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From Thailand to Gautier, monk transforms home into temple
ISABELLE TAFT, The Sun-Herald
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1of6Festival attendees pour water on the monks at Wat Budhametta Mahabaramee in Gautier, Miss., on April 11, 2021. During Songkran, water symbolizes the washing away of wrongdoing and bad things from the past year. (Isabelle Taft/The Sun Herald via AP)Isabelle Taft/APShow MoreShow Less
2of6Montha Patrick, a native of Thailand, and her husband and son traveled from Brandon, Miss., to celebrate Songkran, or Thai New Year, at Wat Buddhametta Mahabaramee in Gautier, Miss., on April 11, 2021. (Isabelle Taft/The Sun Herald via AP)Isabelle Taft/APShow MoreShow Less
From Thailand to Mississippi, monk transforms home into temple
Updated 9:18 AM;
BILOXI, Mississippi Pisit Opnititanit left Thailand and eventually found his way to a few acres of land next to a cow pasture on Martin Bluff Road in Gautier.
The Buddhist monk could have stayed in his home country, where 95 percent of people practice Theravada Buddhism. Instead, his devotion led him to the Mississippi Gulf Coast by way of New Orleans.
Since Wat Buddhametta Mahabaramee opened in July 2016, Opnititanit and fellow monks and volunteers have transformed a typical suburban home, adding gabled tile roofs in the traditional style and an intricately carved wooden porch. A sign outside advertises the Sunday sales of Thai food, which is how most of Wat Buddhametta’s non-Buddhist neighbors get to know the place.