Religious Diversity News - The Pluralism Project

It's an unlikely setting for Buddhist monks native to Southeast Asia. In a rural neighborhood near Leon and Scott roads - between a recreational vehicle storage lot, horse corrals and an empty field - two monks live a devotional existence, their days full of meditation, study and prayer.

The temple of these Laotian-born monks consists of a small blue and white manufactured home. Upon a closer look, one sees two colorful Buddhist flags flying out front and a shrine in the middle of the 5-acre property.

The Rattanamoungkhoun Temple is not purposely obscure, and when the orange-robed monks are out front, it's obvious it is not a typical household. It's just that [worshipers] at the 2-year-old temple have yet to be able to afford to build a more traditional structure, said the head monk, the Venerable Saveuy Khamphoukeo.