Thailand Guide
Southern Thailand: the Gulf coast
Wat Suan Mokkh
The forest temple of Wat Suan Mokkh (Garden of Liberation) is world famous for its ten-day meditation retreats led by Western and Thai teachers. The temple was founded by the late Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, one of southern Thailand's most revered monks, whose back-to-basics philosophy, encompassing Christian, Zen and Taoist influences, lives on and continues to draw Thais from all over the country to the temple, as well as hundreds of foreigners. It's not necessary to sign up for one of the temple's retreats to enjoy the temple, however: visitors are welcome to drop by for a quiet stroll through the wooded grounds.
The layout of the temple is centred on the Golden Hill: scrambling up between trees and monks' huts, past the cremation site of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, you'll reach a hushed clearing on top of the hill, which is the temple's holiest meeting-place, a simple open-air platform decorated with images of Buddha and the Wheel of Law. At the base of the hill, the outer walls of the Spiritual Theatre are lined with bas-reliefs, replicas of originals in India, which depict scenes from the life of the Buddha. Inside, every centimetre is covered with colourful didactic painting, executed by resident monks and visitors in a jumble of realistic and surrealistic styles.
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