Wat Beung Latthiwan (วัดบึงลัฏฐิวัน)

Thai. ‘Marsh Temple at the Young Sugar Palm Grove’. Name of a public Buddhist temple affiliated with the Mahanikaya monastic order, located in Tha Luang (ท่าหลวง) Subdistrict, Tha Reua (ท่าเรือ) District, Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya. The temple occupies an area of 13 rai, 3 ngan and 90 square wah. Wat Beung Latthiwan was founded in 1807 but later fell into disuse and became abandoned. In 1957, Siam Cement Public Company Limited acquired land near the former temple to extract soil for cement production, resulting in the construction of a transport road through the temple grounds. Restoration efforts began in 1967, the monastery was revived and named Wat Beung (วัดบึง), a name that later extended to Wat Beung Latthiwan (วัดบึงลัฏฐิวัน), reflecting the abundance of palm trees surrounding the area. In 1975, the Ministry of Education officially recognised it as an active temple with resident monks, and on 8 November 1983 it was granted royal wisung khama sima. The temple complex features the Phra Mahathat Chedi Sri Ayutthaya Sammasam Photiyaan, a chedi described as combining architectural elements from Phra Borommathat Chedi, the main stupa of Wat Mahathat Wora Maha Wihaan (fig.) in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, and Phra Pathom Chedi (fig.) in Nakhon Pathom, whereas its pinnacle is in Laotian style (fig.), akin to the distinctive stupa of Wat Phrathat Phanom (fig.) in Nakhon Phanom. Its interior enshrines sacred relics and contains mural paintings. The temple also houses a life-size and highly detailed representation of the Buddha's parinirvana, depicting the reclining Buddha at Salavana Grove in Kushinara. In front of this stupa, a large-scale model of the Maha Bodhi Pagoda (fig.) in Bodh Gaya rises from a giant lotus base, symbolising the site where the Buddha attained Enlightenment. Before it stands a statue of Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha-to-be, portrayed as a young boy standing upright with his right arm raised and his index finger pointing skyward (fig.). On either side of the entrance, between the lotus platform and the main chedi, stand reddish-brown balustrades depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The panel on the left shows the devas, while the one on the right features the asuras, each group using the serpent Ananta as a stirring rope (fig.). In a field opposite the temple’s entrance stands an unfinished building crowned by a large white Buddha statue seated in the dhammachakka pose, poised upon a pinkish-red lotus base. WATCH VIDEO, VIDEO (EN) and VIDEO (TH). 回