• Better Know a Wildomar Place: Wat Ratanapanya

This type of blog is usually about businesses or a local person, but today it's about a spiritual place called Wat Ratanapanya which is on Orange Street. It's not a word that rolls off the English speaking tongue too easily, but with some practice you can get it. ☺

Wat Ratanapanya, 34559 Orange St, Wildomar.

I've driven past it for years and have always been curious as to what was beyond the gates, but too timid to drive in... until now! 

There are two roosters at the head of a path that leads to many different garden spots.
A person has to respect the very prominent position that the American flag has here.

Once parked, my wife Grace and I found one of the monks that live on the grounds. His name is Thomas and he was originally from Thailand. He graciously showed us around the place and told us a bit about it.

Inspirational signs such as this one were seen throughout the grounds.

This temple serves more than 300 people. They come from as far as Los Angeles, Santa Ana, San Diego and sometimes Las Vegas. It has been in Wildomar for more than ten years. 

The signs above the door of the temple.

If you'd like to visit, just drive (or walk) in. Look for one of the monks in an orange robe and they will assist you. If you don't see any monks, go up to the doors at the main building (above) and someone will meet you there.

Such a good admonition... and often easier said than done.

You don't have to be Buddhist to visit the meditation center. I was told that many people from Wildomar come to the center to meditate. 

Especially on Sundays, this circle can have quite a few number of people meditating here.

I asked if they have weddings on the grounds, and they do. One is coming up in October.

So true... in any language.

There were several tranquil sitting areas throughout the grounds. Not pictured is a koi pond just to the left of the image below.

One of the many serene settings to be found at the Orange St location.

Each day around noon people come and bring food for the monks. Though Thomas did have an iPhone, they basically don't have possessions. They rely upon the generosity of the visitors to the center for their sustenance.

After the brief tour, we had a nice conversation with Thomas, and he shared the basic origin of Buddhism, and some of his views on the state of the world today... but this blog isn't about any particular beliefs, so I'll just leave it at that. 

He said that if people are interested in Buddhist beliefs, they can find plenty of info on the internet. Or you can visit Wat Ratanapanya and talk to him yourself. 

Photo of Thomas, courtesy of the Wat Ratanapanya facebook page.

We found him to be an engaging person, with a good sense of humor, though not always easy to understand. He'd be the first to admit that he can have difficulties in English, he's not a pretentious man. ☺

As we were about to drive off, Thomas reappeared with two bottles of water for us to take on our car ride home.

For more photos of the grounds, visit their facebook page.

Link to Meditation Center's Facebook page

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If we’re facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
— Joseph Goldstein

Wildomar Rap has been walking since the age of 11 months.

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