Wat Tong Pu วัดตองปุ
Wat Tong Pu is an active monastery located off the city island in the northeastern area of Ayutthaya. The monastery is located at the confluence of the new Lopburi River and the new Pa Sak River, opposite Wat Chong Lom island. …
Wat Tong Pu วัดตองปุ
Wat Tong Pu is an active monastery located off the city island in the northeastern area of Ayutthaya. The monastery is located at the confluence of the new Lopburi River and the new Pa Sak River, opposite Wat Chong Lom island. Wat Sakae was located to the west.
All constructions on the site are from recent time with exception of the bell tower, which
dates from King Narai's reign and looks identical to the one of Wat Pradu Songtham. An ancient Buddha statue (said to be from the 15th century), named Luang Pho To stood before in the ordination hall. This ordination hall became became a ruin over the years and the image stood in the open. In order not to damage the statue, it was decided not to reconstruct the new ubosot over it. A small vihara was constructed over the ancient
statue to protect it.
The new ubosot was partly built on the ruins of the old one, but slightly extended to the west side. The hall is built in the Late Ayutthaya style. The main Buddha image in the ubosot faces east.
Curiously the Buddha image Luang Pho To looks to the west. This is uncommon, but can be explained. The main Buddha statue of an ordination hall - the most important building of a monastery - should in principle face water, and if this is not possible, it should at least face to the east (the direction of the rising sun representing life). This could mean that at the time of the construction of the image, the (new) Pa Sak River on the east side was not yet in existence or it was decided to face the statue in an opposite direction due to the close vicinity of Wat Sakae. The image was thus constructed facing the new Lopburi River, which must have been an existing canal in Ayutthayan times, running parallel with the old Lopburi River.
The exact date of construction is unknown but according to some publication the temple must have been built before the reign of King Narai. The same source state that the vicinity of Wat Tong Pu, was a settlement area for Mon...
