Finding Faith: Pursuing enlightenment – Buddhism in Buxton (Printed Feb. 22, 2008)
This marks the seventh and final installment of the Finding Faith series, featuring a look into how religion affects and is affected by people in the Gazette’s coverage area.
By Cliff White
Staff Writer
It doesn’t matter if you’re half a world away from home as long as you have faith that God is everywhere, says Pirun Sen.
Sen is one of the leaders of the Cambodian Buddhist movement in Maine. A former monk and president of the Wat Samaki temple in Buxton, Sen is now chairman of the temple’s board of directors.
The Buddhist population in Maine is mostly composed of Cambodian immigrants and their families, who are followers of Theravada Buddhism, one of the two main branches of the religion, Sen says. More than 90 percent of Cambodians are Therevadan Buddhists, Sen says, and in Cambodia, that religion is a universally accepted and visible part of culture and society. For Cambodian immigrants in Maine, however, Buddhism serves the additional function as a uniting force for the community with a population Sen estimates to be near 2,000 people. That function is partially revealed in the temple’s name – Wat Samaki means “unity temple” in Khmer, the main language of Cambodia.
The temple in Buxton – the only Buddhist temple in the state – is the community’s heart, Sen says.
“Without the temple, we are lost,” Sen says. “We wouldn’t know who we are. It is the glue holding together our community.”
Harry Schnur is a senior at Bowdoin College who is studying the temple and its worshippers for a senior thesis.
“Having that temple is a huge deal to the community,” Schnur says. “It’s a place where they can speak their language, feel at home, where everything makes sense to them. Culturally and socially, it’s really the only place that delivers that kind of comfort to them.”
That sense of home is important for both the older generations – mostly immigrants – who have found Maine to be a stark contrast to their native country, as well as the younger generation, who can have difficulties in becoming comfortable in how they identity themselves, Schnur says.
“It helps them find a balance between the Cambodian and the American, and brings them in contact with others who are experiencing the same challenges of identity,” Schnur says. “It also brings together people from a variety of socio-economic classes, and serves as an important resource in helping people newer to Maine get advice from those who have been here longer. They find out who is a good employer, where they can find jobs, and many are still trying to get citizenship, so they can ask questions about that process to people who have already gone through it.”
Sen says both the temple and its monks are completely supported by the Buddhist community, and it is a source of pride for a community to be able to provide that support. Because the monks rely on their community for even the most basic needs, the situation fosters a sense of shared dedication, sacrifice and mission, Sen says.
Monks are vital to the culture and religion of the Cambodian Buddhists, Sen says.
“Monks are our role models. They lead us through our religious ceremonies and provide spiritual guidance, helping us to be better Buddhists,” Sen says. “They are our cultural leaders as well as our religious leaders. People go to them if they want life advice, not just to lead religious ceremonies. They provide counsel our community members on issues which are not necessarily religious, such as if parents are having differences with their children or any other issue in which someone is looking for guidance.”
Monks are highly respected, Schnur says, because of the rigorous set of rules they are expected to follow which discipline their behavior.
“There are 227 rules they are supposed to follow, including and especially a vow to renounce all material interests, ” Schnur says. “That in turn gives them a ritual authority. Buddhists believe that doing good works for the monks, such as supporting them by bringing them food or clothing, could improve the circumstances of your next rebirth.”
Paul Norman, a former monk at Wat Samaki, says being a monk is a full-time job that kept him busy all day.
“We go wherever we’re requested to go, whether to offer spiritual guidance, dharma talks, relating the teachings of the Buddha, or offering prayers,” Norman says. “We are constantly out in the community.”
Even the monks’ time in the temple – which also serves as their home – is kept busy with meditation and house-keeping, Norman says. Norman estimates he spent one to three hours in meditation when he was a monk.
“Meditation is learning,” Norman says. “By clearing their minds, and through the process, monks gain greater clarity about their purpose and their mission.”
Him Bak is one of two monks currently living at the temple.
He sits perched on a fluffy red cushion in a portico at Wat Samaki, surrounded by murals of sacred moments in the history of his religion.
Asked about the importance of having a temple in Maine, he says, “No temple, no community.”
He gazes out the window, staring at the snow-covered hills of Maine.
“It’s cold here, but I like,” Bak says.
This marks the seventh and final installment of the Finding Faith series. Past articles have explored the changing of Christians from one denomination to another, how some churches are using contemporary-sounding music to attract new parishioners, Christian schools, the relationship between Christianity and politics, volunteering as a religious experience and minority Christian movements.
Though there is a plethora of religious issues upon which this series has not touched, these articles were meant to give readers a better understanding of the range and depth to which religion permeates our culture and society, and how it makes a difference in the lives of the people of our community.
By Cliff White
Staff Writer
It doesn’t matter if you’re half a world away from home as long as you have faith that God is everywhere, says Pirun Sen.
Sen is one of the leaders of the Cambodian Buddhist movement in Maine. A former monk and president of the Wat Samaki temple in Buxton, Sen is now chairman of the temple’s board of directors.
The Buddhist population in Maine is mostly composed of Cambodian immigrants and their families, who are followers of Theravada Buddhism, one of the two main branches of the religion, Sen says. More than 90 percent of Cambodians are Therevadan Buddhists, Sen says, and in Cambodia, that religion is a universally accepted and visible part of culture and society. For Cambodian immigrants in Maine, however, Buddhism serves the additional function as a uniting force for the community with a population Sen estimates to be near 2,000 people. That function is partially revealed in the temple’s name – Wat Samaki means “unity temple” in Khmer, the main language of Cambodia.
The temple in Buxton – the only Buddhist temple in the state – is the community’s heart, Sen says.
“Without the temple, we are lost,” Sen says. “We wouldn’t know who we are. It is the glue holding together our community.”
Harry Schnur is a senior at Bowdoin College who is studying the temple and its worshippers for a senior thesis.
“Having that temple is a huge deal to the community,” Schnur says. “It’s a place where they can speak their language, feel at home, where everything makes sense to them. Culturally and socially, it’s really the only place that delivers that kind of comfort to them.”
That sense of home is important for both the older generations – mostly immigrants – who have found Maine to be a stark contrast to their native country, as well as the younger generation, who can have difficulties in becoming comfortable in how they identity themselves, Schnur says.
“It helps them find a balance between the Cambodian and the American, and brings them in contact with others who are experiencing the same challenges of identity,” Schnur says. “It also brings together people from a variety of socio-economic classes, and serves as an important resource in helping people newer to Maine get advice from those who have been here longer. They find out who is a good employer, where they can find jobs, and many are still trying to get citizenship, so they can ask questions about that process to people who have already gone through it.”
Sen says both the temple and its monks are completely supported by the Buddhist community, and it is a source of pride for a community to be able to provide that support. Because the monks rely on their community for even the most basic needs, the situation fosters a sense of shared dedication, sacrifice and mission, Sen says.
Monks are vital to the culture and religion of the Cambodian Buddhists, Sen says.
“Monks are our role models. They lead us through our religious ceremonies and provide spiritual guidance, helping us to be better Buddhists,” Sen says. “They are our cultural leaders as well as our religious leaders. People go to them if they want life advice, not just to lead religious ceremonies. They provide counsel our community members on issues which are not necessarily religious, such as if parents are having differences with their children or any other issue in which someone is looking for guidance.”
Monks are highly respected, Schnur says, because of the rigorous set of rules they are expected to follow which discipline their behavior.
“There are 227 rules they are supposed to follow, including and especially a vow to renounce all material interests, ” Schnur says. “That in turn gives them a ritual authority. Buddhists believe that doing good works for the monks, such as supporting them by bringing them food or clothing, could improve the circumstances of your next rebirth.”
Paul Norman, a former monk at Wat Samaki, says being a monk is a full-time job that kept him busy all day.
“We go wherever we’re requested to go, whether to offer spiritual guidance, dharma talks, relating the teachings of the Buddha, or offering prayers,” Norman says. “We are constantly out in the community.”
Even the monks’ time in the temple – which also serves as their home – is kept busy with meditation and house-keeping, Norman says. Norman estimates he spent one to three hours in meditation when he was a monk.
“Meditation is learning,” Norman says. “By clearing their minds, and through the process, monks gain greater clarity about their purpose and their mission.”
Him Bak is one of two monks currently living at the temple.
He sits perched on a fluffy red cushion in a portico at Wat Samaki, surrounded by murals of sacred moments in the history of his religion.
Asked about the importance of having a temple in Maine, he says, “No temple, no community.”
He gazes out the window, staring at the snow-covered hills of Maine.
“It’s cold here, but I like,” Bak says.
This marks the seventh and final installment of the Finding Faith series. Past articles have explored the changing of Christians from one denomination to another, how some churches are using contemporary-sounding music to attract new parishioners, Christian schools, the relationship between Christianity and politics, volunteering as a religious experience and minority Christian movements.
Though there is a plethora of religious issues upon which this series has not touched, these articles were meant to give readers a better understanding of the range and depth to which religion permeates our culture and society, and how it makes a difference in the lives of the people of our community.
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