat. These events, such as concerts or festivals, are open to the congregation, their families, and more often than not the wider community, in efforts to raise funds for planned projects. On the organization’s Facebook page, it is mentioned that the process of fundraising is often incremental, and Watpa Nanachart does not intend to break ground until it has enough money to do so. The wat has a standing plan to construct a new multipurpose building for the 10-acre compound on US route 50, though curiously enough, the same Facebook page has it that there is no definitive budget established yet. Perhaps after more donations are collected, a reasonable figure could be developed and announced to the monastery’s constituents.

Beliefs & Practices

First and foremost, Watpa Nanachart is a monastery that practices Theravada Buddhism. According to the wat, its charge as a Buddhist organization is to bring monks to the United States so they may teach laypeople about the dhamma, or the Teachings of the Buddha. Their organization claims that this is necessary, as one must engage in practices of the monks for the entirety of their life; at the temple, monasticism meets lay practices hand in hand, as this process is facilitated through meditation, lessons on dhamma, etc. Annually, roughly a dozen events and ceremonies are regularly observed, such as those including a Visahka Puja ceremony (celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and entrance into Nirvana of the Buddha), Songkran Festival ceremony (Thai New Year), Buddhist Lent ceremony, etc. These are momentous events, and though mood and content matter may vary, festivities may be seen and heard throughout the compound grounds.

On a more monthly basis, Watpa Nanachart operates from 6am to 9pm and offers regular services on wanpra, or Buddha’s day, which occurs every 8th and 15th of the month on a lunar calendar. A point that should be noted is also that in addition to this, worship is also held on Sundays. This arguably protestant move is in consideration of regular weekday, nine-to-five work schedules to which the wat’s constituents would likely have to adhere.

That being said, the schedules of the monks, of whom there are six, are perhaps more regimented than their constituents’. The Buddhist monks who take refuge in the wat, according to the organization itself, task themselves with adhering to the strict routine below:

                           05:30 a.m. Wake up
                          06:00 a.m. Morning Chanting & Meditation
                          07:00 a.m. Breakfast
                          08:00 a.m. Dhamma Study
                          11:00 a.m. Lunch
                          01:00 [p].m. Dhamma Study
                          03:00 p.m. Cleaning the temple & Working
                          07:00 p.m. Evening Chanting & Meditation

Found using the “Internet Archive” – https://web.archive.org/web/20080412102515/http://www.watpananachart.org/englishversion/aboutus.htm

Advising, chores around the compound, and instructing are all tasks monks must complete on a regular basis in addition to those above. During daily mealtimes, of which only the first two are consumed, monks are limited to ingest only water, juice, oil, cheese, butter, cane juice, and honey. This is described as a measure to discourage self-indulgence and to help hone one’s focus and efficiency in religious activities. From time to time, laypeople come in to prepare the monks’ lunchtime meal silently (in observation of the five precepts), and after which they may receive blessings from them. In terms of regular interaction with monks as a layperson, there is of course etiquette – this involves bowing and raising of the hands, as well as a general awareness of one’s position and word choice.

Constituents & Community

“For the Thai people, no matter where they live, they would like to build a temple in that area, because in their entire lives, they must get involved with ceremonies which the Buddhist monks do, from birth to death. Even though they come to settle in the USA., they need the monks and Wat to be with them; therefore, they bring the monks the USA to be their refuges.”

Found using the “Internet Archive” – Extract from Watpa Nanachart’s “About Us” page

Though the tools of prayer and reflection are shared through the teachings of the monks, those who wield them are just as important in terms of the wat’s prosperity throughout the last two decades. The constituents of Watpa Nanachart are by and large of Thai and other Asian descent, as considerably sizeable diasporas of said groups exist within the D.C. metropolitan area. While an exact figure on the number of people who come to the wat to worship is not publicly available, the wat’s Facebook page, reviews, compound, and donations show that roots run deep into the outlying community. Not only this, but in terms of connectivity throughout the wider Buddhist community both in and out of the United States, Watpa Nanachart’s old webpage (the current one has been under construction since about 2010) contained myriad resources to connect its assembly to the wider Theravada Buddhist community. It included links to wats and places of meditation found in Thailand, those to message boards and discussions on dhamma, etc. But since the website has been in disrepair, the wat’s Facebook page has picked up the slack, as it connects more than 1,000 followers to the community, and those beyond, today.

Conclusion

Established in 2001, Watpa Nanachart quickly grew into a temple on which many locals could depend, not just once in Chantilly, but twice after it moved to Aldie. Under the wat’s current abbot and director, Phrakhu Sangharak Khampong Panyavudho, the organization continues to earn money through festivals and fundraisers for ambitious projects to better the grounds and conditions for worship. The monastery frequently holds celebrations of annual occurrence, as well as common worship times, to which laypeople have more flexibility to go. Monks and laypeople alike are steadfast in their faith, sharing this trait with those of whom they connected regionally, nationally, or worldwide via the web. Given all this, it is no wonder that Watpa Nanachart still stands today as a beacon for those who practice Theravada Buddhism, as well as a cornerstone of the community.

Written by Adam Elwood

Resources Used

https://www.facebook.com/watpananachartva/about/?ref=page_internal

https://web.archive.org/web/20090219073216/http://watpananachart.org/englishversion/indexenglish.htm

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Aldie/40539-John-Mosby-Hwy-20105/home/12015795

https://earth.google.com/web/