Wat Bowonniwetwiharn Ratchaworawiharn
Royal monastery where a prince-monk spent twenty-seven years and founded Thailand's Dhammayut Buddhist reform sect.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Wat Bowonniwet in Bangkok follows Prince Mongkut, passed over for the throne in 1824, who entered the monkhood here and became its first abbot in 1836. It traces his dissatisfaction with the teaching he received, his search for a purer ordination lineage among Mon monks, and the reform sect that break founded. You'll also hear about the Western missionaries he invited into the compound to teach him Latin, French and English.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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