Buddhist community grows in South Florida along with Thai temple

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Between the alligator-infested Florida Everglades and the craziness of Miami Beach lies a peaceful center surrounded by tomato and fruit farms.

Wat Buddharangsi, a Thai Buddhist temple, is unexpectedly found on five-acres in the rural town of Homestead, a short drive from Miami. To get there, you have to take the miles-long roads just off U.S. 1 that surround dozens of farm and fruit trees, dominated by immigrants who work in the fields. Across the corner is one house with the American flag waving in the light breeze, life-size statues of soldiers standing in the front yard.

For several years now, though, the area has been visited by Buddhist followers seeking a serene environment to pray and meditate.

Inside the temple sits a 5-ton, 23-foot tall golden Buddha statue, with dozens of smaller statues and vases filled with burning incense and flowers surrounding it.

A secluded, garden-like area in front of the "Buddha tree" is for meditation and prayer, where worshippers bow three times on a wooden platform to pay respect.

Visitors place a gold leaf on the Buddha as a blessing as a way for others to be part of the Buddha, explains Khanya Moolsiri, the secretary for the temple. (A gold leaf on the forehead is a prayer for wisdom; on the heart is a prayer to find love or for good health).

The temple welcomes everyone who is interested or practices Buddhism, serving not just as a religious function but also as a welcome center.

"It become a community center for the Thai, Asian, Buddhist or for anybody," Moolsiri said.

There is a six-bedroom apartment on the grounds where several monks live, sleeping on hard platforms. There is a screened-in kitchen with picnic-style seating, covered by what appears to be a tin roof.

The temple was designed by Nopporn Poochareon, a Thai native who has worked as a general contractor and now owns two Thai restaurants in Miami.

Poochareon had to go to Thailand to get most of the decorative details for the temple, including the gold roof etchings and wooden-carved chairs for inside. He hired workers there, he says, to ensure the temple resembled those in Thailand.

"Maybe 50 families lived in Homestead at the time. We didn't have the temple," he said. That was 20 years ago. After much searching across South Florida, and many setbacks due to zoning issues and funding, Poochareon was finally able to purchase the land.