Wat Umong was created in 1297 CE by King Mengrai during the time of the Lanna Kingdom. He is the same King who founded the city of Chiang Mai.
Wat Umong, also known as the “Temple of Tunnels”, features many attractions such as walkable tunnels.
Wat Umong is a forest monastery for those seeking a quiet place to meditate, enjoy nature, and understand The Teachings of The Buddha.
A Buddhist Temple is a community center, a learning center, a place to grow and evolve into a better human being.
There are Ordained Practitioners, Monks, who live at a Temple. And, there is the opportunity for Household Practitioners to attend Temple events to learn, grow, and evolve through the events hosted at the Temple.
You might think of a Temple like the womb of a woman. The womb of a woman is the very best place to grow into becoming a human being. The Temple is similar, in that, it is the very best place to grow into becoming a better and better human being, through inner growth and development, using The Teachings of The Buddha as a guide.
The womb of the Temple environment, and all that is offered at a Temple, is provided for, by those of us that aspire for a place of learning and growth to exist in our community. Ordained Practitioners live in the womb experiencing constant development while Household Practitioners enter in and out of the womb on a daily basis to experience continued growth and development through their journey to an improved and better way of life.
Another way to think of a Temple, and the vast network of Temples throughout Thailand, is like a self-funded mental health network. People can enter into a Temple and find individuals who are available to assist you in learning, growing, and developing in your personal and professional life. While some may receive this type of assistance in their home country at a fee, there is no required or expected payment for assistance at a Buddhist Temple.
Members of The Community who enter into the Temple for guidance and assistance can support the Temple through donations of time, effort, energy, and resources, if they choose, but, there is no requirement nor an expectation that support will be given. The Temple is here to support you in your learning and growth, in your life journey, without any expectation of anything in return.
Entering into the womb is to do so with an interest to learn, grow, and develop on The Path to Enlightenment as taught by The Buddha.
You can see most of the main attractions of Wat Umong on this map. We are going to take a walk, visiting some of the many attractions of the Temple. We will essentially walk in a large clockwise direction around the Temple complex, with the main stupa and tunnels being a real highlight of the Temple. If you would like, we can even explore a Thai cemetery.
Let’s go have some fun…
