Wat Pa Ban Tat - The Wat and Tigers

The Wat and Tigers

Along the Khon Kaen - Udon Thani highway, at kilometer-post 555, 7 kilometers from the town of Udon Thani, is an intersection in front of Kum Gling village. Here is a sign and an arrow pointing out the tarmac road to Ban Tat village. Eight kilometers further down the road from Ban Tat village is a piece of land cool, shady and quiet. It is covered with forest well looked after, and protected by a concrete wall that encircles the area. Since this monastery was established 30 years ago, the general condition of the forest remains as it originally was, lush in vegetation of many types and home to many types of forest animals. The overall view is that of forest hilltop surrounded by rice fields. This is probably the only unspoiled piece of forest left in Mueng district, Udon Thani Province.

"There were three tigers and about three leopards that came and went. The leopards walked around the dwellings but weren‘t interested in human beings, only the dogs. They‘re used to eating animals, like dogs, which are dependent on man, and so whenever they hear a human voice anywhere, they‘ll sneak right in and peep around, looking here and there. If there are no dogs, they won‘t stick around long and will slip away. But if they find a dog, they‘ll keep after it until they catch it. They‘ll sneak around it and lie in wait, and as soon as the dog is off its guard, they‘ll immediately pounce on it. This is the way leopards are. So they were in this monastery around every dwelling area. How did we know? Well, isn‘t this place swept so that it‘s spotless? Even if a mouse runs by, don‘t we know about it? And these were big cats, so how could we help but see their tracks?“

The wilderness surrounding the monastery has disappeared since the area has been cleared for cultivation. The forest that remains inside the domain of the monastery is only a remnant of what the forest once was. Wat Pa Ban Tat has tried to conserve its remnant of the forest in its original, natural condition, so that monks, novices, and lay people can make use of its tranquility for the practice of the Dhamma taught by the Lord Buddha. As the Venerable Acariya has taught repeatedly:

"From a desire to make this teaching a reality, and not just a ceremony, comes a model for a lifestyle devoted towards serious practice. As a consequence, life goes on here with the utmost simplicity - making do with what little one has - and with great contentment."