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I first visited this temple in late December 2004 when I arrived in Thailand. I wanted to speak to some of the monks, and the abbot in particular, to find out what kind of experiences I was having during my Vipassana practice years before. I had some incredible experiences that were other-worldly for lack of a better way to explain them. I arrived in Ubon by the train and took a tuk-tuk from there to Wat Pah Nanachat in the morning. I arrived about 8 am and was met by the "guest-monk" whose job it is to greet visitors and let them know the schedule for the wat and what would be next. I met with a foreigner from England that was hoping to stay for a few days, but we were the only two visitors that morning.
Anyway, so - the abbot offered that I could stay for as long as I wished to continue the process... I stayed over one night and left the next morning. This is a wat with monk administrators that seem very serious about what they're doing. The monk in charge of the work details was relentless in trying to get myself and a friend to go do some chores as we were talking to the guest monk. I found him rude and out of touch.
Once I was lucky enough to get a tour of the entire grounds by an English speaking monk (from England) that was disrobing. He reminisced as he showed myself and my girlfriend around the grounds. It's a lovely place - much bigger than I originally had thought.
There is more information at the links following... If you are interested in attending a meditation retreat at Suan Mokkh or other meditation centers in Thailand (or anywhere in Asia), please see our informative article here...
Suan Mokkh, and Wat Pah Nanachat meditation retreat info Other meditation retreats available all over Asia
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[Links] Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) 07621-1036 and 07621-2213 |
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[Location] Wat Pah Nanachat is located in Warin Chamrap in Thailand's northeast (close to Ubon Ratchathani). Take the train or bus to Ubon (or plane) and a tuk-tuk, taxi or bus to Wat Pah. If you take a bus you'll need to hike the last 1 km. |
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Thai Buddha and other Buddhist Amulets shipped from Thailand. Authentic. Charity Abroad Connection... connecting donors with needy Thai children.
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Wat
Pah Nanachat is a forest wat that is in the countryside outside of
the center of Warin Chamrap which is across the river from the
rather large Isaan city, Ubon Ratchathani. This area is the
northeast and known as "Isaan" or "E-Sarn" depending how you spell
it.
I
soon met with the abbot, an Australian man whose name escapes me at
the present moment. I found him to be extremely kind and a great
listener. I spoke for about 20 minutes before he asked me questions
to clarify what the experience was for me. He then told me that it
sounded like "jhana" and he gave me some pamphlets to read through,
and a book, that told in-depth about what the Buddhist s believed
Jhana was about. I read everything within a couple hours and yes,
wow, it sounded like the levels of jhana. It was a big relief that I
hadn't been losing my mind so many years before!
I
visited Wat Pah Nanachat maybe 5 times over the months, sometimes
going for the full-moon chanting and meditation that lasts all night
and sometimes just walking around the wat and enjoying the peace of
mind. It's always quiet there, though, like all jungle areas of
Thailand that I've seen - there were cicadas that were very loud.
It's still quite peaceful! 
There are many foreign monks here and it's a place that's really
a starting point for western monks that are thinking about being
ordained as monks. They say to call ahead before you visit, but I
don't think it's all that necessary except during the rains retreat
time period (July - September) when there may not be many monks at
Wat Pah and they may not accept overnight visitors.