The base of the Phra Buddha Shinnasee statue at Wat Bowonniwet Vihara

After the royal funeral ceremonies, a portion of the late King’s ashes will be enshrined underneath the base of the Phra Buddha Shinnasee, a principal statue in the ubosot, or prayer room, of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. It is also where ashes of King Rama VI are kept as it was at the temple that the former king had been ordained as monk while holding his title as crown prince. Phra Buddha Shinnasee is one of the nation’s Buddha images of landmark importance although no record was made of when the statue was commissioned, except in the annals of Pong Sawadan Nua, relating to events in the Ayutthaya period, revised by Phra Wichian Preecha (Noi) in 1807. The revised annals mentioned a king from Chiang Saen named Phra Chao Sri Dharma Trai Pidok having ordered the statue to be cast around the same time as the establishment of Phitsanulok city. Phra Buddha Shinnasee was also recorded as having been created along with two other important statues, Phra Buddha Shinnarat and Phra Sri Sassada. In 1829 during the reign of King Rama III, Somdet Phra Bawonratchao Maha Sakdiphonlasep, a viceroy royally appointed as the titular heir to the throne, had the Phra Buddha Shinnasee statue placed in the rear-facing section of the tetrahedron-shaped ubosot at Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. Later, King Rama IV, during his monkhood, sought permission from King Rama III to relocate Phra Buddha Shinnasee for enshrinement as the principal statue of the ubosot facing Phra Buddha Suwannakhet image in 1837. In 1837, King Rama IV, while being ordained as monk at Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, had the statue’s face and body plated in gold. The artisans also filled the eyes, and studded the forehead with diamond. After ascending to the throne, King Rama IV, in 1851, had the statue’s face cast in rachawadee gold and installed a nine-tiered umbrella, a metal lap cloth and gold and silver trees. Before that in 1844, the base of the statue was re-cast in bronze and re-plated in gold, and an event was held to celebrate the statue’s new look. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara has had a close association with royal family members of the Chakri dynasty since the reign of King Rama IV. Many royal members were either ordained at the temple or spent their monkhood there, following in the footsteps of King Rama IV, a practice which has become customary. This custom was gradually adopted by the nobility. It is important to note that almost every monarch since King Rama V has either been ordained as monk or spent time in the monkhood at the temple. The ordination of a king or a royal family member was performed often with the abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara as the ordination supervisor. The late King Bhumibol Adulyadej was ordained as a monk when he was 27 years old and spent 15 days in the monkhood from Oct 22-Nov 5, 1956. His ordination supervisor was the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Sangharaja Chao Kromma Luang Vajirananavongs. During his time in the monkhood, the king stayed at the Panyha Pavilion in Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. The pavilion is where King Rama IV spent time while he was monk, as did other previous kings and royal family members who had entered the monkhood and chosen to stay at the temple. On the day the late King left the monkhood, he planted a sak tree at the back of the pavilion which has grown into a large tree providing cool shade. The late King Bhumibol Adulyadej drew particularly close to Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, which explains why it was declared the ninth reign’s temple.