Wat Ram Poeng (Tapotaram)

Wat Ram Poeng, also called Wat Tapotaram, is a temple in Suthep subdistrict on the western edge of Chiang Mai. Wikipedia says King Yotchiangrai of Lan Na founded it in 1492; its principal Buddha image bears that date, while the main hall was built in the 1970s and rebuilt in teak in 2015. The sign at the gate reads Northern Insight Meditation Center.

The meditation centre grew out of Ajahn Tong Sirimangalo’s restoration of the then-abandoned temple, which his biography dates from 1973; Wikipedia dates the opening of the centre to 1975. He became its abbot in 1988, and after he moved to Chom Thong in 1991 the centre carried on under his successors. The method is satipaṭṭhāna vipassana, insight meditation based on the four foundations of mindfulness, practised through mindful prostration, walking and sitting, with a daily report to a teacher.

Foreign meditators have their own office and their own section of the temple’s website. Students take the eight precepts at the start of the course, wear white, and hand in phones and other devices for the duration. A small fee covers bed laundry and the opening and closing ceremonies, and a donation is welcomed at the end. The centre’s course guide describes a 26-day basic course, a 10-day course for those who have finished it, and shorter stays of no less than ten days. The website does not state the language of instruction, so ask when you book.

To arrange a course, write or phone the foreign office with your name, age, country and dates, and wait for confirmation. Bring a valid passport and a passport photo. Courses start on fixed check-in dates listed on the website.