Jhana 8 logo with lotus leaf.

Suan Mokkh Buddhist Temple, Chaiya, Thailand

by

I wouldn’t consider myself a Buddhist, but I do love visiting the Buddhist temples around Thailand. Just the other week I went to one of my favorite temples – Wat Suan Mokkhabalaram in Chaiya district of Surat Thani, well south of Bangkok by about 600 kilometers.

Wat Suan Mokkh is a forest temple, Thais say Tudong style. One of my favorite Buddhist monks, Buddhadasa Bhikku founded it, and though he has passed on, it’s a remarkable place to go and do some walking around, taking photos, and meditating when I go alone. Here are some photos. I hope you enjoy them and visit the temple sometime…

Theravada Buddhist Monks walking at a forest temple called Wat Suan Mokkh in Chaiya, Thailand.
Buddhist wheel of becoming and hanging skeletons at Suan Mokkh Buddhist temple in Chaiya, Thailand.
Art at meditation spot in Suan Mokkh. ©Vern Lovic
A Buddhist monk's hut or kuti in southern Thailand at Wat Suan Mokkh in Chaiya province.
A private monk kuti (hut) at a forest monastery in southern Thailand. Could you sit here all day and meditate? It probably seems ideal, right? ©Vern Lovic
Siddhartha Gautama Buddha in anorexic state meditation.
We can learn from this image of Buddha in an anorexic state while meditating. Didn’t work for him, won’t work for you. Don’t bother starving yourself! ©Vern Lovic
Large painting of the Buddhist Wheel of Becoming at a building located on the grounds of the famous Buddhist temple, Wat Suan Mokkh in Chaiya, Thailand.
I’m not sure what this building is called, but I’ve seen monks meditating here. I’ve sat to meditate here often. ©Vern Lovic
Shaved Buddhist nuns meditate in Thailand at Suan Mokkh temple in Chaiya, Southern Thailand.
Magee sitting for a Dharma talk by the current abbot. ©Vern Lovic
Colorful rooster at Suan Mokkh Buddhist temple in Southern Thailand in the province of Chaiya, in the South of Thailand.
Chickens and roosters roam freely over some parts of the temple grounds. ©Vern Lovic
Men's dormitory - second floor - shows sleeping arrangements at Buddhist temple, Wat Suan Mokkh, in Southern Thailand's province of Chaiya.
Mens dorm (2nd floor) at the main Suan Mokkh temple (west side of Highway 4). ©Vern Lovic
A spirit is giving eyeballs out to followers on the wall of a painted building at Chaiya's Suan Mokkh Buddhist temple in Southern Thailand.
Many paintings on the walls inside this building. VERY interesting. ©Vern Lovic
This poster of Buddhadasa Bhikku, a Buddhist monk and abbot, is on the top floor of the art building at Suan Mokkh Temple in Southern Thailand's province of Chaiya.
Poster of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, founder of Suan Mokkhabalaram temple. ©Vern Lovic

Art (Paintings) at Suan Mokkh

Leave a Comment