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Buddhism
Wat Chakkrawat
, Thailand
About
Tucked into the northwestern corner of Samphanthawong district near the Chao Phraya River, Wat Chakkrawat — formally Wat Chakkrawat Rachawat Woramahawihan — has stood within Bangkok's Chinatown for more than two centuries. The wat sits a short distance from Wat Traimit, the home of the famous golden Buddha, and shares with it a quieter share of the neighbourhood's devotional life.
Known in earlier centuries as Wat Sam Pluem, the monastery predates the cutting of Yaowarat Road in 1892. Its roots reach back at least two hundred years to the reign of King Rama I, when Rattanakosin was first established as the new capital of Siam in 1782. The surrounding district, then called Sampheng, became home to Chinese merchants displaced from Tha Tian to make way for the Grand Palace.
During the reign of King Nangklao (Rama III), the nobleman Chaophraya Bodindecha undertook a six-year restoration of the entire complex and dug a khlong to drain water from the temple pond. Once monks from other monasteries had been invited to reside, the renewed temple was presented to the king and elevated to royal status in 1825.
A principal vihara once enshrined the Phra Bang Buddha image; when King Mongkut later returned that image to Luang Prabang, the Phra Nak was installed in its place. Beside the assembly halls a curious crocodile pond still exists — a quiet relic of a wartime story now woven into the temple's local lore.
History
The temple's origins predate the founding of Bangkok itself and the area, once known as Sampheng, served as the residence of Chinese immigrants who settled there at the close of the eighteenth century. Major rebuilding came in the reign of King Rama III, when Chaophraya Bodindecha directed a comprehensive restoration over six years, after which the monastery was granted royal status in 1825.
Later alterations under King Nangklao raised a new ubosot, and the former ordination hall was reconsecrated as a vihara. In the reign of King Mongkut, the venerable Phra Bang image was returned to Luang Prabang, and the Phra Nak Buddha was brought from a Grand Palace shrine to replace it.
Visiting
Engage with Wat Chakkrawat
Through the four pathways
Seva सेवा — Service
Offer your time and skills here. The following opportunities are open at Wat Chakkrawat:
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Sādhana साधना — Practice
Learn the worship and practice associated with Wat Chakkrawat:
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Sandhāna सन्धान — Wisdom
Unite with the wisdom of this tradition:
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Sādhya साध्य — Giving
Support this sacred place according to your means:
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All giving flows directly to Wat Chakkrawat. Mandala does not take a commission.
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