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Chan Lahmontri, of Houston, Texas, spends a moment at McHugh Creek in Chugach State Park on Monday. Lahmontri is one of many monks who visited Alaska this weekend to celebrate a new designation of Wat Alaska Yanna Vararam Buddhist temple and meditation center, which was consecrated Sunday. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)
The Thai Buddhist Temple located on D Street in Midtown Anchorage was consecrated as a complete Buddhist Temple on Monday, which allows practitioners to be ordained into the Buddhist monkhood there.
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Thai Buddhist monks cut the bamboo that held nine ceremonial stone balls and place it one of the burial sites inside the Thai Buddhist Temple during the consecration ceremony on Sunday, June 19, 2016. The Thai Buddhist Temple located on D Street was consecrated as a complete Buddhist Temple, which allows practitioners to be ordained into the Buddhist monkhood at that location. (Sarah Bell / Alaska Dispatch News)
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Monk Ven. Somdet Phra Wannarat sits at the front of the temple as guests photograph and observe the start of the consecration ceremony in the Thai Buddhist Temple on Sunday. Ven. Somdet Phra Wannarat flew in from Bangkok and is the third-most senior monk of the Thai ecclesiastical system. (Sarah Bell / Alaska Dispatch News)
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Nina Rothgery cuts the bamboo that held the Northern Boundary Stone, the first of nine stone balls, during the consecration ceremony at the Thai Buddhist temple on Sunday. To be chosen to bury one of the stone balls takes years of consideration and is a once-in-a-lifetime honor in the Thai Buddhist culture. (Sarah Bell / Alaska Dispatch News)
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The Northern Boundary Stone hangs above ground before being buried in the ground next to the Thai Buddhist temple during the Consecration Ceremony on Sunday. Each stone carries a different message. This stone “brings great wealth to every kind, according to one’s wishes.” (Sarah Bell / Alaska Dispatch News)
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Koy Wiggs, of Fairbanks, passes the bamboo that held one of the stone balls to a guest during the consecration ceremony at the Thai Buddhist Temple on Sunday. After the ceremony the bamboo is cut into pieces and passed out to everyone for good luck. (Sarah Bell / Alaska Dispatch News)
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Buddhists and monks pray to bless each stone ball that was buried around the perimeter of the Thai Buddhist Temple on Sunday. There were more than 100 monks from all over the world present at the consecration ceremony. After the ceremony was complete, several practitioners were ordained into the Buddhist monkhood. (Sarah Bell / Alaska Dispatch News)