Wat Bowonniwet’s green-and-gold roof tiles and broad ordination hall sit in the quieter Banglamphu district. This royal monastery is closely tied to the Dhammayut Buddhist tradition and to Prince Mongkut, whose long monastic life preceded his reign as Rama IV.
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Green and gold tiles catch the light across the layered roof above Wat Bowonniwet’s white ordination hall and pale walls. Wat Bowonniwet was established in the early nineteenth century and became a leading monastery of the Dhammayut tradition. Its first abbot, Prince Mongkut, arrived in 1836 and spent fourteen years leading the monastery before becoming King Rama IV.
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- Prince Mongkut became the monastery’s first abbot in 1836.
- The temple is associated with the Dhammayut Buddhist tradition.
- The ordination hall houses two Buddha images.
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