Wat Neua (วัดเนือ)

Thai. Name of a Buddhist monastery located in the Amphur Selaphum (เสลภูมิ) in Roi Et. Affiliated with the Mahanikaya order and functioning as a community monastery, it occupies a land area of approximately 30 rai, 1 ngan, and 1 square wah. Although the present monastery was formally established in 1879 AD by Luang Chumphol Phakdi (พระนิคมบริรักษ์), archaeological evidence indicates that the site is significantly older. Within the temple grounds stands an ancient Mon–Dvaravati-style chedi, distinguished by its square base, tiered superstructure, and remnants of stucco decoration characteristic of early historic religious architecture on the Korat Plateau. This chedi is regarded as one of the oldest surviving religious monuments in Roi Et Province and suggests that the area formed part of the broader Mon–Dvaravati cultural sphere, which flourished between the seventh and eleventh centuries AD. The presence of this chedi implies the existence of a local religious community long before the founding of the present village and monastery. The contemporary monastery was granted wisung khama sima, the consecrated boundary authorizing ordination rituals, on 30 April 1928 AD. Its principal structures include an ubosot (ordination hall) measuring 6 by 14 metres, a sala kaan parian (sermon and instructional hall) constructed primarily of timber and measuring 15 by 18 metres, kuti of both wooden and concrete construction, a multi-purpose hall built in 1984, and two reinforced-concrete halls used for merit-making and funerary rites. The temple houses two principal Buddha images and many subsidiary statues. In front of the temple sits Phra Phutta Chayantih Mahamuni Bophit, a large Buddha statue in the  pahng nahg prok pose. The statue is positioned on an elevated base that functions as a small hall. Within this hall are wax effigies of highly venerated monks, including of Somdet Phra Yannasangwon, the 19th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand (fig.) and Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong (fig.). 回