Monk Sees US Pagoda as Central to Cambodian Community

Venerable Chan Horn, chief of monk at the Buddhikaram pagoda in Silver Spring, Maryland. Photo: VOA Khmer

Monday, 25 July 2011
Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer | Washington, D.C

“Very often in summer, many American students come to the Buddhikaram temple to learn about Buddhism and Khmer culture.”

Venerable Chan Horn, chief of monk at the Buddhikaram pagoda in Silver Spring, Maryland, told “Hello VOA” recently that he believes pagodas are still at the heart of Cambodian-American communities.

They not only provide a place of worship, he said, but they serve humanitarian causes for local and Cambodian communities. They also preserve some of Cambodia’s culture, he said.

The Buddhikaram temple is one of the largest Cambodian Buddhist temples in the US. It’s 33rd anniversary will be held in August. It was built in Silver Spring, Md., in 1986, to serve Cambodians who had fled to the East Coast of the US. Chan Horn has served as its head since 1997.

“Very often in summer, many American students come to the Buddhikaram temple to learn about Buddhism and Khmer culture,” he said. Main Buddhist scriptures have been translated into English, he said.

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