The 700-year-old "Tunnel Temple" in Chiang Mai, Wat Umong

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"The history of Wat Umong began during the reign of the first king of Lanna in the 12th century, King Mang Rai the Great, when he built the city of Chiang Mai. After that, many temples were built.

He invited monks from Sri Lanka who had stayed in Sukhothai to teach Buddhism at that time, and particularly built a new temple in Lanka-style to serve as the residence for the Sri Lankan monks. When it was completed, the temple was celebrated in 1296 and called Wat Welukattharam, until the reign of King Kue Na Thammikarat, who renovated Wat Welukattharam and also built a large and beautiful tunnel with four entrances and exits. After that, people began calling this temple Wat Umong Therachan."

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Exploring the 730-year-old Wat:

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A little background on King Mangrai inviting the Sri Lankan monks:

"King Mangrai the Great nurtured Buddhism and the monks and novices, both those residing in villages and those in forests, providing them with the four necessities, encouraging them to study and practice the Dharma and Vinaya to the best of their abilities. Later, he learned that King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, his friend and ruler of Sukhothai, had sent envoys to invite monks from Sri Lanka, who were residing in Nakhon Si Thammarat, to teach Buddhism to the people of Sukhothai. The Sri Lankan monks were renowned for their profound knowledge of the Tripitaka and strict adherence to the Dharma and Vinaya, surpassing even the existing Thai monks. This inspired great faith in Chiang Mai, and the king desired to have Sri Lankan monks as the center of Buddhism in the city. He therefore sent officials to request five Sri Lankan monks from King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. Upon receiving the five Sri Lankan monks, led by the Venerable Maha Kassapa, the king hesitated, unsure of where to reside them. Bringing him to live with the traditional Thai monks, both those residing in the villages, was feared to cause discomfort to the Sri Lankan monks because their customs and traditions might be different.

Finally, King Mangrai decided to build a separate forest monastery exclusively for the Sri Lankan monks in the area of ​​11 bamboo groves (the place known today as Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham). The purpose of building this temple was to commemorate the first introduction of Sri Lankan Buddhism to Lanna Thai. He therefore requested the Venerable Maha Kassapa to design the temple layout according to Buddhist doctrine and tradition. Once the Venerable Maha Kassapa had completed the layout, dividing the temple into Buddha-vāsa (areas related to the Buddha, such as the stupa and the ordination hall) and Saṅghāvāsa (areas related to the monks, such as the sermon hall, monks’ quarters, and the refectory), King Mangrai oversaw the construction of the new temple according to the plan, using Sri Lankan temple architecture as a model. Even the main stupa, the temple’s centerpiece, was built in the Sri Lankan style. (The stupa built by King Mangrai is the same large stupa that appears in Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham today, but the original is smaller; the larger one is less old and its beautiful carvings are still clearly visible.) It was King Kuena Thammarat, the 9th king of the Mangrai dynasty, who renovated the temple by covering the old structures with plaster and built a tunnel for the Venerable Maha Thera Chan (between 1910-1930 BE). After the temple was completed and celebrated, he named it Wat Velukattharam (Temple of 11 Bamboo Clumps). He then invited monks from Sri Lanka to reside there, practice monasticism, and spread Buddhism.

After building a temple for the Sri Lankan monastic order, he became deeply interested in Buddhism. He provided patronage to both Thai and Sri Lankan monks with the four necessities of life and regularly attended sermons. He would immediately undertake any action that would contribute to the flourishing of Buddhism.

In addition to his personal interest in Buddhism, His Majesty also encouraged members of the royal family and the public to study Buddhism, by visiting temples on Buddhist holy days to give alms, observe precepts, listen to sermons from monks, and practice meditation to find peace of mind.

The temple that the King, the royal family, and the people had the most faith in, visiting for alms, observing precepts, listening to sermons, and practicing meditation during that time, was Velukattharama Temple (Temple of Eleven Bamboo Groves). This was because the Sri Lankan monks residing there were well-versed in the Dharma and Vinaya, highly skilled in delivering sermons, and exhibited impeccable conduct and strict adherence to discipline more than other monks. The virtuousness of the Sri Lankan monks at that time attracted many young men to ordain as monks and novices. As time went on, the reputation of the Sri Lankan lineage spread far and wide, leading to the rapid flourishing of Sri Lankan-style Buddhism and its firm establishment in Lanna Thai for the first time during the reign of the King.

After King Mangrai’s death from a lightning strike at a crossroads in Chiang Mai at the age of 80 (1860 CE), religious affairs immediately began to decline. This was because subsequent kings who succeeded him as heirs to the throne, such as King Chai Songkhram (1860-1861 CE), King Saen Ku (1865-1871 CE), and King Kham Fu (1871-1877 CE), all resided in Chiang Rai and Chiang Saen, leaving only their heirs as viceroys. Furthermore, the kingdom was preoccupied with internal conflicts and power struggles for the throne among his elder brothers, uncles, and cousins."

https://www.watumong.com/web/ประวัติวัดอุโมงค์/

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:folded_hands: :folded_hands: :folded_hands:

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A monument to this great king (King Mangrai) who provided so much support to the Sangha stands in Mueang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai.

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A view inside the tunnels:

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I am sure it was extremely inspiring for the people of Lanna to have those monks invited to reside there.

“Later, he learned that King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, his friend and ruler of Sukhothai, had sent envoys to invite monks from Sri Lanka, who were residing in Nakhon Si Thammarat, to teach Buddhism to the people of Sukhothai. The Sri Lankan monks were renowned for their profound knowledge of the Tripitaka and strict adherence to the Dharma and Vinaya, surpassing even the existing Thai monks. This inspired great faith in Chiang Mai, and the king desired to have Sri Lankan monks as the center of Buddhism in the city. He therefore sent officials to request five Sri Lankan monks from King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. Upon receiving the five Sri Lankan monks, led by the Venerable Maha Kassapa, the king hesitated, unsure of where to reside them.”

This got me wondering if this was the same Mahākassapa from these historic events in Sri Lanka.

The Lanna king, King Mangrai, lived from 1238 to either 1311 or 1317 (depending on which source is consulted). The famous Sri Lankan Mahākassapa was an adult during the reign of King Parākramabāhu I, who lived from 1123–1186, and reigned from 1153, until his death in 1186. Therefore it seems impossible that this Sri Lankan Mahākassapa is the same one as the Mahākassapa of Mahā-Parakkamabāhu-Katikāvata fame. Nevertheless, without those monastic reforms enacted by Parakkamabāhu the Great—roughly a century and a quarter earlier—this event likely never would have taken place; clearly, the fame and the renown of good Sri Lankan monks spread after that.

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The thūpa is also truly amazing. :folded_hands:

Just imagine the ancient visitors and pilgrams who had no postcards to take home, no cameras, no photos, no documentaries of the place to watch again months or years later on TV or YouTube. However, they did have the clear memory of that beautiful architecture, which was often more stunning than any architecture they had ever seen before. It would have left a strong impression on their memory, such that they could always recall it and gain faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha—particularly since they would have circumambulated those stunning monuments numerous times.

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And just image them circumnabulating that thūpa, contemplating the teachings they would have heard from the good monks, maybe thinking of their saddhā , maybe thinking of their virtue, maybe contemplating nāma and rūpa—reflecting on the fact that what is seen when they look at the thūpa is just visible object appearing through the eye-door in a sense-door process—no person, no being, just impersonal processes; perhaps contemplating the lessons they learned from the artistic reliefs that lined the walls of the tunnel they just walked through at the Wat since its walls were lined with painted releifs of Jātaka Tales and other Buddhist depections to teach moral and other lessons*—since like many of the visitors they may not have been able to read. Even years later they could reflect back on those times at the chedi where they contemplated what was heard and seen when they visited that holy place. They could also conetmplate the merit they made through giving offerings, circumnabulating it, etc.

:folded_hands: :folded_hands: :folded_hands:

*The tunnel walls were originally lined with such depections, but because the Wat was abandoned—likely in the 15th-century—it became overtaken by the jungle and the tunnels were filled with over a metre of sand and soil by the time restorations began in 1949. The restorations were conducted by Chao Chuen Siroros and many locals who established a meditation center there and reopened the monastery offically calling it Wat Umong (Suan Phutthatham). During the renovations, there was so much sand, soil, and debris in the tunnels that much of what was left of the paintings was destroyed, though some of the paintings still remain and have been restored.

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