Asom Phromthada Phutthasathan

Asom Phromthada Phutthasathan (อาศรมพรหมธาดาพุทธาสถาน) sits on a low ridge near Ban Mai Mae Tia in Chom Thong district, south of Chiang Mai. Its landmark is a great stupa in what Chiang Mai News calls a semi-Nepali style, copied from the Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu, a place of pilgrimage and meditation for Tibetan Buddhists and Nepalis. Locals call it the Eye of Wisdom stupa (Chedi Ta Panya) for the eyes on all four sides of its square spire; its formal name is Phra Mahathat Chedi Trairat Phutthayan Rangsi Pathawi Mongkhon.

The stupa is 19 metres high and 55 metres wide. Lay donors built it together with Phra Khruba Traithep Chantawanno, and it enshrines relics of the Buddha along with relics and hair of more than a hundred revered Thai monks, among them Khruba Siwichai, Ajahn Sao and Ajahn Mun. A crowned Buddha sheltered by seven naga kings sits at the top, and a hall on the second level holds images of the 28 Buddhas of the past.

Despite the Tibetan form, this is a Thai devotional site rather than a Vajrayana one. The path up passes a courtyard dedicated to Khruba Siwichai, a large Phra Sangkachai, Chinese deities, a guardian spirit, hermits, and deities from Nepal, India, China, Myanmar and Thailand, with Hindu deities before the stupa itself. The ashram also keeps the body of Luang Pu Chanta Anakulo, former abbot of Wat Pa Kasem Suk in Prachinburi, who died seated in 2010. Chiang Mai News says it welcomes people of every nationality and religion who come to practise.