Wat
Khmer Buddhist Center (Lillesand)
The Khmer Buddhist Center is the Cambodian Buddhist center of the Khmer Buddhist Society Norway in Lillesand, in southern Norway.[1][2]
History
The society, registered as Khmer Buddhist Forening, was founded on December 6, 1998, and entered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities on March 9, 1999, as a religious organization. Its stated aim is to build or buy a suitable place for a Buddhist temple and to engage Buddhist monks in Norway.[2]
Religious life
In 2021 the society celebrated the Cambodian New Year in April, Vesak in May and Pchum Ben, the festival of the ancestors, in September or October, and it held Dharma practice twice a month.[1] The society also marks Magha Puja (in Khmer, Meak Bochea).[2] The 2021 Pchum Ben lasted 15 days, from September 22 to October 9, at the center in Lillesand. Monks from the Thai temples in Oslo and Kristiansand led the ceremonies.[1]
Community
In 2021 more than 600 Cambodians lived in Norway, about 80 percent of them in the south of the country.[1]
Associations
Khmer Buddhist Forening
(operating organization).[3]
Legal name: KHMER BUDDHIST FORENING.
Registration identifiers: Organization number (Norway): 980 411 931.
Founded December 6, 1998; registered March 9, 1999, at Senterveien 130, Lillesand, as a religious organization.