Wat Thung Setthi, a beautiful temple in Khon Kaen

Wat Tung Setthi was built by Luang Ta Oi Yam Daeng, which was an inherited land. He said that this land was the meeting point of three worlds: heaven, the human world, and the underworld. The Maha Ratana Chedi Sri Trai Lok That covers the connection point of all three worlds. Wat Tung Setthi started small with the idea of ​​building a place for Luang Ta Yam Daeng to practice meditation. He briefly mentioned Luang Ta Yam Daeng, saying that he was once ordained as a monk and his relatives called him Luang Ta. When he disrobed, he wore white and carried a red bag. He practiced Dharma like when he was a monk. His disciples still called him Luang Ta because of the red bag he always carried. Sometimes he also wore red, so they called him Luang Ta Yam Daeng. The land on which the meditation center would be built was his own land in Tambon Phra Lap, Amphoe Mueang, Khon Kaen Province, covering an area of ​​approximately 5 rai. He called a backhoe to adjust the land and dug up an ancient sword about a foot long. He thought that there must be something special about this land. He had a psychic power and saw that it was the meeting point of three worlds: heaven, the human world, and the underworld, so he thought of building a temple. The disciples helped to buy the land and expand the area until it was 73 rai in total. The meeting point of the three worlds was designated as the place to build the Great Stupa. Before the design began, Luang Ta Yam Daeng said that when the stupa was completed, it would be a mix of international styles: Tibetan, Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Western. People of all nationalities would easily understand the art of this great stupa. The architect who was assigned to design it was confused because he had no idea about this stupa at all. Luang Ta Yam Daeng ordered the construction of this stupa under the project called the Hundred Million Great Stupa. He also told his disciples that a billionaire would come to help with the construction. He laid the foundation stone on October 23, 2005, and raised the golden umbrella on January 17, 2008. After raising the umbrella, a miracle occurred: the crane could not go over the umbrella, so the crane had to be removed. When it was completed, Luang Ta named the great stupa Maha Chedi Ratana, which is similar to the name of the Chulamani Stupa in the Daowadungsa heaven. According to the belief, this point is the meeting point of the three worlds and is in the middle between the Chulamani Chedi, which contains the upper right glass tooth, and the Chedi in the Naga realm, which contains the lower left glass tooth. Luang Ta prayed to invite the lower right glass tooth to be enshrined in this great chedi.  After the great chedi was built, Than Chao Khun Saman (Phra Thammadilok, abbot of Wat Pa Saeng Arun) kindly suggested expanding the name of the Maha Chedi Ratana to have a broader and deeper meaning than before, to "Maha Ratana Chedi Sri Trai Lokthat", which is consistent with the idea that Luang Ta had set out, which is to be the great glass chedi of the three worlds. When Luang Ta thought of building the temple, he had already named it Wat Thung Setthi. The word Setthi is a Sanskrit word. In Pali, it should be written as Setthi, which means the excellent one. Location: Tambon Phra Lap, Amphoe Mueang, Khon Kaen Province #Christmas2023