Wat Pa of Arizona - Buddhist Temple of Arizona

Wat Pa of Arizona is located at 14911 E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler, AZ 85249 and the property size is 2.5 acres. It’s registered as a non-profit organization on January 3, 2007.

Wat Pa of Arizona was established by local Buddhists residing in Arizona, who have faith in the teachings of Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, a famous monk and co-founder of the Buddhist Forest Tradition at Wat Pa Suthawas, Sakolnakorn, Thailand.

Wat Pa’s Objectives:
1. To honor the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
2. To honor Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta.
3. To honor the King of Thailand, Longest Reigning Monarch of 60 years, and to celebrate his 80th birthday.
4. To educate the public about Buddhism.
5. To provide a place for forest monks to practice meditation.
6. To provide a place for teaching and practicing meditation to Buddhists and the general public.
7. To be an educational center for Buddhism - open to Thai Buddhists and all nationalities.
8. To be a place for Buddhists to make merit (do good deeds).
9. To be a faith center for Buddhists in the United States
10. To be a part of the Dhammayut Order in the United States of America.
11. To be a branch temple of Wat Pa Suthawas and Wat Pruritathwathanaram (Buddhist Temple of America).
12. To celebrate and share Thai culture with everyone.

Management

Wat Pa of Arizona relies on Dhamma (teachings of the Buddha) and Sangha (Monks) for guidance in its management. These include bylaws, management rules from the Dhammayut Order in the United States of America and the laws of the United States of America.

Buddhist Teachings

Wat Pa of Arizona offers meditation training and religious retreat to all Buddhists and interested individuals on important Buddhist holidays such as Makha Bucha, Visaka Bucha and Asalaha Bucha. Before each meal is offered to the monk(s), a sermon is given by the head abbot on the subject of Buddhism. The meditation training and religious ceremony starts at 10am to 10:30am and 5:30pm to 7:00pm on Monday through Saturday. On Sunday it starts at 12:00pm to 1pm.

In each retreat, there are about 10 – 50 people who come to practice. The temple provides training through audio recordings of famous Buddhist monks such as Luang Pu Fun Arjaro, Luangta Maha Bua, Luang Pu Suwat, Luang Por Ban, Luang Por Summa Kuntipalo, and Luang Por Boongoo.
The temple has a website which contains news, schedule and activity, teachings of the Buddha, teachings from famous monks in the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto. It also links to other Buddhist websites such as:

www.sakoldham.com
www.kroophra.net
www.kammalikit.org
www.thaiarizona.com
www.watpu.org
www.watohio.com
www.watput.com
www.phatepnimit.com

The temple also has a Dhamma radio program (teachings of the Buddha and famous monks), which broadcasts in Sakolnakorn, Thailand.

Helping Humanity

Besides teaching morals and meditation to Buddhists and people who are interested in Buddhism, Wat Pa of Arizona also sees the importance of helping humanity whether it’s in finance, material goods or food.

Wat Pa has sent money to help the poor, build hospitals and support radio station in honor of Princess Chulaporn Walailak. It has sponsored food and drinks at many temples in Thailand on different occasions such as the memorial of Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, Luang Pu Fun Arjaro, Luang Por Lee Tammataro, and fundraising event with Laungta Maha Bua.

In the United States Wat Pa of Arizona has given away free food and drinks on Buddhist holidays and festivals in Chandler, Arizona and Ontario, California.

Wat Pa of Arizona feels that it belongs to the community. It’s a temple for all Buddhists and people from all nationalities. It’s a place for practicing meditation, doing good deeds and performing religious ceremony. So, we invite everyone to support and build the temple to create peace, harmony and happiness for all beings.

“Doing Good Deeds Creates Much Happiness”