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Wat Thormikaram Of Rhode Island

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Wat Thormikaram Of Rhode Island
Khmer nameវត្តធម្មិការាម
Alternative namesWat Thormikaram; Wat Thormikaram, Inc.; Khmer Buddhist Society Of New England; New England Buddhist Center; Wat Dhammikaram (Providence)
TypeWat
Focus areasTheravada Buddhism; Khmer religious services; cultural preservation
SubjectsReligion & Spiritual Life
CityProvidence
State / provinceRhode Island
CountryUnited States
Address177 Hanover St., Providence, RI 02907
Phone(401) 272-4641
InstagramInstagram
Operating statusactive

Wat Thormikaram Of Rhode Island, also known as Wat Thormikaram, is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist temple on Hanover Street in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It grew out of the Cambodian refugee community that settled in Providence after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and is closely associated with the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, who lived at the temple and served its community in the 1980s and early 1990s. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island; PVD Eye, Letters to the Editor (August 5, 2026); ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island Inc)

History

The community's origins date to the late 1970s, when Cambodians who had fled the Khmer Rouge reached refugee centers in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia and were later resettled in countries including the United States. Maha Ghosananda and his followers first met in the homes of Cambodian immigrants. In 1981 the group received nonprofit status as the New England Buddhist Center, and it later changed its name to the Khmer Buddhist Society of New England. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island)

The community built its first temple, Wat Thormikaram, during the years Maha Ghosananda lived there. That building burned down in March 1996. The community then bought a residential house across the street for use as a monastery and built another structure that serves as its main temple. Converting private houses into public religious spaces required work with the City of Providence on building codes, including an accessibility ramp and a sprinkler system in the monastery. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island)

In 2002 the temple worked with Providence College on a program called "The Spirit of Cambodia", with art exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures and films. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island)

Founding lineage

Maha Ghosananda was a disciple of Samdech Sangha Raja Chuon Noth, the former head of the Cambodian Buddhist Sangha. He began establishing Buddhist temples in the Thai refugee camps in 1978 and in 1981 went to the United States to head the Cambodian Buddhist community in Rhode Island, which became a base for establishing temples in Cambodian refugee communities elsewhere. A second office was set up in Thailand to bring monks to the United States, and between 1983 and 1986 more than 80 monks came to Providence. (Encyclopedia.com, Theravada Buddhism)

He lived at the Hanover Street temple and served the community from the 1980s until 1994 or 1995. In the 1990s he led peace marches back into Cambodia. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island; PVD Eye, Letters to the Editor (August 5, 2026))

Sangha and ordination history

Ros Mey, a former Cambodian military officer, was ordained as a monk at Wat Thormikaram in 1993 at the age of 62. In 1998 he became Chov Atika, or head monk, and president of the temple, succeeding Maha Ghosananda. He died at the temple on December 12, 2010, at the age of 85. (Wikipedia, Ros Mey)

Recent federal filings list the Venerable Sum Panha as the organization's president. (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island Inc)

Religious tradition

The temple follows Theravada Buddhism. A small shrine room on the first floor of the monastery is used every day, and the larger community gathers in the main temple on weekends and holidays. Both buildings hold elaborate shrines to the Buddha, and services consist largely of chanting, honoring the Buddha and making offerings. The main temple's gateway carries figures of the twelve animals of the calendar and a model of Angkor Wat. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island)

The temple's stated purposes are to maintain a Buddhist center for the Cambodian people of Rhode Island; to provide traditional religious and cultural services to people of all backgrounds who wish to learn about, practice and respect Cambodian culture and Buddhism; and to help younger Cambodians appreciate their ancestral traditions, culture and heritage. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island)

Religious services and cultural programs

Community

Rhode Island's Cambodian population numbered about 7,000 in 1987 and later grew to between 10,000 and 13,000, with an estimated 80 percent affiliated with this temple. Many members live in Providence and others in suburbs such as Cranston, Warwick and Woonsocket. The secular Cambodian Society of Rhode Island bought a neighboring house with plans for a Cambodian cultural center and museum. (Pluralism Project archive, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island)

The organization files annual federal returns as a tax-exempt nonprofit. For the fiscal year ending December 2024 it reported $152,927 in contributions and $227,535 in total assets. (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island Inc)

Visiting and participation

Associations

Wat Thormikaram Of Rhode Island Inc (associated organization).
Legal name: Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island Inc.
Registration identifiers: EIN (United States): 06-1486005.
The nonprofit identity is distinguished from the physical Wat. The Pluralism Project documents the community's earlier organizational names, New England Buddhist Center and Khmer Buddhist Society of New England. (Pluralism Project archive)
(ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Wat Thormikaram of Rhode Island Inc).

See also

Sources

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