Wat Khung Taphao is a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 (wat

Wat

A wat is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand, or Laos. The word "wat" means "school".- Introduction :...

) located in Ban Khung Taphao

Ban Khung Taphao

Ban Khung Taphao is a village in the Khung Taphao subdistrict of Mueang Uttaradit of Uttaradit Province, Thailand.- Etymology :The first element ban, means village. The second element khung, means bend of watercourse...

, Mueang Uttaradit District

Amphoe Mueang Uttaradit

Mueang Uttaradit is the capital district of Uttaradit Province, northern Thailand.-Geography:Neighboring districts are Tha Pla, Thong Saen Khan, Tron, Laplae of Uttaradit Province and Den Chai of Phrae Province....

 of Uttaradit Province

Uttaradit Province

Uttaradit is one of the northern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Phrae and Nan...

 in Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand

Thailand's northern region is geographically characterised by multiple mountain ranges which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar and Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them...

.

Wat Khung Taphao was established in the era of the Thonburi Kingdom

Thonburi Kingdom

Thon Buri was the capital of Siam for a short time during the reign of King Taksin the Great, after the ruin of capital Ayutthaya by the Burmese. King Rama I removed the capital to Bangkok on the other side of the Chao Phraya River in 1782...

 (1768–1782), and is still an important active temple in the Ban Khung Taphao region.

History

Wat Khung Taphao is an ancient temple, but there is no archaeological evidence as to when it was built. There have been monasteries here since the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom

Ayutthaya kingdom

Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...

 (1351–1767), and Buddhists arrived sometime in the late 18th century.

Wat Khung Taphao has a hall for religious observances. Local villagers were taught by the monks at the monastery until the government began supplying teachers.

When the river floods, it rises over the river banks and scours under the monastery foundations. Khung Taphao villagers decided to establish a new monastery farther away from the river. After the new monastery was built, the river changed its course and moved away from the monastery; this new land became monastery property.

Background of temple name

When government representatives came to record the names of the villages and landmarks in the area, the names for the village and temple were recorded incorrectly. The village name was changed from its original, "Ban Khung Sam Phao" to "Ban Khung Taphao", and the temple became "Wat Khung Taphao". These new names have remained the official ones to the present day.

External links

• Wat Khung Taphao
• Wat Khung Taphao history