Cover collage created by LG @jayasimha78 using photos captured at Cambodian Buddhist temple.
I recently had opportunity to visit Wat Dharmararam Cambodian Buddhist Temple in Stockton CA, Stockton is located in central valley of California around hour and half hours drive from San Francisco.
Even though I have visited Stockton several times, I recently came to know about this temple through Visit Stockton campaign advertisement. In fact this temple was established in 1984, it serves as a spiritual and cultural center for the Cambodian community in the region. The temple is dedicated to preserving and promoting the teachings of Theravada Buddhism and Cambodian culture.
Here is a shot of community hall with Buddha and other statues at the entrance.
The temple complex is situated on a spacious piece of land and features traditional Cambodian architectural elements. It includes a main prayer hall, a meditation hall, living quarters for the resident monks, a community hall, and various other facilities including restrooms for visitors.
Here is shot of prayer hall with larger than life statues at the entrance.
Here are couple of interesting statues, also public restrooms are located back of this statue.
Hmmm, looks like these folks are trying to kill each other. This Buddhist temple features over 90 colorful and larger than life statues that celebrate the life and story of the Cambodian Buddha.
As per the information found in the brochure here is the description of this statue, âAt first, many distracting images appeared in his mind, but finally, Buddhaâs mind became very calm, like a pond of still water. He saw âgoodâ leads the way from suffering to peace. He was now the Supreme Enlightened One.â
Here is a statue of 50 feet long lying down buddha!
Here is a statue of Buddha under a Bodhi tree.
Here is a very colorful statues.
This statue depicts, âBuddha taught his first Dharmma to his five Ascetic friends, Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji.â
Here is the details of this statue as per the brochure found in the temple, âOne morning, a girl named Sujata offered Siddhartha some delicious milk-rice porridge and said to him, âMay you be successful in obtaining your wishes.â Here, he eats and becomes healthy again so that he can continue his
studyingâ
Here is a series of Buddha statues, probably depicting transformation I guess!
A close up of one of the Buddha statue.
Here is a shot of Four Faced Goddess (Faces represent Mercy, Happiness, Kindness, and Peace).
Here is an interesting story about this statue as stated in the temple brochure, "Buddha was on his daily alms-rounds at Rajagaha when his cousin, Devadatta, set loose a wild elephant to kill Buddha and his monks. Devadatta was jealous of Buddha because of his fame and following. Buddha thought about reminding the elephant of past lives and communicated this thought to the elephant. The elephant recognizes his old "âfriendâ and bows down to Buddha
Here is a row of statues various goddesses located in the temple premise.
Here is another shot of row of goddesses statues.
Here is an interesting fountain found in front of the temple.
Close up shot of statues located in front of community hall.
Here is the description of this statue as stated in temple brochure, âThe chariot represents when Siddhartha left the kingdom to see the poor people outside the castle. He was 28 years old. Seeing the poor people made him very sad and he started to question his privileged life. He began to
meditate and understand life. He took several short visits to the nearby towns. These experiences caused him to want to leave his current life as a royal to study with the Braham mysticsâ
I was informed annual Cambodia new year celebrations are held in this temple. Overall it was a great experience visiting this temple. One of the unique places in the USA to see larger than life statues and enjoy Cambodian Buddhist culture.