Description
Wat Pasutharam (วัดปศุธาราม) is a quiet, lovely temple that is located just about a kilometer before you reach Tham Thoeng Nak Nimit Monastery (สำนักสงฆ์ถ้ำเทิ้งนาคนิมิต). One interesting thing about this Sakon Nakhon temple is that it has a white concrete sculpture of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist Bodhisattva associated with compassion. The Chinese Buddhist version of this figure is know as Guanyin (also written as Kuan Yin or Kwan Yin).
Guanyin is represented as female, and considered to be the Goddess of Mercy in Chinese mythology, while Avalokiteshvara is represented as male. At Wat Pasutharam, the sculpture represents Guanyin and thus is female. The Goddess is holding a vase, which she uses to bless followers by pouring out the divine nectar of life upon them. Her right hand is raised in the Vitarka gesture, which invites teachings and discussions for self-growth and awakening.
There are quite a number of dogs at Wat Pasutharam. But they do nothing but bark. If you observe them, you'll see that they are wagging their tails while barking. This is what you want to see when dealing with dogs at Sakon Nakhon temples. If they are barking and wagging at the same time, just let them come to you, smile and speak pleasantly, and soon they'll be licking your hands and want to be your best friend.
If you are visiting Wat Pasutharam, you will definitely want to put Tham Thoeng Nak Nimit Priest's Camp Site on your itinerary as well. It is located only 1.5 km further down the road, and features many interesting Buddhist sculptures and a long well-tended hiking path up the side of the mountain to Wat Tham Wang Kaen.
