Wat
Chùa Chà Là
Chùa Chà Là (Buddha Vansa Chhulla Moni) is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist Wat in Chà Là hamlet, Lộc Thành commune, Đồng Nai province, Vietnam.[1][2]
History
The first Khmer Wat of Chà Là hamlet was built in 1964 by Bhikkhu Chao Vông, who came from Kiên Giang, and was completely destroyed in the war. Because the old site was too small, the monks and villagers moved the Wat across the road, onto land that had been the Khmer village of Chà Là until a drought in the early 1980s led families to move closer to a stream; they gave their old village land to the monks. The old site lies about 100 m (330 ft) from the new one. Until the 2025 provincial merger the Wat stood in Lộc Thịnh commune, Lộc Ninh district, Bình Phước province.[1]
Architecture
The grounds cover 4 ha (10 acres). As of 2021 most buildings were temporary, with steel frames and metal roofs. A temporary main hall of 140 m2 (1,500 sq ft), open on three sides, was inaugurated on April 15, 2018. It holds a large seated Buddha image on a lotus throne, with a painted bodhi tree behind it and murals of the life of the Buddha.[1]
Religious life
As of 2021, 14 young Khmer monks from the area were ordained at the Wat under the abbot, Đại đức (Venerable) Thạch Lý Sine. The monks kept the morning alms round through the hamlet, home to about 120 Khmer families, and the Wat also cooked for them. Khmer New Year (Chol Chnam Thmey) and Sen Dolta, the festival for ancestors, draw the largest crowds, with sermons by senior Khmer monks of the province and Ho Chi Minh City.[1] In September 2025, for Sen Dolta, a delegation of the Đồng Nai Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs visited the Wat with gifts for its monks and community.[2]