Wat Phai Lom

Not far from Phra Pathom Chedi, Wat Phai Lom is a popular temple of Nakhon Prathom province. It is believed to be built during the reign of King Rama IV as the King had a strong faith in Buddhism. He ordered Mon people to construct the temple and renovate Phra Pathom Chedi.Later, this area was abandoned and occupied by thick bamboo grove. As this area is tranquil, many Buddhist monks came here to seclude themselves from the world and practiced Dhamma here. Hence, local people decided to establish here as House of Priest and invited Buddhist monks to stay here some time.However, more Buddhist monks and people came to settle here and clear-cut the bamboo grove to build their residents. As a result, only bamboo grove around this area were left and this was the origin of temple’s name. (“Lom” means surround.)Wat Phai Lom had no abbots for a long time until 1943 when Phra Ajan Pun Attarakakho was assigned to be the abbot. At that time, as the temple did not have Ubosot for religious rite, he consulted with the older monks and decided to build an Ubosot with help from the locals in 1947 and finished 3 years later.Although Phra Ajan Pun has passed away since 2005, his body is still undecomposed. Therefore, the temple keeps his body in a glass coffin and places it in Sala Kruwimanuson in order that people and his disciples can pay respects to his body. Besides, you can find holy statue in this Sala such as Kuman Thong Sombat (an effigy and statue which is revered by Thai animists.). It is told that Kuman Thong Sombat accompanied Luang Pho Pun since he was a young man. He got Kuman Thong Sombat after he went to Suphanburi province with Luang Pho Tao and Luang Pho Long. Kuman Thong is a big bronze statue with 9 inches wide and 15 inches long base and is housed in his cell. Kuman Thong Sombat is believed to bring luck and fortune. Therefore, everyday many people come to pay respects to him In addition, there is a wood carved Ganesha statue which is made from a gigantic holy iron wood. Its head is elephant with big ears and long ivories, but has human body. Ganesha is the deva of intellect and wisdom. Here you can also find a thousand-hand Quan Yin statue, Thai actor’s mask and Buddha statues.