Mount
Meditation
Phu Thok
is in fact a place of meditation located on a hill. It
is part of the 78-rai
Jetiya Khiri Viharn temple, which is also
known as Wat Phu Thok. Thousands of
visitors travel to the
hill yearly. Some of them come to pay respect to the
revered
late abbot, Phra Ajarn Juan Kullachettho who established
the temple.
Others might want to test their endurance by
climbing the stairs to the
hilltop, 460m above the ground.
It was said that the late abbot
first came to the hill in 1940
and immediately liked its quiet atmosphere. He
decided to
stay in a cave and meditate. When people knew there was
a monk on
the hill, they went to see him and offer alms.
Later they also asked him to
build the temple which was
constructed among the foothills.
In 1969, locals joined forces
to build wooden staircases to
the cave where the monk meditated. They also
built living
quarters and a prayer hall called Tham Phra (Buddha cave)
to house
several Buddha icons there.
It took the people about five
years to finish building the
seven levels of wooden steps from the ground all
the way up
to the top. There are also wooden walkways encircling the
hill from
the fourth tier to the fifth.
The fifth level is where the
praying hall is located. If you walk
along the 400m wooden path, you may find
several spots
along the cliff built for monks to practise meditation. The
path
also gives you a panoramic view of the forest
monastery below, including a
pagoda that contains the
remains of the late abbot as well as a view of Kham
Khaen
village.
The sixth level is an
unfinished concrete path. On arrival at
this level, you will see a newly opened
pavilion housing
seated Buddha images.
You can also walk along the
path, but some parts are
muddy so it might be slippery, especially now during
the
rainy season.
At the seventh level is the
wooded hilltop. There is no
construction at this level, only a natural trail
which requires
you to climb up steep slopes and over big rocks. Along the
trail, there are many types of mushroom and wild flowers.
The area is still green and it
has a water source for use in
the temple. The 5 rai wooded zone is home to
several small
animals including birds and snakes. The trail has two ends
: one at
a scenic lookout point of a nearby hill, while the
other leads you to a
panoramic view of the village below.
Climbing Phu Thok is a gruelling adventure
but once you're
up there and see the peaceful scenery below, you will forget
about the tiredness and delight in solitude
Poom K. 5517771
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