 Suddhavasa
Buddhist Meditation Center was established by faithful Buddhists who
reside in San Bernardino and Riverside County. It is the 38th Thai
Buddhist temple in the United States of America. It is located on
3687 Fleming Street, Riverside, California. It is under the guidance
of Venerable Phra Maha Sakchai Thitamedho. The
Establishment:
The temple was established on February 1, 1997. The committee decided
to purchase the land for this temple in the amount of $147,000.00.
The monks were able to move into their new residence on July 8,
1998. To fulfill their vision, many volunteers and monks began to
remodel the place. They planted many fruits trees, and 800 other
plants.
The process of development of Suddhavasa
Buddhist Meditation Cente
| Feb 1/97
|
Rented a house on 2552 South
Calaveras Place, Ontario, CA 91761. |
| Jun. 24/97 |
The temple received a license from the
State of California to operate the facility as a non profit
organization. |
| Dec. 17/97 |
The temple received an exemption on the
Income Tax Return from the Internal Revenue Service as an organization
for charity. |
| July 8/98 |
The committee purchased the property in
the area of 2.38 acres
including a house in the amount of $147,000.00. The garden project:
The goal is to create a natural and serene environment for visitors
to appreciate the beauty of nature and to enhance the atmosphere
of meditation at the temple. |
| Feb. 14/99 |
Oak wood was used to build the altar and
seating area for monks. |
| Nov. 14/99 |
The first Katinadhana was celebrated. |
| Feb. 23/00 |
Installed Wat Suddhavasa name's plate
in front of the temple. |
| Mar. 19/00 |
The ceremony of breaking ground for renovation
of Sala Boon. |
| Mar. 28/00 |
Received an exemption for Property Tax
from California State Board of Equalization. |
June 15/00 |
The process for renovation of Sala Boon
took place. The build- ing was repainted and an evaporative
cooler was also installed. The renovation took 155 days. It
began on June 15, 2000 and completed on November 17, 2000. It
cost $70,000.00 |
| Dec. 17/00 |
The celebration for the new Sala Boon
was held on Dec. 17, 2000. Mr. Piyawat Niyomruk, Thai Consul
General was the chairperson. |
| Jan. 13/02 |
Volunteers and monks built iron fences
around the temple. They added two gates and repaired the existing
fence in front of the temple. |
| Apr. 13/02 |
Wat Suddhavasa paid off the balance on
the property loan in the amount of $173,532.99 |
| Jun. 5/02 |
Built a lotus pond by Sala Boon. |
| Jun. 9/02 |
The granite sign of Wat Suddhavasa was
installed in front of the temple. |
| Jul. 29/02 |
The temple purchased a tool shed in the
amount of $1,500.00 |
| Oct. 6/02 |
The mini-van was paid off. |
| Nov. 10/02 |
The celebration of Kathina ceremony was
held. |
| Dec. 23/02 |
The volunteers and monks poured concrete
for the outdoor cooking area. |
| Feb.28 |
The construction of patio (an outdoor
eating area for monks) was Mar.7/30 completed by all the help
from the monks and volunteers.
The total expenditure of the renovation was $330,286.12 or approximately
THB 14,862,875.40 |
Wat Suddhavasa improvement project:
Currently, there Thai, Laotian, Chinese,
Cambodian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, American and European Buddhists
who faithfully come to worship at Wat Suddhavasa. The temple has only
a very limited space to accommodate people. Thus, there is a need
to build a larger facility to accommodate all the members.
Construction
Project of the Worship Hall:
The building will have two levels which has the area of 10,000 square
feet.
- A statue of the Buddha that has
a width of 59 inches.
- A meditation room, a library,
and classrooms for children to learn Thai language will be located
in the lower level.
- The estimated expense for this
project is approximately $1,200,000.00, It is projecting for the
construction to be completed about two years.
Purposes of the construction of the
Worship Hall:
The new facility will provide a place for:
- The statue of the Buddha.
- Monks to pray and perform Buddhist ceremonies.
- People to worship.
- Children and adults to learn the teaching of Buddha, Thai language
and culture.
- A library for people who are interested in studying about Buddhism.
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