Charus Changchit says he finds Bowling Green very peaceful.

A peaceful place is important, of course, to a Buddhist monk.

Charus Changchit, 59, a Thervada Buddhist originally from northernThailand, now lives, teaches and prays near Beech Bend Park.Changchit lives alone in a trailer. It’s in a field that he turned

into a makeshift Buddhist Temple. Changchit has been an ordained monkfor 19 years.

A Buddhist monk isn’t usually found deep in the Bible Belt, but this

area has a demand for one. Many Laotian, Cambodian and Taiwanesepeople live around Bowling Green and needed a monk to turn to forspiritual guidance.

Changchit came to Bowling Green last November to visit his brother,who moved here and never returned to Thailand.

“Whatever happens,” Changchit said, “happens.”

Reach Alex Slitz at photo@chherald.com