Wat Phai Rong Wua

Wat Phai Rong Wua is a large Buddhist temple in Bang Ta Then, Song Phi Nong District, Suphan Buri Province, central Thailand. Founded in the early 20th century and extensively developed by Phra Khru Uthai Thammathari (Luang Pho Khom), it is notable for monumental outdoor sculptures including one of Thailand's largest metal Buddha images. The temple grounds feature extensive parks illustrating Buddhist cosmology with heaven and hell gardens, combining religious devotion, folk art and educational displays.

Visitors can expect a vast open-air temple complex with large-scale concrete and metal sculptures spread across landscaped grounds. Central features include the giant seated Buddha image Phra Phuttha Khodom, numerous depictions of Buddhist cosmology, heaven and hell gardens with life-size figures, smaller chapels and prayer halls, and ponds. The site is outdoors with paved walkways, open courtyards and shaded areas, allowing walking, sightseeing and photography throughout the sculpture parks.

The temple was established as a small local wat and was significantly expanded from the 1920s onward under Phra Khru Uthai Thammathari (Luang Pho Khom), who initiated the creation of large Buddha images and extensive sculpture gardens to teach Buddhist principles through visual art. Construction of the giant Phra Phuttha Khodom Buddha and the cosmology parks continued over several decades.

Wat Phai Rong Wua is a prominent example of Thai folk Buddhist art and popular religious education, using large-scale sculptures to depict the law of karma, heaven and hell, and the life of the Buddha. It serves as an active Buddhist temple for merit-making and festivals and as a cultural landmark illustrating contemporary Thai temple art traditions.