Wat Asokaram: The Monastery of No Sorrow

Before leaving the Bang Pu Recreation Center, I pulled up the maps app on my phone to see if there were any other points of interest that we should check out before leaving Samut Prakan and heading back into the city. One point stood out: a beautiful Buddhist temple not far from the BTS station. 

Before we got back on the train to head into Bangkok, we had a driver take us to Wat Asokaram, where we were greeted first by a larger-than-life statue of Ashoka, the ancient Indian emperor responsible for the spread of Buddhism throughout the subcontinent and across Southeast Asia.

The temple was built by the renowned monk Phra Ajarn Lee in 1962. While it's fairly new by Thai standards, the temple must be one of the most beautiful in Samut Prakan.

Ajarn Lee's remains are enshrined within the temple. His place of honor in the shrine hall is due to the Ajarn's teachings, which spread the now common Thai Forest Tradition sect of Theravada Buddhism into the mainstream.

Known as one of the greatest teachers and meditation masters of the Thai Forest Tradition, Ajarn Lee's life is full of myth and legend. Although he never made such claims himself, rumors swirled among his students that the master possesses psychic powers.

Wat Ashokaram was built as a temple dedicated to meditation retreats. It sits on a large plot of land along the coast in Samut Prakan Province, surrounded by lush mangrove wetlands and mudflats. The main prayer hall is richly decorated in golds and reds, but it's not the most impressive feature at the temple.

The Phra Thutangkha Chedi is a castle-like structure comprised of thirteen chedis which represent the thirteen duties of a Buddhist monk.

Inside, bronze statues of eminent monks from Thai history encircle the central relic shrine.

A glass pyramid sitting before each statue contains relics such as hairs or bone fragments from the famous monks. Thai Buddhists believe that this place, with so many relics from so many powerful monks, is a very special holy site.

We climbed up the chedi, encircling it and admiring the beautiful structure and the surrounding views. The temple grounds stretched out before us in all directions.

Monks live in huts in the mangrove forest, and there are plenty of smaller chapels and shrines scattered throughout the temple grounds. A large group of white-clad individuals on meditation retreats volunteer at the temple, working to keep in clean.

We walked through the muddy forest to a small chapel set out deep amongst the mangroves. While not nearly as large and opulent as the central prayer hall, this little chapel was decorated in beautiful murals depicting the life of the Buddha.

Although the weather had been cooler in the morning, it was growing hot as we walked through the temple grounds. The steaming mudflats made the air thick and humid, and I was almost ready to head back to the nice air-conditioned train. 

Before heading back, however, we stumbled upon one last spot within the temple grounds.

A large statue of the Buddha stood behind a smaller statue of one of his disciples, a monk carrying an umbrella and who is said to bring wealth and luck to those who honor him. Someone had left him a beautiful pink lotus bud.