Today I Go to Temple 1
Today I Go to Temple 1
This Morning, We Went to the Temple
This morning, I woke up early and set out to make merit with my family. It is almost 100 days since someone we love went up to the sky.
I still don’t want this to be real. But I know I have to accept the truth. Everything happened far too quickly.
My father began his long journey
on November 21, 2025.
His last smile
is something I will never forget.
I have been to this temple with him before. The moment I walked in, old memories began to flow back — his voice, his laughter, the jokes and stories he loved to tell, playing again and again like an old film.
“I miss you so much, Dad.”
Today I Go to Temple 1
Today, my family and I came to offer alms at Wat Krok Krak, a well-known temple in Samut Sakhon Province.
It is an old temple dating back to the early Rattanakosin period. If you can’t picture this temple,
just think of the main Buddha image in the ordination hall — Luang Por Pu, the Buddha statue wearing dark sunglasses.
It’s an image you never forget once you see it. Many people wonder why the Buddha image wears glasses.
According to local stories, there was once an outbreak of eye disease long ago — red, painful eyes that could not be cured because medical knowledge at the time was limited.
Villagers prayed to Luang Por Pu,promising to cover his eyes with gold leaf
if they were healed.
Not long after, the illness gradually disappeared. People fulfilled their vows, and the Buddha image’s eyes became completely covered in gold.
Later, Phra Khru Thammasakhon Yanawatthano, also known as Luang Pu Krap, the abbot at that time, placed sunglasses on Luang Por Pu as a gentle way to stop people from applying more gold to the eyes.
Since then,
people from Krok Krak and nearby areas
have offered eyeglasses instead of gold leaf.
This story has been passed down ever since.
Today I Go to Temple 1, The Temple with the Sunglasses Buddha
Wat Krok Krak is divided by a road.
One side is the monks’ living area,
while the other side, along the Tha Chin River,
is where visitors come to pay respect to Luang Por Pu.
There are chairs for chanting and prayer,
so there is no need to kneel on the floor like in many temples —
very kind to the knees,
especially for people our age.
Around the temple,
local neighbors with thanaka powder on their faces
help look after different areas.
There is also an elderly temple guide
who kindly explains the temple’s history to visitors.
If you walk toward the riverside,
the view is peaceful and beautiful.
You can see far into the distance,
with a pier nearby
and fishing boats resting quietly along the river.
Making Merit, Thinking of You
The alms set we prepared today
included daily necessities —
laundry detergent, fabric softener,
soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste,
lozenges, medicine for stomach pain,
pain-relief patches, antacids,
and instant noodles.
We also brought a large box
of banana cake made by my mother —
my father’s favorite.
While baking,
my mother kept saying how much she missed him.
She remembered the first time she made it,
when my father was always the first to taste it.
She also prepared a bouquet of fresh orchids
and a monetary donation
to offer to the monks.
Quietly, I wished in my heart
that the merit we made today
would reach my father.
“Dad…
can you hear me?
I came to make merit for you.”
After the ceremony,
I walked around the temple,
stopping at places my father once showed me.
He loved telling stories from his youth,
including the story of the Buddha wearing glasses —
always told with humor,
just like his playful personality.
Before Leaving the Temple
I spent some time there alone
before hearing my mother call out softly.
“It’s time to go home,” she said,
then added gently,
“You miss him, don’t you? We came here together before.”
I reached out, took my mother’s hand,
and we walked out of the temple together.
“We’ll come back again,”
I told her.
