Wat Pa Sukato

Wat Pa Sukato is a forest monastery in Kaeng Khro district, Chaiyaphum province, in north-east Thailand. Phra Paisal Visalo, its abbot and a well-known writer, says in an essay for the monastery’s 50th anniversary book that Luang Por Bunthum Uttamadhammo founded it in 1969.

Luang Por Khamkhian Suvanno, Bunthum’s nephew, made it his base and became its guiding presence until his death in 2014. He had trained with Luang Por Teean Cittasubho and accompanied him when he taught in Khon Kaen and Bangkok. The monastery keeps to Luang Por Teean’s way of developing mindfulness and self-awareness. By Phra Paisal’s account, Sukato grew into a full practice centre, with a practice course every month since 2000.

The setting was plain. In the early 1980s, Phra Paisal writes, the huts were lit by kerosene lamps, and mains electricity reached the village only while he was there. The same essay says foreign practitioners also came to practise at the monastery.

For a visitor this is a monastery where people come to practise rather than to sightsee. Dress modestly, ask before entering meditation halls and keep your voice low. Course dates and arrangements change, so use the monastery’s own announcements rather than a third-party listing. Phra Paisal’s essays and the memorial pages for Luang Por Khamkhian are in Thai.