WAT BOVORNIVES VIHARA

Meaning of name : " Temple of excellent abode"

Also Spelled : Wat Bovornives, Wat Bovorn, Wat Bowonniwet, Wat Bowon.
Name in Thai : วัดบวรนิเวศวิหาร
Address : 248 Phra Sumen Rd., Banglampoo Bangkok 21200
Address in Thai : 248 ถนน พระสุเมรุ บางลำภู กรุงเทพฯ 21200

Directions : on Phra Sumen in Banglampoo district, 2 blocks north of the Democracy Monument. Many city buses pass through the area.

Telephone : (02)629-1417, (02)281-1085 Fax (02)629-4015

Meditation System: No formal teachings or mediation instructions are currently offered. The teacher is very busy with duties. This temple is mentioned because its' an important center for Thai Buddhism. Usually a few foreign monks who can answer question are in residence.

Teacher: Phra Sophon-khanaporn, Phra Anilamana, Phra Kantasilo

Description : Thirty-one rai (12.5 acres) in an urban setting with some trees and a few open spaces. Small canals criss-cross the grounds. Some fo the buildings have notable Thai or European architecture. The Great Chedi, glittering with gold-colored tites towers more than 50 meters; relices of the Buddha lie inside within a small metal chedi. If you're here on a Sunday afternoon, you can visite the Dhamma Museum in the tall building near the street; exhibits include Buddha images, temple paraphernalia, skeletons and other meditation objects, and "cremation books" (given out on cremation occasions) Resident monks engage primarily in Dhamma studies; Mahamakut Rajavidyalaya Buddhis University is on the east end of the grounds

Size : Monks : 100-160, novices: 20-25, nuns: 0 laypeople: (just schoolboys and workmen)

Accommodations : Not generally available or recommended for mediators.

Ordination: Foreigners occasionally ofdain here but few stay; contact the secretary for details.

Other Information : A small foreign library is available. Mahamakut Bookstore, on Phra Sumen across from the wat, has many Buddhist books in English; publishers represented include Buddhist Publication Society, Pali Text Society, and Mahamakut Rajavivyalaya Press; close Sunday. The temple's history dates to about B.E. 2369(1826), when founded as Wat Mai, but the current name and prestige came about in B.E. 2370. In that year King Rama III made the bhikkhu Prince Mongkut the abbot, awarded him the tile "deputy king," and changed the temple's name to Wat Bovornives. Prince Mongkut had ordained in B.E. 2367 and applied himself to study of Pali language and the Buddhist texts. After Prince Mongkut left the Sangha in B.E. 2394 to become King Rama IV, he expressed the wish that his sons who wished to ordain would do so at Wat Bovoranives. His wish was fulfilled and many members of the royal family have done so down to the present.