Wat Phra Yuen วัดพระยืน, Lamphun

Wat Phra Yuen, Lamphun (26 October, 2006)

Wat Phra Yuen (GPS: 18.57625, 99.02074; Thai: วัดพระยืน

) is a Thai Buddhist temple on the east side of the old town of Lamphun, Thailand. This is already on the outskirts of town, and the temple sits quietly in grounds with sugar palms.

Wat Phra Yuen is said to have been built by order of Queen Chamathewi, around 670 AD, after she had ruled Haripunchai (former name for Lamphun) for eight years. (However, some historians believe that the temple was built much later, in the 14th century.) At that time, it was called Wat Aranyikaram. It is sited to be the east temple of the four in Haripunchai.

During the reign of King Phrachao Athittayarat, the temple was renamed Phuttha Aram. That was when its 8.5-meter standing Buddha was cast and housed in the stupa.

In 1370, King Phrachao Kuena restored the temple and invited the monk Phra Sumanathera to relocated from Sukhothai, in order to spread the Lankavamsa sect of Buddhism in the Haripunchai area. At that time, a new mondop (pavilion) was build, and three more Buddha statues were added. That mondop was replaced by the present chedi (stupa) in 1907, which was built in the late-Bagan style of Myanmar.

The entrance to the compound of Wat Phra Yuen is flanked by two chinthe or Burmese guardian lions. These have a rather unusual appearance, not like most of the chinthe elsewhere.