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Wat Khemararan, The Cambodian Buddhist Association
1258 W. Argyle Chicago, IL 60640
The main activitiy of Wat Khemararan Buddhist Association is meeting at regular Sunday services between 9 a.m.and noon. These services are conducted in Khmer, the language spoken in Cambodia. The religious holidays in Buddhism are observed according to the lunar calendar. They are Attha Sila (Eight Precepts)which is observed every month; Visakha, the birth and enlightenment and the death of the Buddha, are observed on the l5th day (full moon) of the fourth lunar month.
When I visited this temple, the barely English speaking Cambodians welcomed me with the warmest feelings and let me take photos in every part of their temple. Actually, it was not a temple in the traditional sense, but the first floor of a two-story house. It is obvious that their religion is the most important thing for these people, who moved here 15 years ago, as Phon Phath, the owner of the house, said. In the early 1980's they escaped from the Pol Pot regime, that killed almost one millions of Cambodians for the sake of communism.
They provided me with a few clips related to the coverage of the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune of their temple. Even if their English was not good enough to tell what they think about the religious diversity in Rogers Park, with their life style and treat to the visitors, they are the perfect examples to the plurality in the neighborhood.
When they first came to Chicago at 1980's the Cambodians were around two thousand
people. In 1985, they established the Cambodian Association of Illinois, which
is a non-profit organization. They bought this house with the donations from
the members of the Cambodian community who were working at the factories with
low wages. A part of this house, that is seen in the photographs, is being used
as a temple now.
However, the Cambodian community lost the garden of their house due to a classic
case of trusting. That's why they hung a poster that says they want justice
return in their land.