Revised plans win approval for Buddhist temple

Max Calderwood, Buxton, left, hears about Buddhism from Cambodian Buddhist monk Bak Him in town hall Monday. The Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple got permission to gather in its temple on Back Nippen Road. (Photo by Robert Lowell)

By Robert Lowell
Reporter-American Journal (Westbrook, Maine, USA)

BUXTON (May 1): After revising its plans several times, a Buddhist temple won permission Monday from the Buxton Planning Board to meet at a home on Back Nippen Road.

Neighbors packed public hearings in recent months on the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple's application to express concerns about noise and traffic temple gatherings could generate on the rural, residential road.

However, only a few residents attended the meeting Monday as the permit received unanimous approval from the board. One resident attended just to greet members of the temple.

Max Calderwood said he's been following the hearings on the temple's application with interest.

"I want to welcome them to the community," he said, after visiting with Bak Him, one of two monks who live at the temple, in the lobby outside the selectmen's chamber in Buxton Town Hall.

Him lives at the home at 28 Back Nippen Road with another monk, Chantrea Mean. Temple members plan to meet in a building attached to the home. The house will remain a private residence.

“I’m happy now,” said temple President Navan Leng of Westbrook.

The temple presented plans in January, but received the approval Monday after submitting revised parking plans, scaled back from 67 to 52 cars, and plans for landscaping and controlling storm water runoff. Public hearings drew worries from neighbors about increased traffic and noise in the residential neighborhood. Churches are allowed on the road under Buxton zoning, and the building once housed a commercial printing business.

During the meeting Monday, Janice Laughlin, who lives across the street from the temple, asked whether the conditions the Planning Board had placed on the temple's permit, particularly the construction of a parking lot, would have to be met before members could begin meeting there. Laughlin has been concerned about cars being parked along the road.

Planning Board Chairman Jeremiah Ross said the conditions would have to be met before the temple could begin meeting there.

Buxton Code Officer Fred Farnham will issue an occupancy permit after the temple meets agreed upon requirements and is issued a permit from the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

Leng will meet with Beth Sturtevant, a volunteer who presented the temple’s plans in meetings, to discuss the work and costs. Leng said the temple still has to raise money to pay for the project.

The temple is the only one of its kind in Maine and serves 350 Cambodian families. Most members are Cambodian refugees, who fled the reign of Pol Pot when as many as three million people were slaughtered in the 1970s.

The temple bought the property three years ago. This was the second time the temple had applied to gather there.

Town officials have said a request by the temple two years ago didn’t move forward because the temple didn't provide information planners had requested. The temple, which was founded in 1985 in Portland, sought permission to locate in Buxton 20 years ago, but opposition thwarted approval.

“I’m so glad to have the temple in this town,” said Peng Kem of Portland, a member of the temple’s board of directors.

Cambodians seek to preserve centuries-old traditions in Buxton

By Robert Lowell
Reporter-American Journal (Westbrook, Maine, USA)

BUXTON (March 6): After Saturday’s storm, Navan Leng plowed the driveway and shoveled snow from the sidewalk Sunday at Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Buxton.

“I like it,” Bak Him, a monk who speaks little English, said of the snow. “But I’m cold, I don’t have a big coat.”

The Maine weather is in stark contrast to Bak Him’s homeland, Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia with a tropical climate. A refugee now living in Buxton, Him is one of two monks at the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple, which has so far received an icy reception in its effort to get town permission to hold gatherings at the property.

Located in a typical New England house with shutters and a gable roof on Back Nippen Road, the temple appears at first like any other home in rural Buxton. But a sign on the home immediately sets it apart from any of the other homes along the road and the other Christian churches in town. The only Cambodian Buddhist temple in the state, Watt Samaki is home to religious practices that appear exotic and foreign but have endured throughout the world for centuries. The monks that live there function as the spiritual leaders of their congregation, whose members are taught principles familiar to all: I will not kill, I will not steal, I will not speak untruth and I will not consume intoxicating substances.

The permit process began in January, and on Monday, the Buxton Planning Board will re-open a public hearing on the request, starting at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. Neighbors have previously voiced concerns about parking and increased traffic through the residential neighborhood on rural Back Nippen Road. It is the board's third hearing on the matter.

At a previous hearing Feb. 11, some Planning Board members said they thought the temple’s plan needed to be modified to include a stormwater pond to collect runoff from parking to trap pollution before draining into wetlands. The temple was also asked to resubmit plans for the 67-car parking lot after planners discovered that parking spaces were 6 inches short of an ordinance requiring 9-foot width.

The temple is located in a rural residential area where a church would be allowed. Temple leaders say the home would serve as the spiritual and social center for Cambodians in Maine.

“The temple is the heart of the community,” Leng, temple president, said. “The temple is the healing place. They put their mind in peace. Forget about world's problems.”

Most temple members live in Portland, Westbrook, Saco, Biddeford and Brunswick. Sunny Brown Mao, the treasurer, travels to the temple from Augusta.

Most members of the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple are refugees. Many Cambodians fled to the United States since the reign of Pot Pol, Cambodian leader 1976-1979, in which as many as 3 million died. Maine has an estimated total of 350 Cambodian families.

U.S. Cambodian refugees usually live in urban areas where jobs are located, according to Sunil Goonasekera, a visiting professor who teaches four Asian religions, including Buddhism, at Bowdoin College.

The temple, which began in 1985, bought a small property in Portland as a first step, but sought a larger site. Leng said the price of the Buxton property was affordable and a nice location. The property, which the temple purchased three years ago, includes a home and an attached building that once housed a printing business.

While it might seem out of place in rural Buxton, the location on eight, largely wooded acres is not unusual for a temple, according to Pirun Sen, chairman of board of Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple. In Cambodia, temples are always in the forests. Buddha, the religion’s founder, is said to have been enlightened with the truths while under a tree.

"People like to meditate in forests," said Sen, who was born in rural Cambodia. "It's a place to focus. It lifts their spirits up."

There are no chairs inside the temple, which is carpeted, and visitors remove shoes before entering. The monks sit on cushions on a raised platform, a little higher than the main floor where people sit.

"We can't sit higher than the monks," Leng said. "And the monks can't sit higher than the Buddhas."

Images of Buddha are displayed in the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple. Three of those Buddhas were shipped from Cambodia at a cost to members of $7,000. Members support the temple and the monks, but there is no set limit for donations.

“It comes from your heart,” Leng said about giving.

Temple artwork depicts Cambodian culture, and lights behind the Buddhas in the temple are from Cambodia. Unlike temples in the United States, artwork and writings are inscribed by artists on walls in temples in Cambodia.

Temple life

Goonasekera said a Buddhist monk typically begins each day at 4 a.m. with sweeping before worshipping and eating breakfast. “They keep it spotlessly clean,” Goonasekera said.

To become a monk, said Harry Schnur, a Bowdoin student studying the temple, the ceremony includes shaving the head and receiving the robes. “He is usually compelled to recite passages from Buddhist scripture in Pali, the Buddhist Holy language in response to prompting by senior monks,” Schnur said.

The temple is home to two monks, Him and Chantrea Mean. Him, who will be 73 Friday, was born in Cambodia and has been a monk for two years. Him fled Cambodia in 1979 and arrived in the United States in 1986 after stops in Thailand and the Philippines. Him, a first level monk, has been a member of the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple since 1987 and once served as its treasurer.

Mean, 60, came to the United States in 1997 and doesn't speak English. Mean has been a monk for 40 years and was ordained in Cambodia. Mean has never been married.

Him gave up married life to become a monk. Goonasekera said monks have to abstain from all sexual activity and renounce the ways of the world. Him, who has seven children in the United States, separated from his wife, who lives in Portland, to lead a celibate life and qualify as a monk. Him earned U.S. citizenship in 2004.

Leng said Him became a monk because his goal is to help people conduct their lives according to Buddhist doctrines.

Goonasekera, a native of Sri Lanka, said lay members of a Buddhist temple take food, usually breakfast and lunch, to the monks, but dinner isn’t eaten in a temple.

Following tradition, Leng also delivered bottled water and bags of groceries for the two resident monks, Him and Chantrea Mean, after he cleared the snow. In Cambodia, families and nuns provide prepared food for monks. But in Buxton, Him and Mean often fix their own meals.

“I cook myself,” Him said, adding that his favorite food includes chicken, pork, noodles and vegetables.

Leng explained why the monks cook in Buxton. “The difference is over here most of us work different schedules. Old people can’t drive and they depend on daughters and sons,” he said.

Him enjoys gardening, and last year planted vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes. “Hot, hot peppers,” Him replied when asked his favorite vegetable to plant.

Neighbors are welcome to pick vegetables from Him’s garden. He once earned an award helping students garden in the Sagamore Village neighborhood of Portland. He stores his award and other personal memorabilia in a Sam’s Club tote bag.

Him will be offered new robes in October in an annual community observance, celebrating the end of the rainy season. Him, like all Cambodian Buddhist monks, always wears the traditional robes, even to Buxton Planning Board meetings. The orange or yellow robes are symbolic of stained cloth.

Monks are forbidden to own property or a car and can’t wear fancy jewelry. Goonasekera said monks renounce singing, dancing or playing musical instruments.

Holy days for Buddhists are on full, new and half moon. Him is required to have short hair and shaves his head twice a month, including on the full moon.

On the Holy days, the laity usually wear white clothing and carry gifts like flowers, oil and incense to the temple.

“They worship very quietly,” Goonasekera said, then gather for a sermon, which lasts an hour. “The neighborhood won’t know anything about it.”

Community center

Besides worshipping, members go to the temple to seek advice from the monks. The temple is a source for physical, psychological and spiritual healing. “When they get depressed, they go to see the monks,” Goonasekera said.

Cambodians seek solace at the temple. A monk offers chanting for people and a blessing with water to heal their problems, according to Leng. A monk might give a crying child a bracelet or a necklace to keep evil spirits away.

Temple members greet the monks by kneeling, clasping hands together as in praying. The monks aren’t allowed to shake hands.

Goonasekera said a Buddhist temple is open to everyone, regardless of religion. “They don’t criticize other religions,” Goonesakera said.

“Monks are required to be polite,” said Goonesakera.

People aren’t questioned about their faith when visiting a Buddhist temple and monks don’t proselytize. Goonesakera said monks don’t carry out campaigns to convert people to Buddhism.

“People have to come to them,” Goonesakera said.

Cambodian Buddhists have seven special celebrations each year. The Cambodian New Year, April 13, is one of the three celebrations likely to attract some 200 people and cars for the 67 parking spaces the Planning Board is requiring of the temple.

On May 15, the temple will observe one of the four celebrations in which only some 20 cars are expected. It celebrates the birth and death of Buddha. “Buddha was a God but he passed away,” Him said.

Leng said the temple is important to Cambodian Buddhists and helps bring peace to the community. “The temple shows you the right path to walk,” Leng said.

The temple helps refugees adapt to a new culture. A refugee, Leng said about immigrating to the United States, “We lost hope, we came here to regain hope.”

Outside the Buxton temple, a U.S. flag is flown on a pole. Buddhism also has a flag with five colors – yellow, blue, red, white and orange. According to folk lore, the colors represent those of a halo around Buddha. Goonesakera said the Buddhist flag was designed by an American, Henry Steel Olcott.

Leng said Watt Samaki means “together” in Cambodian. “We need to have a temple,” Leng said. "That's why we need help."

Based in Westbrook, Reporter-American Journal Robert Lowell can be reached at 207-854-2577 or by e-mail at rlowell@keepmecurrent.com.

A place to pray

By Robert Lowell
Reporter-American Journal

BUXTON (Jan 24): To view an audio slideshow, click here.

A bid by Maine's only Cambodian Buddhist temple, located on a rural road in Buxton, to hold celebratory gatherings drew strong opposition from neighbors Monday at a packed Buxton Planning Board meeting.

No decision was made on the request by Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple, at 128 Back Nippen Road. Several residents voiced their concerns, citing traffic, noise and the septic system capabilities. This week's public hearing was continued until Feb. 11.

Twenty years ago, the same temple, facing heavy opposition, was unable to establish a house of worship in Buxton.

"It's been an uphill battle all the way," said Beth Sturtevant, a volunteer from North Yarmouth who is lending a hand to the temple.

The Watt Samaki Temple, which began in 1985 in Portland, serves more than 350 families. The temple bought the Buxton house and attached building, which formerly housed a printing business, about three years ago. Two monks, Bak Him and Chantrea Mean, live in the home. The temple holds four large celebrations a year.

According to Harry Schnur, a Bowdoin College senior studying the Watt Samaki Temple for a thesis, lay people support the monks as part of their tradition. Faithful followers take food daily to the monks. He said the temple doesn't have any paid employees.

The town says the temple is allowable in the rural zone, but does require a conditional use permit from the Planning Board. Nearly two years ago, Buxton received a similar request for a permit on March 20, 2006, and the Planning Board considered it on May 14, 2006, but no decision was made because the monk they were working with at the time did not provide paperwork the board had requested, according to Keith Emery, a board member who was chairman at that time. That monk was neither Him nor Mean.

On Oct. 14, 2006, the town accused the temple of holding a gathering without a permit. The town ordered the temple to halt the gatherings, threatening a fine of up to $2,500 for each violation. The temple complied.

Navan Leng, temple president, said last week a few neighbors complained about parking when the temple first moved there. Leng said there was miscommunication between the temple and the town.

Both the town and temple officials agree a communication problem developed. Buxton Code Enforcement Officer Fred Farnham said there was a personality conflict involving the monk seeking the permit. "It got off on the wrong foot," Farnham said in his office before Monday's meeting.

Janice Laughlin and her husband, Al Laughlin, who board horses, live across the street from the monks. They said last week the monks are industrious.

"The monks are always working outside, improving the property," she said. "They're wonderful."

But the Laughlins share concerns with other neighbors about traffic volume in a residential neighborhood, parking, noise and the septic system on temple property.

Alycia Campbell, an abutter at 120 Back Nippen Road, said she has four small children and she moved to her home for the quiet. "The impact of traffic will be enormous," Campbell told the Planning Board.

Jean Harmon, chairwoman of Buxton selectmen who lives on Back Nippen Road, said the temple people aren't from the area and might not be aware of children in the neighborhood. She said the temple didn't regard ordinances in the past, and urged the Planning Board to consider past complaints.

Rusty Miner, 145 Back Nippen Road, has two young children and also moved to the neighborhood for its quiet. He praised the temple for it people, but was concerned about safety on the road.

"I'm so worried about my kids," Miner said at the public hearing.

Answering questions about speeding on the road, Jeremiah Ross, chairman of the board, reminded residents that the panel isn't responsible for enforcement of ordinances and laws. "We have no authority to enforce ordinances," Ross said.

"I'm concerned about safety on the street," said Peter Burns, 164 Back Nippen Road.

Burns said he isn't opposed to the temple per se. He said the temple attracts out-of-state cars and that the large gathering two-and-a-half years ago had 100 cars.

"I challenge the town to enforce the ordinances," Burns said.

The number of big celebrations held at the temple each year also became an issue. The Planning Board is mulling over restricting the number of large gatherings at the temple and wanted to hear a specific number. Sturtevant said it could further define dates and events.

But, Pirun Sen, 56, Portland, chairman of the temple's board of directors, said after the meeting he is concerned about restriction of events at the temple because of the impact on families and future of the temple.

"My concern is how we can keep up with conditions put on us," Sen said following the meeting.

He said he wondered what would happen if, for example, a family lost a member and a funeral became necessary.

Sen, who came from Cambodia in 1981 to flee the dictator Pol Pot, said the temple met opposition in an attempt to locate in Buxton 20 years ago. Sen said the temple had bought an option on a property with a chicken barn on Simpson Road in Buxton. He said the temple lost in a final public hearing, packed by opponents in 1989.

"It was crowded, no place to sit," said Sen, who added that the temple also lost its $3,500 option on the property.

The temple then bought property in Portland as a first step. But it was too small and the temple leased space from churches for its celebrations.

A few neighbors have been supportive of the temple's quest. Yet, though the temple recently distributed fliers door-to-door inviting neighbors to an open house, no one came from the neighborhood.

But Sturtevant is confident that the temple would receive town approval in February, and praised Farnham for his help. "Fred has been great," she said.

The board Monday required the temple to submit revised plans to construct a parking lot for 67 cars on the property. Parking along Back Nippen Road by those attending temple events is forbidden for safety reasons, and the temple Monday agreed not to allow parking on the road.

Based on square footage of the temple building, the Planning Board said the building occupancy would allow only 200 people at a given time. The temple would also need a permit from the state's fire marshal.

Fleeing the Khmer Rouge, ages of violence

By Robert Lowell
Reporter, American Journal

BUXTON (Jan 24): Navan Leng came from Cambodia to the United States in 1991 seeking
freedom and an escape from the violence and repression that had plagued his native country in recent decades.

“The night I escaped there was a big battle,” said Leng, who lives in Westbrook with his wife, Chantha Doeur, and four children.

Leng is president of the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple, which is seeking permission from the Buxton Planning Board to hold celebrations and gatherings at the temple on Back Nippen Road. Leng's story is similar to many of the Cambodian refugees who have relocated in Maine.

Many of them have fled to the United States since the reign of Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge movement and the prime minister of Cambodia 1976-1979. An estimated 1.7 million to 3 million people died in Cambodia during the reign, and violence and war have plagued the country since that time.

“Most of the professional class was wiped out...it was an effort to eradicate western influence and institute a radical agrarian communist project throughout the country," said Harry Schnur, a senior at Bowdoin College who has been spending time at the temple to do research for his senior thesis.

U.S. Census figures from 2000 put the Cambodian population in Maine at 1,162. Many of the Cambodian refugees living in Maine now have lost at least one member of their family to the violence in their native country.

Sunny Brown Mao of Augusta is the treasurer at the Watt Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple. He lost his parents, five brothers and a friend.

Mao, 62, who came to Maine in 1981, said he was in charge of a factory in Cambodia, but told persecutors he was a sugar cane worker. Still, he marveled that he wasn’t killed.