Wat Sisa Thong

Wat Sisa Thong
Nakhon Pathom

Background
When King Taksin the Great sent Chaophraya Mahakasatsuek to successfully defeat Vientiane, he also brought a group of people and the Emerald Buddha from Vientiane to Siam.  Some Vientiane people settled down in Huai Tako on the bank of the Nakhon Chai Si River.  After the community was stable, the villagers built a temple in 1815 during the reign of King Rama I the Great.  While digging the ground, they found the head of a golden Buddha image and subsequently named the temple Wat Hua Thong (The Golden Head Temple)

Later, the state dug the Chedi Bucha Canal as a pathway for the King to pay respect to Phra Pathom Chedi which led to the villagers moving to live along the canal.  Wat Hua Thong was also relocated for convenience.  Luangpho Noi Khanthachoto, a famous monk who preached about Phra Rahu swallowing the moon, renamed the temple Wat Sisa Thong.

Belief
According to local belief, making an offering to Phra Rahu will bring good luck and remove bad incidents in life.  He is believed to be the personal deity for people who are born on Wednesday night.

To make an offering, it is a popular belief that it is best to worship Phra Rahu on Wednesday evening in an open space with wind blowing.  Worshipers should face northwest and propitiate the deity with eight black edible offerings particularly black chicken, black liquor, black coffee, black grass jelly, black sticky rice, black beans, black coconut sweet pudding, and preserved eggs.  If any of these items are unavailable, black grapes, black soda, or black sesame can be used.  Eight black sticks of incense are also necessary.  The temple provides the black offerings.  Worshipers can go to the temple and make an offering everyday, except on Buddhist holy days.  Making an offering helps lift one’s spirit.  However, from the Buddhist perspective, one should have good thoughts and do good deeds.  When going through a bad experience, one shall use his/her wisdom, patience and rationale to solve the problems, one issue at a time.  Meditation practice and Dhamma can be a good way to cure sickness or remove bad luck.  Dhamma can cure the mind and when the mind is healthy, the body will also be healthy.  Mediation practice is the best way to calm the mind and bring good health; it can be seen as a way to remove one’s bad experiences in life by tackling the problem at the source.

How to get there
From Bangkok, take Phetchakasem Road to reach Nakhon Pathom.  At the Thana Intersection, drive straight through the intersection for 2 kilometers. The temple entrance is on the right.  Take the nearest U-turn, enter the entrance and drive straight for 1 kilometer.  Turn left when seeing a concrete bridge on the left and cross the bridge.  A railway line will be in front of the temple.  For further details, please contact Tel. 0 3422 1462, 0 3433 8226 or at “www.walpharahoo.com”