We recently had the good fortune to travel to Lamphun, Lampang, and Phrae with Ajahn Saen and three novices.
In Lamphun we first visited Wat Chamtewi and its nearly-1,200-year-old chedi. Next, we visited Wat Phra That Haripunchai, which has a beautiful golden stupa said to contain one of the Buddha’s hairs.
After lunch we traveled to Lampang, which featured the most interesting temple of the day—Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. One of the most revered temples in Thailand, there are many fascinating things to see and experience here—from 19th century bullet holes in the railing surrounding the chedi, a jade Buddha statue with an interesting legend attached to it, and two almost-mind-blowing, improbable reflections of the ancient chedi. The last must be seen to be fully appreciated. We visited a second, smaller temple in Lampang—this temple remarkably similar in design to the Santa Barbara Presidio, curiously enough—before moving on to Phrae.
Although he left Phrae when he was 13 years old, this small village of about 80 families is Ajahn Saen’s home. His parents are no longer alive but he has three older brothers and an older sister. We met two of these siblings on our visit. But first, we visited the local monastery and sat for awhile having tea with the abbot. A small, peaceful temple, it’s a charming spiritual home for the little community living in this cozy valley surrounded by low mountains and carpeted with rice fields.
After tea we walked a couple of hundred meters down the road to the house of one of Ajahn’s brothers, his brother’s wife, and their grandchild. We had a short, quiet visit then walked a bit further into the village. The streets narrowed considerably and we soon arrived at Ajahn’s sister’s house. Unbeknownst to us, Ajahn Saen had informed his sister that my wife and I are vegan and so we found a beautiful veggie meal set out for us. We were touched by and appreciative of the warm and thoughtful, generous welcome. Ajahn’s sister and her husband were very kind to us. After our dinner, she took the time to demonstrate how she makes cloth handbags in the Karen style at her home. We learned that it takes about five days to make a bag. Very impressive and beautiful.
As darkness came, we said our goodbyes, piled into a vehicle, and started the longish journey back to Doi Saket. Just outside of Phrae, though, we visited a lovely hot spring.
I have been touched by the hospitality, kindness, and generosity of virtually everyone I’ve spent time with in northern Thailand—and this was no exception.
