COURTESY OF MICKIE CARRIKER / THAI BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF HAWAII Two women dressed in traditional Thai costumes perform a dance at a past festival at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand.

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Marking a milestone

A local sect celebrates 20 years
of offering peace in humble
surroundings

The Thai Buddhist Temple of Hawaii looks nothing like a place of worship from the street because it is located in an old house in Pearl City.

Join the celebration The Thai Buddhist Temple is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a festival open to the public. When: June 26, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Where: Kapiolani Park Bandstand

But once you step inside, the first thing you see is a lavishly decorated shrine, dominated by a large gold statue of the Buddha.

Mickie Carriker, the Thai temple's secretary and English-speaking spokeswoman the past two years, said the peace and warmth that visitors feel are more important than having grander facilities.

The Thai Buddhist Temple is celebrating its 20th anniversary June 26 with a festival open to the public.

Although the temple, also known as Wat Buddhajakramongkolvararam, could be viewed as a "poor relation" compared with the more elaborate Japanese Buddhist temples, "we do not feel jealous of the Japanese Buddhist community," which has more community and financial support from the Japanese government, Carriker said.

"We are full in what we have," Carriker said. "It (the temple) is the place we come for peace. Anybody can come and feel warm and safe and secure. A big place may not be as secure; sometimes the bigger you are, the bigger your problems.

"We work together like a family; we communicate respectfully with each other," Carriker said. "We have 100 percent pure faith and no money."

But the temple wants to raise money to buy the lot next door to provide more parking for 500 followers. Another goal is to build a larger temple to provide more space for people to come during festivals, she said.

The temple has been at its present site for 12 years and is owned by the Thai sect. For the past nine years, the head monk at the temple has been Phra Sanga Meeboon.

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COURTESY OF MICKIE CARRIKER / THAI BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF HAWAII In June, Phra Sanga Meeboon, right, head monk of the Thai Buddhist Temple of Hawaii, conducted a wedding ceremony for bride Bountheme Nanthalangsy and groom Khiane Phomtavong.

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The lack of space at the temple is the reason their 20th-anniversary celebration is being held at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thousands of people have attended these festivals in the past, including Laotians, Vietnamese, Cambodians and Americans, she said.

There will be free cultural shows, including kickboxing, traditional dances and music. A wide variety of authentic Thai food and trinkets will be sold to benefit the temple.

A Junior Buddajak beauty contest for young girls at 4:15 p.m. is also open to the public. The temple will provide girls of all nationalities with Thai national costumes. Contestants should sign up in advance with Carriker by calling 218-8803.

In spite of small membership numbers, temple worshippers raised $8,000 to help victims of the tsunami in Thailand that struck in December, Carriker said.

Thai Buddhists are one of two main factions of Buddhism, according to an article written by His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the supreme patriarch of Thailand, published on the Web site www.simply-thai.com.

In outlining the major differences, the article said worshippers in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar follow the Theravada or Hinayana belief system; and those in Japan, China and Tibet, the Acariyavada or Mahayana system.

Thai Buddhists believe in the principle of karma: Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil. Hinayana Buddhism aims to teach and train people to abandon evil, to cultivate wholesome activities and to purify one's mind or heart.

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COURTESY OF MICKIE CARRIKER / THAI BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF HAWAII At past festivals, a Junior Buddajak beauty contest was held with children dressed in traditional Thai costumes. Standing behind the girls at right is Phra Mongkolthepmoli, president of the temple's board of directors.