Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado

The Lao Buddhist Temple of Colorado was established in 1988 as a non-profit organization. As of today, we have over 2500 members. The Lao Buddhist Temple is not just a place for worshiping; it is a community center for cultural preservation through dance, music, storytelling, cooking and sports as well as providing youth programs and community services. For all of us, the temple was a place where we grew up and created close relationships that would last a lifetime.

On the morning of December 5th, 2011, our temple was engulfed in flames and was completely destroyed. Everything was lost that morning, the 100 year old Buddha statues, 100 year old Buddha teaching books, Lao traditional instruments, wall murals painting including life stories of the Buddha and his previous lives, and all of our childhood memories.....lost. The burning of our beloved temple should not be known as a tragedy, but rather a reminder of starting over, much like reincarnation. Our loss is priceless, but our gain is that this tragedy is bringing our community even closer together. It will take years for our community to recover from this loss, but we will move forward and start anew. Our current estimated cost to rebuild the temple is roughly $850,000 and we are in process of submitting our Temple plans to the City of Westminster.

If you are interested in helping our temple by fundraisers or donations, please contact Maly Khanthaphixay: khantha.m@gmail.com
www.watlaodenver.org or visit any local First Bank in Colorodo Lao Buddhist Temple Fire Relief Funds.
Thank you.