Description
Wat Pho Sri Maharat (วัดโพธิ์ศรีมหาราช) is a Sakon Nakhon forest temple located close to the southeastern banks of the Nong Han Lake, the largest lake in Northeastern Thailand and the 2nd largest freshwater lake in the country. The name of the temple translates to the Temple of the Great Bhodi Tree, the Thai word Pho (โพธิ์ศรี) meaning the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment.
When walking onto the temple grounds of Wat Pho Sri Maharat, you will be greeted guards in the form of a Singha lion (also referred to as a Chinthe) and five headed Nagas known as Anontak or Sesak, which are immortal beings born out of the elemental elements of the Earth, and symbolizing the 4 directions of the compass and the middle.
There is a small glass-door pavilion holding scared Buddha images and a rustic pavilion paying homage to the Phra Lersi hermit monks. If you go a little way into the forest on the right, you will see a large Budda statue in the Dhyana (meditation) posture, which is seen often among Buddha statues placed in the woods.
Be sure to walk around to the west side of the grounds (in direction of the lake), for a beautiful view of the lake (with mountains in the background) and two large Buddha statues that have been placed on on a wooden platform. It takes about 30 minutes to reach Wat Pho Sri Maharat from downtown Sakon Nakhon. When you pass the temple Wat Ban Lao Po Daeng (with its large white Buddha with gold robe), you'll have about another 5 kilometers to go.
