Vajiradhammapadip Temple

History

Vajiradhammapadip Temple situated in the West Bronx, New York City, was filed as a Not-for-Profit Organization under the Religious Corporation Law of the State of New York on July 22, 1975 (B.E. 2518). This founding date was both De facto and De jure. It now claims to be the first Thai Buddhist temple in the United States to be a full-fledged temple both legally and ecclesiastically.

Legally, it is a legitimate organization established under the local and national law of the country. Ecclesiastically, it conforms to the tradition of the Thai sangha regarding the administration of monastic affairs. As prescribed in the by-laws of the Temple. The President and the Secretary of the Temple shall be its resident monks, putting executive power in the hands of the ecclesiastical section of its Board of Directors. The origin of the Vajiradhammapadip Temple can be traced to the Buddhist Study Center, which was founded by a group of Thai and American Buddhists in New York and was granted legal status as an association in 1965 (B.E. 2508). In 1973 (B.E. 2516), the Center invited a monk from the Thai Buddhist temple in London to come to advise them concerning the establishment of a Thai Buddhist temple in New York. After that, dating from the middle of 1974 (B.E. 2517), two monks were invited to come in succession to organize Thai Buddhist cultural ceremonies and services and to conduct other activities for the Center. This period of time witnessed increased participation in the Buddhist activities of the center and may be regarded as the crucial part of the plan for, and a big step towards the founding of the Temple.

During the early period the invited monk had to stay at a Chinese temple called Cittabhavana Temple in New York City and all ceremonies and services were held there. On August 6, 1974 (B.E. 2517), the monk moved to a house at Anthony Avenue in the West Bronx, which was rented by the Buddhist Study Center for the monks’ residence and the Center’s office. This marked the informal founding of a “Thai Buddhist Temple in New York,” as it was temporarily called for a short while. It still had to hold its bigger ceremonies and celebrations at the above-mentioned Chinese temple.

The two monks moved to the new residence on 179th Street in the West Bronx on July 2, 1975 (B.E. 2518). The following day the Temple was granted legal status and its official establishment marked. Since then it is this new temple that has been known to the public and has been serving Thai people and Buddhists of other nationalities in the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as well as in other neighboring States. As the site of the temple was too small for the various activities of the large Thai community of the Tri-State area, it was moved on July 17, 1983 (B.E. 2526) to the present site in Mount Vernon, a two-acre plot of land. As for the other temple, though it remained inactive for years, without monks in residence and with problems unsolved, efforts continued to bring the problems to a solution. On September 12, 1975 (B.E. 2518), the Temple was granted by His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand the honorary name of Usabudhyaram Temple. Finally, its executives made a decision to abolish the Buddhist Study Center Inc.; to transfer the Center’s property to the Buddha-Sasana Temple, and to hand over activities of and executive power over the Buddha-Sasana Temple to the monks who represent, or are authorized by the Governing Buddhist Order of Thailand.

Vajiradhammapadip Temple has become, in New York, the main center and, in the United States as a whole, a focal center of Thai religious and cultural activities. It is frequented by many people and welcomes visitors, Thais, Americans and those of other nationalities, who come from the Tri-State area, from other more distant states and from Thailand. Merit - cultivating ceremonies and festivals have come into vogue here. Again and again, gatherings of friends and relatives are seen participating in merit-making ceremonies, held at the temple or at the homes of the alms - givers on auspicious occasions such as birthdays, weddings and house blessings, and on funeral and memorial occasions. Almost all Buddhist holy days and yearly festive occasions like New Year’s Day and Songkran (a Thai cultural festival) are observed and celebrated, being attended by such large gatherings of people that the comparatively small building of the temple could hardly accommodate them.

At this new location in Mount Vernon, the building itself is still small to accommodate the fast-growing numbers of the congregation. So they plan to construct a new hall and a large parking lot. The project was blocked by the protest from nearby neighbors, referring to the “Deed Restriction” written by the previous owner, which indicated that the houses in this area would only be the one family homes, and not to be used as public places. This restriction was overlooked by the lawyer who handled the buying of the property. After several hearings in courts, the temple lost the case and the lawyer agreed to pay the temple for his mistake. After that, the temple not only lost the case, but it was cited and not allowed to service large numbers of people. With the limitations of religious practices in the temple, the abbot and the committee then decided to find another place that would be more suitable and legally right location for the religious organization. In the year 1991 (B.E. 2534) the property at 110 Rustic Road, Centereach, New York (Long island) was purchased and it has been used as our temple up to the present time. The building at Mount Vernon is maintained to be the office, the residence for monks, and a center for small religious services accommodating small numbers of the temple members.

This new Temple in Long Island has two buildings, and the lot size is 4.98 acres. It used to be a church before. The main building has a large hall that can accommodate about 500 attendants with separate facilities for men- women’s restrooms. The property includes a four-bedroom house, which is now used for occasional guests. The parking lot can accommodate 150 cars. The property is not too close to the other residences which is ideal. After the purchase of this new location, the Temple will be more able to practice and serve the Buddhist Tri-State area communities during all holy days and festive occasions. People also come from as far away as Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. to attend the big events at the Temple.