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Cambodian Buddhist Society Silver Spring

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Cambodian Buddhist Society Silver Spring
Khmer nameវត្តពុទ្ធិការាម
Legal nameThe Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc.
Alternative namesCambodian Buddhist Society; CBS; Vatt Buddhikarama; Wat Buddhikaram; Cambodian Buddhist Temple; វត្តម៉ារីឡែន
TypeReligious organization
Focus areasTheravada Buddhism; Khmer religious services; Khmer language, dance, music and Dhamma classes
SubjectsReligion & Spiritual Life
CitySilver Spring
State / provinceMaryland
CountryUnited States
Address13800 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20904
Founded1976
Organization identifiersEIN (United States): 52-1061298
WebsiteWebsite
Phone(301) 622-6544
FacebookFacebook
InstagramInstagram
Operating statusactive

Cambodian Buddhist Society Silver Spring is The Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. (CBS), a Theravada Buddhist society in Silver Spring, Maryland, and its temple, Vatt Buddhikarama (វត្តពុទ្ធិការាម), also written Wat Buddhikaram. The society describes it as the first Cambodian Buddhist temple established in the United States, and it serves Cambodian Americans across the Maryland, Virginia and DC region as a place of worship and a community center. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us; Washingtonian, Inside the Many Faiths of Maryland's Highway to Heaven (2026); YouTube, Cambodian Buddhist Temple (វត្តពុទ្ធិការាម) Silver Spring (2021); Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Dance Classes)

History

The society was organized in 1976 and incorporated in Maryland in 1978 as a nonprofit religious and educational organization. Its temple was first in Oxon Hill, Maryland, then in New Carrollton, and moved to its present site in Silver Spring in 1986. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us)

A 2020 William & Mary profile says the first services were held in a converted single-family house in Oxon Hill and gives 1987 for the move to Silver Spring. (William & Mary, Buddhism in America: The Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. (2020))

Other accounts date the founding differently: The Pluralism Project gives 1979 for the society's establishment in Silver Spring, and a 2013 blog post gives 1978 for Wat Buddhikarama, the year of incorporation. (The Pluralism Project, Buddhism; Angry Asian Buddhist, Where is the First Khmer American Temple? (2013))

The main shrine hall (vihara) was completed at the end of 1992 and consecrated in July 1993, at a total cost the society puts at about $1.7 million. Its main instigator was the former abbot, Venerable Preah Sumedhavansa Oung Mean Candavanno. At the April 1992 New Year, when almost 1,500 people gathered, The Washington Post reported a construction cost of $1.5 million and described the new temple as believed to be the largest Cambodian Buddhist temple outside Cambodia. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us; The Washington Post, Cambodians Mark New Year With New Temple (1992))

Temple and grounds

The society lists three main buildings: a residential building with a ceremony hall and the vihara (Buddha Hall), used for cultural classes and religious ceremonies; a stupa holding a Buddha relic and families' ashes; and the monks' headquarters, where families arrange Buddhist services with volunteers or monks. A giant Buddha image sits on the vihara's altar. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us)

The temple stands on the stretch of New Hampshire Avenue that locals call the "Highway to Heaven", across the street from a Vietnamese Buddhist temple. A 2026 Washingtonian feature described its golden shrine and relic-filled stupa and counted seven resident monks. (Washingtonian, Inside the Many Faiths of Maryland's Highway to Heaven (2026))

Religious life

The society gives its objectives as conserving the Cambodian Buddhist religion and Cambodian culture, providing training, and providing human assistance. It reports about six or seven monks, who teach Dhamma, counsel, and lead ceremonies at the temple and in homes, including birthdays, weddings, funerals, memorial services and house blessings. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us)

The temple observes the Khmer New Year (Chol Chnam Thmey), Pchum Ben, the Kathina robe offering and other Theravada holy days. (William & Mary, Buddhism in America: The Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. (2020); InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, Kathina at the Cambodian Buddhist Temple (2019))

The Khmer New Year festival in April is the largest gathering of the year: the culture committee puts attendance at over 5,000, and a 2007 report counted 1,000 to 2,000 people each day. (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Dance Classes; Capital News Service, Food, New Clothes Ring in Cambodian Lunar New Year (2007))

A 15-member board of directors governs the society. Apart from the monks on the board, members are elected every four years. Standing committees handle ceremonies, cultural affairs, security and public relations, and construction and maintenance. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us)

Community services

The society calls the temple the main contact point for government agencies reaching Cambodian Americans. On Saturdays it has offered citizenship training and English lessons, especially for elderly members. (Cambodian Buddhist Society, About Us)

In 2011 its head monk described a job board, temporary shelter for people with nowhere to stay, and free vaccinations. A 2020 profile adds free health screenings for the elderly and a Miss Cambodian-American pageant. (VOA Khmer, Monk Sees US Pagoda as Central to Cambodian Community (2011); William & Mary, Buddhism in America: The Cambodian Buddhist Society, Inc. (2020))

Cultural program (CBSCC)

The Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee (CBSCC) is the society's cultural committee. It runs Khmer dance, music, language, Dhamma and meditation classes; the Facebook and Instagram accounts listed below carry the CBSCC name. It grew from a committee formed in 1986 by Venerable Oung Mean Candavanno, which began with Khmer language and Dhamma classes. (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Mission; Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, About Us; Points of Light, Cambodian Buddhist Society Cultural Committee)

Khmer language classes had already been taught at the New Carrollton temple. The committee added dance and music in 1990 at Silver Spring. At the Venerable's request, Dr. Sovan Tun asked Dance Master Peou Khatna of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia to lead the dance program, helped by her daughter Sin Ny. Music Master Chum Ngek joined in 1994. The program opened with 24 students; 25 years later the committee reported over 70. (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Cultural Programs)

Classes run on Sundays from September to June and are taught entirely by volunteers (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Cultural Programs; Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, 2026-2027 class registration form). The four class areas:

Students perform in the committee's cultural show, the highlight of the New Year festival. Students of the society's school also perform at outside events, such as a Khmer New Year program at Montgomery County's Wheaton Library on May 17, 2026. The committee says it receives an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council and support from the National Endowment for the Arts. (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, Cultural Programs; Montgomery County Public Libraries, Celebrate the Cambodian New Year (2026); Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, home page)

Classes and registration, 2026-2027

Registration for the 2026-2027 school year is open through the committee's online registration form, which lists these Sunday class times (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, 2026-2027 class registration form):

  • Khmer dance, female and male groups: 10:15 AM to 2:00 PM
  • Khmer music: 10:15 AM to 12:30 PM
  • Dhamma: 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM
  • Khmer language: 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM

Key dates on the form include orientation and registration on September 27, the last day to register on October 18, closures for Pchum Ben (October 11) and Kathin (November 1), Sompeah Kru (teacher honoring) on March 28, the Khmer New Year procession on April 17 and the CBSCC cultural performance on April 18. Families take turns providing Sunday lunch, and student volunteers can earn Student Service Learning (SSL) hours. (Cambodian Buddhist Society Culture Committee, 2026-2027 class registration form)

People

People named in public sources, with the year of the source where the role may have changed:

Visiting and participation

See also

Sources

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