Just down the road from the Chua An Lac in High Point, aLaotian temple has opened its doors.  Lao Emerald Buddha Temple was officially incorporated in July 2001; it was renamed Wat Lao American Buddhist Center of High Point in December 2004.  The Theravadin temple is served by two monks, one of whom was ordained in December 2000.

Despite this new flowering of an ancient tradition, the temple already has a good-sized membership.  The weekends are the most active time at Wat Lao.  Laypeople gather in the mornings, especially on Sundays, to pray, chant, listen to sermons, and donate to the monks.  A typical morning service will draw thirty to forty laypeople, mostly Laotian-Americans, but also some Thai, Cambodians, and a few European-Americans.  After services the community gathers to eat and chat.  During the week laypeople bring food to the monks, but no regular programs are scheduled. 

The temple is housed in a refurbished garage and features a medium-sized green Buddha statue, a bubbling water-column ornament, and a memorial bed for deceased temple members.  Pictures from the Buddha's life and illustrations of the various realms of rebirth line the walls and act as devices for conveying the teachings to the temple children and new Buddhists.  A modest white house with orange trim serves as the monks' residence, and contains an ornately decorated altar with many emerald Buddha statues.  Both structures sit on a small parcel of land with a few trees in a residential section of High Point.

Only the monks participate in meditation at Wat Lao, which they typically perform in the quiet hours of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.  They have been invited to the Vietnamese An Lac Temple nearby, and some occasional joint activities are planned, even though the temples adhere to different Buddhist traditions.

JW
(last updated 4/2/06)