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Buddhist Wheel of Life
The Buddhist wheel of life is an important symbol that represents birth, life, death, and rebirth. Buddhists believe that we control our fate with our actions. This system, called karma, impacts people over time and generations. A person’s deeds in the past affect the present and their present deeds affect the future. After many rebirths, good deeds and good thoughts can help Buddhists reach their goal, a perfect state of enlightenment.
Likewise, bad deeds bring about negative consequences. Many Cambodians in Greensboro believe the Khmer Rouge will pay in their future lives for the atrocities they committed twenty years ago.
Greensboro’s Cambodian community diligently maintains an annual cycle of Buddhist ceremonies. The New Year celebration is the biggest temple festival of the year. It joins an annual calendar of ceremonies that includes major events such as the May celebration of Visakha Puja Day, the day of the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha; the June celebration of Buddhist Lent; and the fall Kathin ceremony in which the congregation presents new robes and personal supplies to the monks.
> Learn about Keeping Buddhist Faith Alive
> Learn about the Buddhist Alters
> Return to Spirituality
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| © © Greensboro Historical Museum |
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"If we didn’t have a temple in America, then us Khmers, wouldn’t have a religion. We wouldn’t have a place to gather for meetings or for worshipping."
