First Chamorro monk hopes to have Buddhist temple on Saipan

A member of the Thai community, right, lights the candles before the start of their prayers and meditation in last Saturday’s Songkran festival or Thai New Year held at the Spicy Thai Noodle House. (Jon Perez)

Phra Adrian Tanakaro is hoping someday that Thai Buddhists could have their own temple on Saipan. The first Chamorro to become a Buddhist monk was on island to take part in the Songkran festival celebration by the Thai community.

Catholics and other Christian sects have their own churches and places of worship, while Muslims on Saipan have a mosque in Garapan. Korean and Japanese Buddhists also have their own temples.

The Thai community is trying to look for a place where they can hold their celebration of their festivals and ponder on the teachings of Buddha.

Tanakaro said as of the moment Thai Buddhists don’t have a place where they can meditate and study the teachings of Gautama Buddha or otherwise known as Siddhartha Gautama. His teachings were the foundation of Buddhism.

“We don’t worship Buddha. There’s this misconception of other people that we worship him. Buddha is not a god and he told his followers that ‘don’t worship me, instead honor me,’” added Tanakaro.

“Buddhism is also not a religion. We don’t have deities and Gautama is just our figurehead. Buddhists follow his teachings and philosophy as a way of life. We meditate to have peace of mind. The whole point of meditation is mindfulness, tranquility, and insight,” he said.

He added that he already had several places in mind where the Thai Buddhist temple could be built and is looking to start the project after five years. He will be returning to Thailand to continue his studies.

Thai Buddhism is under the Theravada school using the Pali Canon that has the oldest recorded Buddhist texts, doctrines, traditions, and practices dating back hundreds of years after Gautama Buddha’s death.

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka are the other countries that follow Theravada as well as minority groups in Bangladeshh, China, Malaysia, Nepal, and Vietnam.

Phra Maha Wachira Paisopar accompanied Tanakaro when they led the chants and prayers with close to 20 Thais in attendance last Saturday at the Spicy Thai Noodle House in Garapan.

Songkran is the celebration of the traditional Thai New Year every April 13, but festivities of the annual holiday extends to April 14 and 15. The festival, marked by people sprinkling water on each other, is based on the Hindu lunar calendar in the astrological passage of Aries.