Wat Dai Dhammaram

THAILAND, Surat Thani

Wat Dai Dhammaram was originally named Wat Sam Mai, which means the Temple of the Three Widows. During the 19th century, three Buddhist widows donated the land to build the temple. In the 20th century, the ordination hall was restored and other buildings were added. The temple established the first Pali and Buddhist Dharma School in Surat Thani province and it is currently the center of Buddhist administration and activities in that province.
The temple consists of the ordination hall, sutra repository, lecture hall, and Dharma school. The ordination hall is the main building and appears magnificent with its five overlapping roof sections and three-tier eaves, which are covered with red, orange, and green glazed tiles. The bargeboards are decorated with ornaments garudas and nagas. The pediment is decorated with a golden relief of Sakyamuni Buddha teaching his first five monks on a blue background. There are Dharma wheels carved between the tops of the portico columns. Reliefs of seated Sakyamuni Buddhas are carved on the triangular decoration located above the doors and windows. There are seated Sakyamuni Buddha statues of various sizes on the Sumeru throne inside the ordination hall. Two disciples stand with joined palms on either side facing the Buddha in the center. There are paintings of the Jatakas on the upper section of the side walls. Apart from these paintings, the walls are whitewashed and the ceiling is painted red without decoration, in contrast to the temple’s elaborate exterior.