Description
Wat Pa Eo Kan Wipatsonwawat (วัดป่าเอวขันธ์วิปัสสนววาส) is one of three temples on the banks of Nong Han Lake in the village of Ban Tha Wat, one of the oldest communities in Sakon Nakhon. Like the other two lakeside temples, Wat Klang Si Chiang Mai and Wat Maha Phom Phothirat, the temple of Wat Pa Eo Kan was built around ancient Khmer ruins. However, the ruins are so few and simple, such as scattered laterite stones, they are (in the great scheme of things) rather insignificant Khmer historical sites, when compared to such attractions as Phra That Phu Pek and Phrathat Narai Cheng Weng.
Wat Pa Eo Kan is though a temple definitely worth visiting! It has many interesting Buddhist sculptures, in addition to providing a beautiful Nong Han viewpoint. Being a lakeside temple, it has a large Naga statue facing toward the water (the tall cross of Jom Jaeng Church visible across the water). The Naga sculpture is a beautiful multi-faceted one, with an elevated Buddha sitting inside a Naga serpent protector, flanked on both sides by 3-headed Nagas — all of which sits atop the large coiled body of two 5-headed Nagas which stretch out in the direction of the lake.
Wat Pa Eo Kan also has a number of antique Buddhist statues, the oldest of them likely being a broken stone statue of the Buddha, which is positioned under a large gold statue of the Buddha, in front of the temple's gorgeous orange Viharn. This statue appears to be from the Dvaravati period, which is the ancient kingdom of Southeast Asia that flourished from the 6th to the late 11th century.
Wat Pa Eo Kan's most curious statue is perhaps the skeletal Buddha statue that sits atop a cement platform under a canopy of trees. The statue displays the ribs and sternum of a Buddha whose hair of ringlet curls looks almost like grapes. The exposed ribs symbolize the emaciated state of the Buddha's body when he fasted for 7 weeks under the Bodhi tree while seeking enlightenment. It is the only emaciated Buddha statue that we have seen in Sakon Nakhon.
It takes about 40 minutes from downtown Sakon Nakhon to arrive at Wat Pa Eo Kan. If you are being guided by Google Maps it might inexplicably advise you to take a U-turn as you get within a few kilometers of the temple. You'll note that this U-turn advice is odd when looking at your position on the map in relationship to the temple. Just ignore the U-turn suggesting and keep going straight. Google Maps will then correct itself.
To view more photos of this Sakon Nakhon temple, visit Wat Pa Eo Kan Photo Gallery.
