居美老挝僧人哀悼Somdy Soumano Soupanya法师

据海外媒体报道，2009年6月28日， 600余名居住在美国纳什维尔的老挝僧人聚集到纳什维尔西南部寺院——Wat Lao Buddhapathip，向该寺已圆寂住持Somdy Soumano Soupanya法师表达他们对其的哀悼。

Somdy Soumano Soupanya是老挝佛教徒中名望很高的法师，于20世纪90年代早期在美国田纳西首府纳什维尔创建了Wat Lao Buddhapathip，并使起其发展成为该地宗教和文化中心，法师本人也在纳什维尔远近驰名，然而却不幸于一个月前圆寂。（编译：子规）

More than 600 of Nashville's Lao Buddhists gathered on Sunday to pay their final respects to a beloved spiritual leader and one of the Southeast's leading Buddhist monks.

The service marked the end of more than 30 days of mourning for the Venerable Somdy Soumano Soupanya. He was abbot of the Wat Lao Buddhapathip in southwest Nashville — a temple he founded in early 1990s. He would see it grow from humble beginnings to a thriving center of faith and culture with plans to build another temple.

"The temple that is here began as a small house — look at it now," said Nom Christine Inthachith, Soupanya's niece. "Look at how far it has come."

Because he was considered a high priest among Lao Buddhists, known well in Nashville and beyond, Soupanya was given an elaborate funeral. He lay in state at the temple for two days, and then was put in a place of honor, in a field next to the temple.