Description
Wat Pa Thana Silakhun Ban Rai (วัดป่าธนสีลคุณบ้านไร่) also goes by the shortened named Wat Pa Ban Rai, which translates to the Forest Temple of Rai Village. The main forest is located beside the temple, and functions as a cemetery for the villagers. The buildings within the forest all appear to have been abandoned, making it a rather spooky forest to walk through.
Wat Pa Thana Silakhun Ban Rai is located less than a kilometer southeast of Wat Sitthi Bang Khom, the historic Phanna Nikhom temple where Ajarn Fun Acharo was ordained in 1919. When traveling down the road to this temple, you'll first arrive at a red wrought iron gate with a wooden วัดป่าบ้านไร่ (Wat Pa Ban Rai) sign. This gate is the entrance to the forest cemetery.
If you park outside the gate, you can take a solitary walk through the forest and abandoned buildings until you get to the other side of the woods, where the path exits into a large courtyard and parking lot next to the temple's Viharn (worship hall). You also can reach this area by traveling along the road past the gate and signage until you reach the courtyard.
The temple courtyard has a large Buddhist tableau currently under construction. The tableau features a main statue of the Buddha, with a design inspired by the Emerald Buddha of Bangkok wearing the hot season costume. This sculpture is surrounded by statues of famous Thai monks, such as Luang Pu Thuat (หลวงปู่ทวด) and Luang Pu Doo Prommapanyo (หลวงปู่ดู่ พรหมปัญโญ), who once created a (now highly coveted) sacred coin with the image of Luang Pu Thuat.
Statues of the Buddha or a Thai monk are not supposed to touch the ground. They are to rest upon a pedestal. Since the pedestals of the monk statues at Wat Pa Ban Rai have not been completed, they currently sit upon tires. The village of Ban Rai, which also is home to the unique Bodh Gaya Metal Chedi (Phutthakhaya Mahamongkol Chedi) is about 40 minutes from Sakon Nakhon city.
