Wat Phra That Pha Son Kaew

The name "Pha Son Kaew" — "the cliff that hides the crystal" — comes from a Ban Thang Daeng story. Tall mountains ring the site, and there is a cave near the tip of a clifftop. Many villagers say they saw a crystal orb floating in the sky before it vanished into that cave. Believing it was a relic of the Buddha arriving, they held the place sacred and called the cliff "Pha Son Kaew".

The first land came from Phawinee and Urai Chotikul, who bought 25 rai and offered it as a meditation retreat. In 2004 Luang Phor Paramee Surayuttho (known as Luang Phor Yongyuth) and Phra Ajarn Amnat Obhaso came to practise at Pha Son Kaew, living in two small thatched huts. The site was named "Phutthatham Sathan Pha Son Kaew" (Pha Son Kaew Dhamma centre) as an auspicious sign for villagers and meditators.

According to the temple, the abbot was born Paramee Imkaew on 1 March 1957. Before ordaining he was a farmer tending more than 200 rai of orange groves and orchards, and he had kept the Eight Precepts since the age of 13. He was ordained on 15 June 1986 at Wat Yai Rom in Bang Khun Thian, Bangkok, with Somdet Phra Theerayanamuni (Khemachari) of Wat Pathum Khongkha as preceptor, and passed the three levels of Dhamma studies at Wat Ratcha Orot, Wat Rai Khing and Wat Thong Wipatsana in Nakhon Sawan. He was later given the titles Phra Khru Sangharak (2009) and Phra Khru Palat (2013), raised to the rank of Phra Ratchakhana as "Phra Phawana Wachira Prakan" on 28 July 2019, and has served as an adviser to the Region 4 Sangha chief since 2020. Beyond Pha Son Kaew he has led the building of more than 25 meditation centres, ordination halls, pavilions and chedis in Mae Hong Son, Chanthaburi, Kanchanaburi, Ubon Ratchathani and Phetchabun. He has donated blood more than 109 times, for which he was honoured by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on 19 July 2006, and he was named an Outstanding National Person in 2020. His core teaching is mindfulness of the present moment.

Lay supporters soon followed. Donations bought more land, bringing the total to 91 rai; people brought trees and flowering plants until the centre was wrapped in gardens. Over time came 44 meditation lodgings, 19 monks' huts, a multipurpose hall, a four-storey meditation hall, the Sat Paramee building, a Thai house and a dining hall — mostly funded by visitors and devotees.

Supporters and teachers agreed to build a chedi at the highest point as an offering to the Buddha. Named "Phra That Pha Son Kaew Sirirat Thammaniramit", it was dedicated to King Bhumibol's 60th year on the throne and to keeping Buddhism alive in the land. Its tip enshrines relics received from the Supreme Patriarch, Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, and the space beneath its base holds Buddhist teachings, Dhamma-riddle images and room for meditation. The temple records that the foundation stone was laid on 13 May 2006 at 13:39, an auspicious "Utthang Racha" moment, with the Phetchabun provincial Sangha chief presiding.

The chedi is shaped like stacked lotus flowers (some media say seven tiers; the temple's history says nine). Its surfaces and the terraces around it are encrusted with coloured tiles, Benjarong porcelain, pearls, beads, glass marbles, rings, gold and silver and ceramics — much of it donated by the faithful — set into patterns that hide Dhamma riddles. English-language sources estimate more than five million tile and pottery pieces in all.

On 1 July 2010 the Sangha Supreme Council raised the centre to temple status as "Wat Phra That Pha Kaew", and on 30 May 2013 it was renamed "Wat Phra That Pha Son Kaew" to match the villagers' old name for the cliff. Luang Phor Paramee Surayuttho serves as abbot.

The temple's largest structure is the Great Vihara of the Five Buddhas, dedicated to King Bhumibol's 85th birthday. Its base is 41 m wide, 72 m long and 45 m high, in six levels according to the media (the temple's website says seven), topped by five white Buddha images seated one behind another on a lotus base, visible far from the road. Inside, the lower levels (1–2 per the media, 1–3 per the temple) house retreat participants; other levels are used for chanting, Dhamma talks and meditation. Photos from 2013 show the images still under construction; they were finished and opened for worship around the end of 2014.

The temple has two important jade Buddha images. The first, "Phra Phuttha Loet Rattana Chot Mani" or the Green Jade Buddha, is in the subduing-Mara posture in Chiang Saen style, 65 inches across the lap and carved from a single block of green jade. It sits in the Green Jade Buddha Pavilion, an open, square meditation hall walled with large glass panes looking out on green mountains, built over a year by local craftsmen and Ban Thang Daeng villagers. The second, "Phra Phuttha Rattana Samrit Phon" or the White Jade Buddha, sits in the full-lotus (vajrasana) posture in Gandhara style, 39 inches across the lap. Both enshrine relics in the head, received from the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, and the temple gives the date they were installed as 25 June 2005.

Besides being a sightseeing stop, the temple regularly runs meditation retreats based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipatthana). The grounds include the Bodhi Court for walking meditation and the Phra Sivali Court for worship. Retreat participants wear white and eat two meals a day, at 07:00 and 11:30; food is mostly local vegetables, eggs, pork and chicken, and there is no vegetarian option. The temple runs largely on donations, and its kitchen regularly accepts rice, cooking oil and dry goods. Visitor rules: dress modestly, no romantic displays, no loud talking or phone calls, stay out of the monks' quarters, no pets, no smoking and no littering.

From the terraces the view is 360 degrees: Ban Thang Daeng's houses strung along the ridge in front, and behind, a great valley of national reserve forest with ridge after ridge fading into the distance and the Pha Son Kaew cliff rising from the mist. The Tourism Authority of Thailand once listed it among ten "Dream Destinations", and the crowds that followed made it a main stop on the Khao Kho–Phu Thap Boek route.

Popularity also brought questions about land. On 25 June 2016 some 70 Forest Department officers, the "Phayak Phrai" task force, soldiers and local officials inspected the Khao Pok Lon national reserve forest and permanent forest around Ban Dong Long and Ban Thang Daeng. Media reported encroachment, notably a car park of about 40 rai, and title deeds being prepared since 1998 on slopes steeper than 35 percent — possibly unlawfully. Occupants were given 90 days to produce evidence; no public final ruling has been found.

A few months later, in September 2016, the temple received its royally granted consecrated boundary (wisungkhamsima), making it a fully established temple under monastic law. Today Wat Phra That Pha Son Kaew is open daily and free, and remains a meditation centre. Visitors can help by dressing modestly, removing shoes before climbing the chedi, not picking at the decorations and keeping quiet in the meditation areas.