Nestled comfortably in the small Tidewater town of Bolivia, Wat Carolina offers a taste of Thai religion and culture.  The impressive red-roofed building, standing on its twenty-three-acre plot, makes the monastery a prominent fixture in the small town.  The Venerable Phrakru Buddamonpricha, a monk ordained in the Dhammayut Order of Thai Theravada Buddhism, is the temple's spiritual leader. In Thailand, he received his B.S. at Bangkok University and later studied Buddhism under H.H. Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara.  And it was Phrakru Buddhamonpricha, the temple's abbot, who selected Wat Carolina's location. It opened its doors in 1988 as North Carolina's first Theravada community, and the temple has grown to be one of the major Theravada Buddhist centers in the Southeast.  Average weekly services draw from fifty to a hundred devotees, with holidays attracting almost a thousand faithful. 

The congregation is predominately Thai.  However, there are a significant number of European-American converts.  The temple leaders work hard to welcome and integrate those converts into the congregation: monks give sermons in both English and Thai, and the monastery holds instructional seminars after the Sunday services on the basics of Buddhism and meditation.  The regular worship services consist of Thai chanting and seated meditation, which is followed by a dharma talk.   Holiday services are elaborate celebrations that draw the largest crowds, with devotees traveling from as far away as New York.  The center also takes part in numerous charitable efforts, which has helped it find its place in the wider community. 

Currently, the monastery serves as a teaching facility for Asian monks who live at the temple for roughly a year as they study Buddhism and English.  Future plans for the temple include further expansion of its sprawling structure to accommodate larger training centers and living areas for monks from Thailand and around the world.Updated 11-14-06

CL, DP, and CG

Updated 11-14-06