Abbot Phrakru Buddhamonpricha came to Oak Island in 1986 to visit his two sisters and brother, which was then called Long Beach, N.C. In 1987, the four of them founded the Buddhist Association of North Carolina. After his siblings donated 21 acres (85,000 m2) of land, Phrakru returned to America from Indonesia to establish the Wat Carolina Monastery, which opened later that year.[1]