Wat Nyanavesakavan

Wat Nyanavesakavan stands in Bang Krathuek, Sam Phran district, Nakhon Pathom, behind Buddhamonthon. The monastery says it received permission to be established in 1989, when monks first spent the rains retreat there, and was registered as a wat in 1994. It belongs to the Mahā Nikāya order, and Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya (P. A. Payutto) has been its abbot since the registration.

The name means “the forest with an abode of knowledge”, and the monastery presents the setting as one meant to support study and an understanding of the Dhamma. The Sangha’s daily routine is study and practice, preaching, and Dhamma lectures and discussions. The monastery is best known for its association with Payutto’s scholarship. The website carries his books and recorded talks, which can be read and heard online.

For lay visitors, the programme is in Thai. The activity page lists several mindfulness and meditation sessions, including Saturday sessions in the ordination hall, one of them livestreamed on YouTube. Times and dates change, so they are not given here. The English pages cover the basics: directions, how to invite monks to ceremonies, and ordination.

Ordination is offered in four batches a year of roughly seven to twelve monks. The monastery asks that a man stay at least one month outside the rains retreat, or four months during it. Applications go to the Sangha, which interviews candidates before approving them.

By public transport, the monastery’s directions page suggests buses from Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal to Buddhamonthon, then a walk or motorcycle ride of about 2.5 km, or a van from Pinklao to Wat Raikhing and a short walk. It does not list an English-language meditation programme for visitors, so write ahead.