Revered Buddha Image Draws Fishermen's Devotion

The statue, officially named Phra Samphutmahaminisikunasuphonimit or "Luang Pho Dam," stands five meters tall in meditation pose within the main sanctuary of Wat Chong Saem Saen in Satthahip District, Chonburi Province. Eastern coast fishermen hold deep reverence for this sacred Buddha image, regularly visiting to pay respects and request blessings before heading to sea, believing they will return safely with abundant catches. According to the temple legend, in 1958 Luang Pho Dam Rung, an ordained monk from Suphan Buri Province's Wat Khao Khuen, traveled for several days after receiving a divine dream instructing him to erect a Buddha image near an old pagoda on the eastern seacoast. Upon discovering the Chong Saem Saen location matched his vision, he convinced relatives and supporters to donate materials for the statue's construction, a project that took approximately two years to complete without any protective covering.

The unadorned dark-painted statue eventually earned the nickname "Luang Pho Dam" (the Black Buddha Father) among local fishermen and boatmen, despite being formally named Phra Samphutmahaminisikunasuphonimit, a name meaning "the Buddha born from an auspicious dream." After standing exposed for over ten years, the statue finally received a roof and walls funded by grateful fishermen who had experienced answered prayers and successful catches. A decade later, as the original shelter deteriorated, Chonburi provincial council member Sanae Phitaksakorn worked with the temple's abbot to construct a quadrangular sanctuary featuring intricate wall murals and plaster reliefs depicting Buddhist history, officially opened on February 26, 1989. The temple has since become a pilgrimage site where visitors continuously arrive to pay homage and request blessings without interruption.