#  >  > Thailand Festivals, Beaches, Scuba Diving and Temples, Tell us Your Tales >  >  > Thailands Wats Temples and Mosques >  >  Bangkok Wat Paknam Temple

## dirtydog

Wat Paknam Temple is located on Toed Thai Road, Phasi Charoen, Thonburi, and is accessible by road or by river boat from Tha Chang or Tha Saphan Phut pier.

Quite an amazing Temple full of lovely hand carved teak wood, marble,  granite, no money seems to have been spared in the construction and  finishing of this Temple and it all seems to be built to an extremely  high standard.

Wat Paknam also has a meditation center and farangs are welcome to learn  to meditate here, although the Monks English is not outstanding it  should be sufficient for the lessons.
Meditation in Thailand (Guide to Meditation Centers in Thailand)

I don't know how many photos I took, I tried to get it down to less than  10 to post on here, but that really isn't enough to do this Temple  justice, I eventually got it down to 15 photos.

A typical Temple roof but with a lovely carved teak wood panel, wonder how long that single piece took to make.



Marble floors, teak wood logs to support the roof, teak wood ceiling, absolutely stunning.



Those electric cables and conduit are invisible to Thai people, sadly it  doesn't work on farangs so we get to see a lot of the more obvious and  ugly cable runs, but apart from that it looks great and really has had  the big money spent on the place.


More teak wood ceiling.



This looks fantastic, there are several doors all next to each other the  same as this, but it looked best with only one in the photo, the way  the gold frames have depicted the door and window make it really stand  out, probably wouldn't look so good on your council house in Tower  Hamlets, never know though, give it a try  :Smile: 



They really went wild with the colours, still using marble for the flooring.



Teak logs supporting the roof, marble floors again, this place is well worth a visit.



Not sure if this will be a Monks house, bit small for anything else,  wouldn't mind that on my land right next to the pond, bit of fishing  from the balcony whilst sipping on a nice whisky, yeah thats the life  :Smile: 





A Monk polishing the marble floor, again a lovely interior on this building.



A new Buddha statue, this one the great unwashed are still putting the  gold leaf on, once it is done I assume it will go on display, although  they are normally gold leafed in the place that they will be staying, I  don't know, I'm just a farang.



Dark moody, and then the heavens opened and the downpour began, damn it  certainly can throw the rain down in Thailand at a rapid pace.



Calling Keith Moon, we are ready to get this show on the road, your drum  has been polished so dump the drugs and get banging away.

Some of the classic Thai music instruments are quite amazing and also decorative.



Teak wood drum?



Can't forget the turtle pond, although it doesn't look very natural, many Temples have turtle ponds,  must be a Buddhist thing, or maybe just for snacks and a drop of soup  on special occasions. Anybody know? I know it is similar to setting them  free, ie like the little birds in the cages at the Temples, you buy  them, set them free, then they catch them again and sell them to someone  else, but putting a turtle in a concrete pond is hardly setting them  free, unless they were due for the cooking pot, choice of cooking pot or  living in a concrete pond Mr turtle happily voted for the pond.



Thonburi and local area Tourist Attractions

*The Wat Paknam Amulet and some History.*

The great late                         abbot of Wat Pak Nam, Chao Khun  Phra monkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro 10.10.1884~03.02.1959                          / 2427-2502 B.E.) or more popularly known as Luang Phor Sodh  by followers, enjoys                         a very highly respectable  status among all the Guru Monks in Thailand. 

He was widely                         regarded as the founder in  rediscovering a method of Vijja Dhamakaya tradition -                          an approach to meditation had been lost sometime during the first  five hundred years                         following the passing away of  Lord Buddha. 

He received rank of Phra Bhavankoksolthera                         in  1949, followed by Phra Mongkol rajmuni and two years before his death at  75 years                         old, and eventually was conferred as  Phra monkolthepmuni in 1957. 

Today, his teaching                         was widespread across  continents with many institutions worldwide to promote and                          distributing this unique tradition. 

The famed image form of Wat Pak Nam amulet was                          originated with an idea in 1950 (2493 B.E.) as a tool in fund raising  for establishing                         a large scale dhamma school at  Wat Pak Nam, many great legends and stories lines                          have helped to popularize this original image form by the great guru. 

Today, images                         produced by the Master has become  one of the most sort after amulets for amulet believers                          and collectors alike.


*Meditation at Wat Paknam.*

MEANING OF NAME PAKNAM :

	"Monastery at the mouth of the river"

ADDRESS :

	Therdthai Rd., Amper Phasicharoen, Bangkok 10160

DIRECTIONS :

	Located west across the Chao Phraya River in Thonburi, part of metropolitan Bangkok. Easily reached by city buses #4, 9, or 103. 
If you don't mind some spray (the water isn't too clean), you can take a long-tailed boat to the wat from Rajinee (Rachini) and Saphan Phut jetties north of the Memorial Bridge on the east side of the Chao Phraya.

TELEPHONE :
	0-2467-0811

MEDITATION SYSTEM :

The technique begins by concentrating on a point inside the body in the center of the abdomen, 2 finger-widths above the navel. 
This point is said to be the place where consciousness has its seat. 
The words "Samma Araham" can be repeated mentally to aid initial development of concentration. 
Aluminous nucleus appears at the center point, then develops into a still and translucent sphere about 2 cm in diameter. 
Within the sphere appears another nucleus which emerges into a sphere. The process continues with increasingly refined spheres or forms appearing in succession. 
The high levels of concentration achieved are used in vipassana to develop penetrating insight.

A qualified teacher is important in this practice. 
The late abbot Ven. Chao Khun Mongkol-Thepmuni (1884-1959) popularized this meditation system. 
The wat has a book in English, "Samma Samadhi" by T. Magness, that explains the technique in detail.

TEACHING METHOD :

	Individual interviews as needed. Talks in Thai by a monk or a tape recording of Ven. Chao Khun Mongkol-Thepmuni are given 2 or 3 times a day at group sittings in the meditation hall.

TEACHERS :

	Chao Khun Bhawana Kosol Thera (Thai; age 72);
he speaks English and Japanese. Ven. P.K. Bhavananuwat (Thai; age 77); he speaks a little English.

LANGUAGE :

	Teachers speak some English and people are usually around who can translate. 
Easiest for one who can speak Thai.

DESCRIPTION :

	The "bot" and many large, multi-story buildings are tightly packed on the 17-rai (7-acre) grounds. Urban setting. Large crowds of worshipers come on weekends and Buddhist holidays.

The Wat dates back to the early 18th century in the Ayutthaya Period.

SIZE  :

	monks 200-400
(one of the largest populations in
Thailand during the Rains Retreat)
novices 80-90
nuns 200-300
laypeople about 100
(half practice meditation)

DAILY ROUTINE :

	Meditators can practice individually or attend group sessions.

FOOD :

	Good quality and variety; offered in the temple at daybreak and at 11 a.m. 
Monks and novices can go on pindabat if they wish. Laypeople eat after monks and novices.

ACCOMMODATIONS :

	Monks and novices usually stay in individual rooms, some with attached Thai- or western-style bathrooms. Nuns have shared rooms. Laypeople may be able to stay except during the Rains Retreat.

WRITE IN ADVANCE? :

	Not necessary.

OTHER INFORMATION :

	Ven. Chao Khun Mongkol-Thepmuni revived this system of meditation, sometimes called "Dhammakaya." He's very highly venerated by the Thais.
A shrine room in the wat contains his coffin and a life-like wax statue. 
Laypeople practicing meditation normally follow 8 precepts and wear white clothing; visitors staying a week or two can follow 5 precepts and wear regular clothing.

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