Wat Khanikaphon ( th, วัดคณิกาผล) is a Thai private temple in the

Maha Nikaya The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...

tradition of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

, It is at

Phlapphla Chai Phlapphla Chai ( th, พลับพลาไชย, ) is the name of a road in Bangkok's Pom Prap and Wat Thep Sirin sub-districts, Pom Prap Sattru Phai District, and also the five-way intersection of the road with Luang and Maitri Chit Roads. ...

, Khwaeng Pom Prap,

Pom Prap Sattru Phai District Pom Prap Sattru Phai ( th, ป้อมปราบศัตรูพ่าย, , or popularly just called Pom Prap, ) is one of the 50 districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Dusit, Pathum Wan, ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, in front of the Phlapphla Chai police station. During the reign of King Nang Klao, a rich old woman named Faeng (แฟง)—Madam Faeng to the public—was a faithful Buddhist, despite being the owner of a brothel, called "Madam Faeng's Station", on

Yaowarat Road Yaowarat Road ( th, ถนนเยาวราช, ; ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown. Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road. It has been the main centre for trading ...

. She raised funds from the prostitutes in her brothel to build the temple in 1833. To celebrate the temple's opening, Madam Faeng invited Father To, a monk who later obtained the ecclesiastical title of Somdet Phra Phutthachan (To Phrommarangsi), to deliver a sermon, hoping that the monk would praise her contribution. Father To's address noted that the merits made for displaying one's own virtue, however great, would result in low goodness. The monk said that the monies gained from prostitution spent in building the temple were considered the "sinful money", and that, for one pound of contribution, Madam Faeng would gain only one shilling of merit. Originally, there was no official name for the temple. The public called it "Madam Faeng's Temple" (วัดใหม่ยายแฟง, literally 'New Temple by Madam Faeng'). As from its establishment, the temple has been opened to the public and a site of public religious activities. When

King Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

ascended to the throne, Madam Faeng's descendants renovated the temple and petitioned the king for an official name. King Chulalongkorn named the temple ''Khanikaphon'', from

Pāḷi Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhis ...

, ''Gaṇikābala'', meaning 'the temple which was the result of the prostitutes' contributions'. The temple retains many items existing since its establishment, including the presiding Buddha image, the central hall, the image halls, a small

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

, the cloisters, the

masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

bell tower, and the ancient file cabinet. There is a model of Father To in front of the temple, and a half figure of Madam Faeng covered with

gold leaves Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

placed inside the wall. On the base of the Madam Faeng figure, there is an inscription: "This Wat Khanikaphon was established in 1833 by Madam Faeng, ascendant of the Paorohit Family". The temple runs a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

called "Wat Khanikaphon School" under the auspices of the

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governm ...

References

{{commonscat, Wat Khanikaphon Khanikaphon Pom Prap Sattru Phai district