Bangkok Temple Tours

Wat Dhammamongkol is not nearly as popular as Wat Pho, Wat Pra Kaew, Wat Arun, Wat Traimit or even Wat Suthat. Most Bangkok citizens and visitors never get to see it. And in fact, it’s not the typical Thai-style, traditional temple you’d expect to find.

But this temple is listed in the Guinness book of records as the place where you can see the largest jade Buddha statue in the whole world. The jade for this statue was brought in from British Columbia, Canada.

Italian artists where then flown in to carve the jade, because they had the highest level of craftmanship. They were used to working with marble, and found that their equipment wasn’t strong enough for the jade stone, but fortunately, they could quickly get hold of the right equipment to continue their work. It is kind of ironic that Westerners have been responsible for carving this magnificent monument to an Eastern religious teacher, but if you look at history, you’ll find the the first statues of the Buddha where actually made by Europeans.

Also, the chedi (pagoda) is noteworthy – it is 95 meters high, and looks very “Bangkokian”. In fact, from the outside it kind of resembles a skyskraper and is not exactly a beauty to look at. It was completed in 1985 to house the holy relics of the Lord Buddha that had been handed to the temples founder in 1979 (see story below).
This chedi (pagoda) is meant to be a modern version of the famous Bodhgaya Chedi on the site of the Lord Buddha’s enlightenment in India

Inside here, you can also see a collection of Buddha statues from different periods of Thai history and different kinds of dieties and mystical beings.

There’s an interesting story behind this temple. The monk who founded Wat Dhammamongkol was a forest monk with the name Phra Viriyang. These monks adhere strictly to the original teachings of the Buddha. This is very different from the typical “Bangkok monk”, who often has a mobile phone and a laptop – forest monks have very few personal belongings, and usually don’t even wear shoes. They are much more highly respected in Thailand than the “city monks” who enjoy many amenities.

Phra Viriyang lived as a forest monk for more than 20 years. In the year 1963 however, he decided to share the insights and wisdom he had gained during his many years of intense religious practice to help other people.

A vision compelled him to make his way to Bangkok and found a monastery there.

He found an unused plot of swampland outside the city and made a tiny thatched hut into his temple. The residents of Bangkok started to notice that this man possessed unusual wisdom and went to him for advice, teachings, when they had problems or wanted to improve areas of their life. With the donations from visitors, he was able to slowly but surely transform his thatched hut into a real temple over the years.

In 1979, the Premier Minister of Thailand, Kriangsak Chomanan, handed Phra Viriyanga golden casket. Inside that casket, there was a gift from the Supreme Patriarch of Bangladesh: five Buddha relics and strands of Buddha’s hair.

There are around 500 monks on the temple compound.

Wat Dhammamongkol is also one of the few Buddhist temples in Thailand that features stained glass windows:

If you are looking for Bangkok temple tours, please contact us so we can provide you with a knowledgeable guide who can show you around.

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