Phrakrupalad Bunliang Thammawaro , a Buddhist monk, prayed before his daily meal at a ceremony Sunday at the WatKansas Vanaram in southeast Topeka.
Patrick L. Pyszka/The Capital-Journal
Meditation from the heartland
Buddhist temple in Topeka has plans for expansion.
By PHIL ANDERSON
The Capital-Journal
Located in a small, one-story white house in southeast Topeka is a Buddhist temple that one day may attract people from around the world.
For now, the WatKansas Vanaram, at 3901 S.E. Adams, attracts about 25 people on Sunday for meditation and wisdom services in Teravad Buddhist practice.
Some people arrive at the wat, or temple, as early as 6 a.m., to begin meditating before the regular service begins at 6 p.m. Sundays.
Most of those who attend and support the WatKansas Vanaram are from Thailand, Burma, China, Laos, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Taiwan, Australia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, although a growing number of American-born people also are finding their way to the temple.
"This is the beginning," says Phrakrupalad Bunliang Thammawaro, a monk who leads meditation and wisdom services at the temple. "It is not perfect. Everything is brand new."
Thammawaro, a native of Thailand who regularly conducted meditation and Buddhist practice for 500 people at a time in his homeland, came to the United States in 1996. Initially, he was in Alexandria, Va., before going to Michigan, then to Topeka in November 1999.
A layman sang and prayed as the monks accepted the offerings the laymen provided.
Patrick L. Pyszka/The Capital-Journal
Although there aren't huge numbers of Buddhist devotees in Topeka at the present time, Thammawaro said this was the right place to establish a temple.
"I have concern for people in Topeka," he said. "It is the center of the United States, it has beautiful farmland and it is perfect for the practice of Buddhism."
The goal of the center, he said, is to provide a place from which Buddha's teachings can be studied, as well as to further cooperation among all people.
So far, people are coming to the Topeka wat from Thailand. Others come from area cities including Salina, Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan and Derby.
The temple is supported by a 35-person board, with members from Kansas, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Alaska, Washington, Florida, Texas, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Thailand.
Support also comes from 35,000 lay people in Thailand and from 2,945 people in each of the 50 United States.
Thammawaro said people of other faith groups are welcome to visit the wat and observe a meditation and wisdom service, as it serves the greater ecumenical purpose of mutual understanding among adherents of various religions.
"People from all religions are welcome," Thammawaro said. "No one will attempt to convert you, unless you show an interest."
The Teravad school of Buddhism is 2,543 years old, and was initially established in India.
Like other forms of Buddhism, Teravad stresses five central precepts for lay people: don't kill; don't steal; don't commit sexual misconduct; don't lie; and don't use alcohol or illegal drugs, as they can lead to violations in the other four areas.
Monks are on a more rigorous program, and must abide by 227 rules, including wearing standard robe-like Buddhist clothing and shaving their head.
As is common with monks in other religious groups, Thammawaro subsists on a minimum of both sleep and food.
Devotees bring food to the monks every day. Outside several Buddhist dietary prohibitions, the monks can eat virtually anything people prepare for them.
In spite of his leadership position in the WatKansas Vanaram temple, followers say Thammawaro embodies the lack of ego that is a central component to Buddhism.
The main concept to Buddhism is found in its practice, rather than in dogma or creed. Many of the teachings have parallels in other religions, particularly aspects such as "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you" and "loving your neighbor."
"Everything is based on virtue, on actual practice," Thammawaro said. "Your own practice is the essence."
Not only are there personal benefits, but the community becomes a better place to live, as well, as Buddhists focus on principles such as being kind and honest with everyone from family members to co-workers to neighbors.
Thammawaro said Buddhism teaches the individual to look within himself, and to resist the natural inclination to be outward-oriented.
Those who practice this ideal will find "all kinds of things" becoming possible for them, with the ultimate goal being the development of a more compassionate, ego-free character.
Thammawaro said over the next few months, an additional five or six monks are expected to arrive at the center.
The five-year plan for the center includes building a Dhamma hall, which will serve as a meeting and meditation center.
By 2015, plans call for five permanent buildings to be constructed on the land on S.E. Adams, which is directly west of the Josten's yearbook company.
The buildings will serve people in the United States, as well as internationally, and will be used as a training center for monks, nuns and Buddhist devotees.
Hanging on the wall inside the wat are photographs of Thammawaro's teacher of meditation and wisdom from Thailand. Another photo shows his teacher's mentor.
Thammawaro stresses that while intellectual knowledge isn't discouraged, it becomes secondary to the most important premise of Buddhism: that of practice and virtue.
"All the wisdom is telling us to go inside, inside, inside," he said. "So that's what we emphasize. Not a lot of intellectual study, but a little bit. Then a lot of practice."