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Why Wat Asokaram is special ?
Rural setting on the coast; 120 rai (50 acres). Many species of birds, some nesting, inhabit the trees on shore and on the tidal flats. Lots of crabs, mud skippers, snakes, and mosquitos live here too. Fairly quiet (except for the birds). Main buildings, such as the viharn (main hall), ched (stupa), bot (uposatha hall), women's chanting hall, and kitchen are on the shore; most kutis (huts) sit atop pilings out over the tidal flats. The magnificent viharn contains a large Buddha image, paintings, and carved wooden doors; large group meetings and monks' chanting take place in the main (upper) hall, smaller meetings are held on the middle level, and the monks' eating area is on the lower level.
What to explore at Wat Asokaram?
A temple built in ancient India by Emporer Asoka inspired the name of Wat Asokaram. Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo (1906-1961), a disciple of Ajahn Mun, founded the temple in 1955. At the request of lay followers, the uncremated remains of Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo have been kept in a coffin in the glassed-in shrine area upstairs in the viharn. A ceremony dedicated to the former abbot attracts many people to the wat on 24-26 April; teachers present discourses on mind training in the Ajahn Mun tradition.
Some of Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo's talks have been published in English and are available here by free distribution.
A small library has some English books.
Two new books in English present wisdom from great teachers of the forest tradition The Autobiography of Phra Ajahn Lee contains incidents from his life that provide both good reading and good lessons; 1992, 190 pages. Awareness Itself The Teachings of Ajaan Fuang Jotiko contains short, to-the-point advice to guide students past the pitfalls of meditation practice; (Ajaan Fuang helped establish Wat Asokaram and was expected to become abbot after Ajaan Lee's death. Instead, he left and spend the last 15 years of his life at Wat Dhammasathit, a small, out-of-the-way place in the hills near Rayong); 1993, 77 pages. Phra Geoffrey Thanissaro translated and edited both books; they're available for free distribution. Eight precepts and white clothing are recom mended for long-term meditators.
How to get to Wat Asokaram?
- Go by BTS (Sky Train) to Bearing. That is the last station in the southern end of BTS route.
- Flag a taxi (please be careful, I always go with green-yellow taxi in Bangkok and pay the meter with a decent tips around 20-30 bath, tips more if you want him to wait for you.)
- Bring a map with you, and if you can, write down the address and bring a picture with you. Say this to the taxi driver: WAT ASOK - SAMUT PRAKAN.
- Taxi fare from Bearing BTS Station to Wat Asok is roughly 100-150 bath. I cannot be accurate on this because I travel around to see other sites.
- Go back with taxi to the Bearing station to go back to the Bangkok downtown.
- You may have a brief traffic jam, because there are extension of BTS route in this area.
- White Shrine in the Outskirt of Bangkok
- Impressive architecture
- Something different from other wats in central Bangkok
- A peaceful temple
- As a palace in Bangkok's suburb
Sukumvit Road, Samut Prakan 10280, Thailand
Tips for you
Muchos son los Wats y Temples los cuales forman parte de la cultura Thai este Wat tiene 13 estupas , que tiene un significado muy importante dentro la religion , es dificil ponerse de acuerdo pero creo que la opinion de todos es " Maravilloso "