Wat Khanikaphon

Wat Khanikaphon is a Thai private temple in the Maha Nikaya tradition of Buddhism, It is at Phlapphla Chai, Khwaeng Pom Prap, Pom Prap Sattru Phai District, Bangkok, in front of the Phlapphla Chai police station. During the reign of King Nang Klao, a rich old woman named Faeng —Madam Faeng to the public—was a faithful Buddhist, despite being the owner of a brothel, called "Madam Faeng's Station", on Yaowarat Road. 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" (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 ascended to

Monastery data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).