Wat Chong Lom |
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หลวงพ่อแก่นจันทน์ |
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Known as: |
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Luangpho Kaenchan |
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Description: |
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Luang Pho Kaenchan is a sandalwood Buddha image with a height
measured from head to toe of 2.26 metres. It is in a standing
position with its arms holding an alms bowl; however, if we look
at the statue closely, we will see that its alms bowl is not
like others’. Luang Pho Kaenchan’s alms bowl looks like it is in
a sack with something that is about 25 centimetres long and
resembles two pieces of cloth for carrying the alms bowl
stretching out from the bowl’s rim. In addition, it seems as if
the statue itself were holding the cloth with its two hands in
order to prevent the alms bowl from falling.
There are
two stories of Luang Pho Kaen Chan’s origin. First of all, it is
believed that it was made in Kanchanaburi. History has it that
there was once a man travelling into the jungle to find wild
items. He saw a huge tiger so he quickly climbed up the tree. He
then prayed for his survival and made a promise that if
surviving, he would use the wood of the tree he climbed up to
carve into a Buddha image. Luckily, he did survive and arrived
home safely. The following day he and other villagers went into
the jungle to cut down the tree and found that it was actually a
sandalwood tree whose wood is very rare and expensive. They then
cut it down and took it to a craftsman in Ban Kaeng Luang in
order to have him carve it into a Buddha image. After completed,
the Buddha image was hosted in Ban Kaeng Luang for people to pay
their respect to. After that, one day the statue was found
floating down the river. It is assumed that in the eleventh and
the twelfth lunar months in which flooding occurred, the Buddha
image was washed into the Mae Klong River by a mass of water
from heavy rain. Additionally, it is said that when it floated
past any riverfront temples, locals would see it and try to pick
it up from the river. However, no matter how hard they tried,
they failed. None of the temples that it floated past managed to
pick it up and house it; however, when it reached the part of
the river that passes Wat Mai Chong Lom, it miraculously floated
back and forth, not down the river as before, despite the
fast-flowing waters. The then abbot of Wat Mai Chong Lom told
monks and locals to pay their homage to it and pray to it for a
permission to bring it up from water. After that, they went down
to the river and were able to take the statue up from water with
ease. After it was hosted in the temple, a celebration was held.
In the past, on the fourteenth waxing moon day of the twelfth
lunar month of every year, a fluvial procession to celebrate
Luang Pho Kaen Chan was held; however, nowadays a car is used in
the procession instead of a boat and the procession is held on
the first day of the Songkran festival. On that day, the Buddha
image is put in the back of a beautifully decorated pickup
truck. The car will go along the streets around Ratchaburi
City’s market to let locals pay respect to the statue with monks
sitting in the back of the pickup truck sprinkling Luang Pho
Kaen Chan’s holy water at the faithful. In front of the car is a
procession of people dancing and blowing horns. After the
procession ends, the Buddha image will be temporarily hosted for
six days in front of the Service Company of the Engineer
Department Royal Thai Army where people can come and pay homage
to it.
According to another story of the Buddha image,
Luang Pu Chan, former abbot of Wat Mai Chong Lom, was, apart
from a monk, a carpenter. He built four wooden pavilions to
cover four Buddha images found in front of the Phra Prang of Wat
Mahathat of Ratchaburi, which was nearly abandoned at that time.
After completing the wooden pavilions, he found several heads of
Buddha images lying all over the floor along the temple’s
cloister. He found a part from head to chest of a bronze Buddha
image and thought it was beautiful. He then took it back to Wat
Mai Chong Lom with him. Later on, he used sandalwood to make the
statue’s body from chest to toe and arms as well as an alms
bowl. When completed, it was a magnificent standing Buddha image
holding an alms bowl and was hosted in the temple’s old Wihan.
In the tenth and eleventh lunar month in which flooding
occurred, the Wihan flooded for two months. The Buddha image
miraculously appeared in the dream of Luang Pu Poh, or Phra
Ratchakhemachan, fourth abbot of the temple, to tell him that
its feet hurt. The next morning, he had a monk check the Buddha
image in the Wihan. Its feet were found destroyed by termites;
as a result, Luang Pu Poh had it renovated, lacquered and
gilded. After that it was
hosted in the temple’s main hall. Visitors have been allowed to
gild the statue since then.
Luang Pho Kaen Chan is now hosted in a Wihan with
four gable ends which was built by the order of Phra
Thepyanamuni (Prathet Kawitharo Pariantham 6), former abbot of
Wat Mai Chonglom and consultant of Ratchaburi’s then provincial
abbot. Somdet Phra Thirayanmuni (Thi Punnako) of Wat Chakkrawat
Racha Wat presided over the foundation stone laying ceremony. On
30th September 1981, Phra Buddha Khosachan (Fuen Chutintharo) of
Wat Sam Phraya presided over the ceremony of lifting Chofah. On
24th January 1982, Luang Pho Kaenchan was relocated from the
main hall to the newly built Wihan. Then the celebration of the
new Wihan was held.
The temple is open to the public
every day from 7:00 to 17:00 |
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Province |
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Ratchaburi |
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District |
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Mueang |
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City |
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Na Muang |
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Official Web: |
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Temple |
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Opening time |
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na |
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Entry fee |
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Free |
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GPS : |
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13.54283 N |
99.816448 E |
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