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Towering faith to take shape
A Thai community is moving to construct a palatial $2 million temple.
A Buddhist monk, his shaved head and saffron-colored silk robe shining in the afternoon sun, waters the well-tended flower beds outside Wat Mongkoltepmunee.
Except for a chirping bird and the faint sound of chanting, all is quiet.
This serene scene is in the heart of bustling Bensalem – yards away from the traffic backups, gas stations, grocery stores, Applebee’s and Walgreen’s on Street Road.
The monks found a home in the township in the early 1980s, after an attempt by Thai Buddhists to build a temple near West Chester was rebuffed.
The well-established, often well-heeled Thai community now has plans that would add an exotic element to the Bensalem skyline – a $2 million, palatial temple with a steeple rising nearly seven stories, towering over Philadelphia Park, the township hall, and surrounding businesses, churches and homes.
The new Wat Mongkoltepmunee (pronounced Mong-kon-TAPE-mu-nee) would be the only Thai shrine in the United States built as a near-replica of the well-known Wat Benjamabophit in Bangkok, Thailand, members say.
Wat Mongkoltepmunee was named for the late Phra Mongkhon Thepmuni, a famous abbot who headed Wat Paknam, an ancient temple in Thailand.
Much of the marble, special art and decorative fixtures for the new temple would be brought from Thailand.
A massive effort to fund the project is under way.
Temple officials say construction is expected to start by early spring.
“The temple is part of our daily life. It is a place where we gather,” said member Amnaj Manklang of Trevose.
Manklang, a 59-year-old electronics engineer, was involved in the construction of Wat Buddhanusorn, a Thai shrine in Fremont, Calif.
Wat Mongkoltepmunee already has approval to build from superiors in Thailand, but Bensalem approvals are vital. The temple has received approval from the township Zoning Board, but it requires more approvals.
The robed monks, who stand out among the dark suits at Bensalem Township Hall, are well-known in the local government circles now.
Last month, the Zoning Board agreed to allow the temple’s 75-foot steeple, which exceeds the town’s height limit in that area.
“We always wanted to build a big temple here,” said Phamaha Supichaya Esawanish, one of six Buddhist monks who live in a house on the grounds of the current temple, located at 3304 Knights Rd.
“It will be a place of celebration for the monks. It will show American people our Thai architecture.”
Plans for the new temple show an elaborate structure with a three-tiered roof and ornate embellishments. It would mostly be reserved for special rituals, such as the ordination of a monk. Services would be held at both temples.
Bensalem officials say they do not foresee any problems with the new structure, and the monks are expected to make a formal presentation to the planning department before the end of the year.
A handful of town officials, along with about 1,500 people including monks and dignitaries who flew in from Thailand, attended the 1994 opening of the first building.
“There has never been any opposition. They have been good neighbors,” said Barbara Barnes, a former councilwoman who is now an assistant to the mayor.
In the late 1970s, however, that welcome mat was not proffered in Chester County.
“This was during the days of Jonestown and the community was scared,” said Donald Swearer, a professor of religion at Swarthmore College, referring to the 1978 mass suicide of about 900 members of a cult led by American Jim Jones in Guyana.
Swearer, who has worked closely with the Thai Buddhists, said people in Chester County feared their children would be brainwashed, and they passed out petitions against the temple. The Buddhists withdrew their plans.
And instead, they bought six acres in Bensalem and built a house for their spiritual leaders, while a temple was planned.
In 1994, they opened the temple that became a worship center for hundreds of Buddhists in the Philadelphia region, parts of New Jersey, and Delaware. The site now encompasses 13 acres.
The monks say their mission is not one of conversion, but of outreach.
The number of Buddhists in the United States has climbed because of heavy Asian immigration and the many Americans who, upon returning from Buddhist countries such as Thailand and Cambodia, spread the religion, according to Wendy Cadge, an assistant professor of sociology at Bowdoin College who did doctoral research at Wat Mongkoltepmunee.
Experts say two million to four million people in the United States practice Buddhism. Cadge said the number of Buddhists in the region is at least a few thousand.
The monks hope the new Thai-styled Wat Mongkoltepmunee will help draw in more local people. About 2,200 from throughout the region are now affiliated with the temple.
Even though the first bricks have not been laid, the outreach has begun.
Last month, the temple held its first weekend session aimed at nonmembers. Visitors can learn to meditate or explore Buddhism at the 5 p.m. Saturday sessions.
The group of about 40 people included Michael Walsh, 46, of Northeast Philadelphia, who wanted to explore the Theravadan form of Buddhism practiced at Wat Mongkoltepmunee.
The various branches of Buddhism conceptualize Buddha in different ways, Swearer said. The Theravadan form has a strong emphasis on the historical Buddha.
Meditation at the Bensalem temple involves focusing the mind on an imaginary crystal ball in an effort to find dhammakaya, the highest level of attainment of supreme happiness.
“I find a certain kind of acceptance [in Buddhism],” Walsh said.
“We want to do this for a long time,” Esawanish told the visitors. “But we don’t speak English well. If we wait, it will be a long time. We wait no more.”
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