Travels in Pattani - Wat Rai

On 25th August 2007 I made another trip to Pattani in Southern Thailand. Besides the usual temples I also went to Wat Rai this time. Wat Rai is a new temple which needed funds to build its Ubosot & other buildings. Above is the current abbot of Wat Rai, Ajarn Daeng. When I went there he was not around, but at Wat Phra Mahathat in NST to participate in a Jatukam consecration ceremony.

Ajarn Daeng's room & Wiharn.

A tall potrait of the late LP Poom, who was Ajarn Daeng's master. Notice the picture seemed to exudes a mystical aura.

The temporary Bot of Wat Rai. The main Buddha image venerated is called Phra Si Thep Sakya. Below is the statue of LP Poom. The green board on the floor shows the Arattana katha taught by LP Poom.

The eating room.

A venerated Banyan tree outside the temporary Bot.

The new Ubosot is still in construction.

The temple counter selling Ajarn Daeng's amulets as well as a whole lot of other stuff.
Ajarn Daeng's LP Tuad amulets as well as bullet shell takruts. They are excellent for protection. The Thai Army guys in the area like his takruts very much. Readers interested in getting some of these stuff can email me at crane@pacific.net.sg

Temples in Pattalung - Wat Phaksak

Wat Phaksak is a more remote temple in Pattalung, relatively deserted and not many buildings around. There were lots of mosquitoes and it was next to a forest. It used to be one of the more famous temples, but not many people know about it now. Above is the main Sala of the Wat.

A photo portrait of LP Dit, the founding abbot of Wat Phaksak who passed away in 2507 BE (1964) at the age of 86.

In another rundown Sala, there is an altar to 4 Buddha statues.

This small wiharn enshrines the statues of LP Dit and his successor Ajarn Daeng.

There is a green pond in the the temple with a standing Buddha statue partially submerged right in the middle of it. Their idea of the Buddha taking a bath?

This is one of LP Dit's cross-hand Phra Pidta. Very affordable antique amulet!

Wat Phaksak's new batch of Jatukam, Roon Kodapi Mahasettee. The front side is completely the same as the popular 2549 Kodsettee batch, but the back side is LP Dit's Pidta. But unlike the Kodsettee it is much more affordable. One can consider it the poor man's Kodsettee! The amulets here are cheap because of its location & also it is not that well-known. With that I left Pattalung and headed back home.

Temples in Pattalung - Wat Donsala

Next we come to another famous temple in Pattalung, Wat Donsala. LP Yiad, the master of LP Kong (Wat Bansuan) came from this temple. He is also very well versed in the Puttakom arts. LP Yiad passed away in 2491 BE (1948) at the age of 66. He was succeeded by Ajarn Nam, who passed away in 2520 BE (1970) at the age of 85. Above is the main Sala of this temple.

The altar inside the Sala. Besides the 8 great disciples flanking the Buddha statue, they also have portraits of the King & Queen of Thailand.

A tall portrait to Ajarn Si Ngern (I think), who took over from Ajarn Nam as abbot after the latter died. He also created many well-known amulets.

Outside the Sala is another altar with 6 Buddha statues in front & back positions.

The Bot is closed as usual.

This wiharn venerates all the famous monks of this temple. When there's consecration cermonies going on, all of them are invited back with the Saisin (holy thread). That's all for the pics here at Donsala. There was also nothing much to get there, except for more affordable Jatukam amulets which I passed. Unfortunately one can't find those antique amulets of LP Yiad, Ajarn Nam or even Ajarn Si Ngern. What a waste.

Temples in Pattalung - Wat Kao Or

Wat Kao Or - arguably the most famous temple in Pattalung, it had been the centre of Puttakom arts of Southern Thailand for the past 120 yrs. Indeed many famous monks & white-robe Ajarns had come out of the temple. Ajarn Khun Phan, who passed away last year, was one such white-robe master. The driver told me the current abbot is a young monk in his 30s, but he was quite well-known for his skill in Puttakom already. Pity he was away on retreat when I went there.

Here is the Shrine to LP (Por Tan) Tongtao, the founding abbot of Wat Kao Or, who passed away in 2470 BE (1927) at the age of 78. Donors from Singapore & Malaysia had also contributed to the building of this shrine. Notice the curious- looking old Chinese fishermen guarding the shrine.

An odd looking chedi.. not sure which master's remains are inside.

This wiharn contain statues of the famous monks of Wat Kao Or.

The main altar inside the Bot.

This is the Katha to pay homage to holy Buddha relics.

The Standing Buddha statue outside the Bot. Around that area are many small chedis, so it should be a cemetery.

One of the resident kittens of Wat Kao Or. Cute isn't it?

Inside another wiharn where blessings are performed. Amulets are also sold there. Wat Kao Or used to have many interesting amulets and buchas available, but when I went there, there were nothing left to get except over-priced Jatukam stuff. It was disappointing & I had no choice but to leave the temple empty-handed. Hopefully the situation will improve when the Jatukam craze die down.

Temples in Pattalung - Wat Bansuan

These are the rest of the pics I took in Pattalung on May 20th. Actually that day I took many pics (including those at Wat Phra Mahathat) but I didn't have the time to show all of them. There are a few famous temples in Pattalung province, and the first one we will see here is Wat Bansuan. This temple had been established since the Ayuttaya period, nearly 500 yrs ago in 2070 BE. Above is the Bot of the temple, with an Ashoka Lion Pillar erected below.

A close up of the Standing Buddha statue in front of the Bot.

The Shrine to LP (Ajarn) Kong built in 2525 BE (1982). He passed away many yrs ago, but LP Kong used to be one of the most famous monks of this province, skilled in the Puttakom arts of Wat Kao Or.

Inside the shrine we see 3 bronze statues of LP Kong.

The main Chedi of Wat Bansuan, housing the Buddha's relics.

A curious giraffe guardian of this temple.

Another view of the chedi. Some renovations were going on then.

Interestingly, in Thai temple architecture, they always build Nagas to protect the sides of any stair structures.

Behind the chedi are the statues of the 7-day Buddha, one for each day of the week. They depict the Buddha's activities in the 7 weeks following his enlightenment.

A 7-inch (full height 10 inches) bronze bucha of Phra Buddha Maha Mongkon I obtained from Wat Bansuan. It is modelled after the Chiang Saen style Phra Buddha Sihing of Nakhon Si Thammarat. From there let us proceed to the other temples.