Building Community at Home
Watt Munisotaram, the largest Buddhist temple in the U.S., stands impressively tall and grand. It has made its home in Hampton, Minnesota and has gathered thousands of Cambodian diasporic community members and visitors alike over the past 30 years.
August 26th marks the 30th year anniversary since its foundation and it was celebrated with a large festival that invited hundreds of Khmer community members from across the state to celebrate.
“Every time I go to the temple, I’m blown away and amazed by the temple and the community it represents,” AAOP Community Organizer Bunnard says. “As a community organizer, it made me think more about what community organizing is so I’m trying to reflect on and unpack that.”
Watt Munisotaram was built from the ground up by a group of Cambodian refugees, survivors of the Khmer Rouge, who wanted to form a Buddhist Monastery in Minnesota. Many of the buildings, including the outdoor shrine, used for burning incense, was planned and built by Cambodian community members who also trained in specialized topics like architecture.
“[The temple has] also become a powerful symbol of community and a greater representation of how our elders have been organizing community for generations despite our own preconceived definitions of organizing,” AAOP Organizing Fellow Johnny Trinh says.
Bunnard hopes to learn more about community organizing from the elders and the history of community organizing, what that means, and what it looks like today.
“When my parents were driving through Minnesota, the people at the temple offered us food and a place to stay although they had just met us. I think that their hospitality embodies the trust and care we can show to each other. In our work at AAOP, I’m reflecting on how we can build that kind of trust in our relationships.”
Bunnard has been leading several AAOP staff and interns for a weekly volunteer run to Watt Munisotaram, spending their Sundays helping prepare for the 30th Anniversary or just joining in as a drum performer.
“Seeing the temple itself and how it was built from community, built from folks who contribute money or time, to lay down cement and cut grass — that’s not typically a narrative that we associate with Southeast Asian communities,” Bun says. “We talk about them as under-resource, as not being able to achieve in education.
“This temple is a testament of the resilience of those communities and it shows the many stories of the individuals who work there.”
You can like Watt Munisotaram’s FB Page here or learn more here.