Until a few weeks ago, the monks at the largest Cambodian Buddhist temple in Long Beach followed a daily worship rhythm dating back thousands of years.
Waking at dawn, they sank into meditation, chanting, sharing prayers and giving thanks for bowls of steaming rice porridge prepared by a stream of visiting volunteers.
In a routine based on the rising and setting of the sun, beneath the roof of the decaying Khemara Buddhikarama near the city’s industrial west side, the four religious leaders focused on ministering to their congregation with a spiritual message transmitted across four generations of immigrant families.
